The world is calling for immediate and collective action towards a universal climate goal, outlined in the Paris Agreement. Working with top talents from around the world, the United Nations is taking urgent actions to standardize guidelines for achieving Net-Zero, creating a platform of global collaboration. China takes the lead in fostering a conducive environment for global collaboration through proposing the Global Development Initiative (GDI), with a series of initiatives surrounding eight key areas including climate actions. A just transition to a Net-Zero future requires bold actions from all parties, and corporates are an indispensable force. The key to success is knowing “where to go” — setting climate targets, and “how to get there” — implementing Net-Zero initiatives.

To address the increasing risk of catastrophic climate change, provide sustainable energy to the 733 million people who currently lack access to electricity, and to power sustainable development, there is an urgent need to transition to renewable energy. Business has a critical role to play in ensuring this transition is just and leaves no one behind. This business brief outlines the context of emerging national just transition policies, provides an advocacy agenda for businesses to influence policies responsibly and includes examples of company best practices and success factors. Download today to learn the 10 recommendations for businesses to advance the just transition within and beyond their companies in support of the goals of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. The business brief is available in English and Spanish.

The purpose of this position paper is to establish the potential of Global Compact companies all over the world to invest at scale in key private sector solutions for the SDGs, especially in the clean energy transition and economic and social development. It also provides intellectual support for a broad Global Compact call to action to all its companies at the occasion of the SDG stocktake this year, to establish ambitious targets in five key areas including SDG-aligned corporate investments and finance with the SDGs (other areas include living wage, climate change, gender equality, and water stewardship).

Companies of all sizes may be exposed to multiple climate change-related risks through their supply chains. By placing just transition at the centre of their risk management strategies, your company can better manage converging risks that may impact your business. This brief outlines the policies and practices companies can implement to manage the environmental and social impacts of their supply chain, discusses multilateral frameworks, and offers recommendations for businesses to improve their sustainability and resilience, including real-world examples.

The inaugural CEO Water Mandate 2022 Impact Report encapsulates the collective efforts of 234 endorsing companies and partners in addressing the water crisis. It maps key strides, from advancing new water stewardship practices and rolling out critical guides, to launching the Water Resilience Coalition Brazil Chapter and the Corporate Water Benchmark Tool at COP27. Their presence at high-visibility events, such as the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Stockholm World Water Week and COP27, further highlights our convening power. Explore their 2022 journey as we continue mobilizing business leaders towards a water-resilient world.

The 2022 Impact Report presents a comprehensive overview of the Water Resilience Coalition's work during the past year. It elaborates on key milestones, including their expansion of 21 collective actions across 15 basins in 6 countries, the launch of the Brazil Chapter and their 2030 Strategy. The report also sheds light on our successful efforts to raise the profile of water action at global forums like the World Economic Forum, Stockholm World Water Week and COP27.

A dramatic rise of interlinked global challenges is forcing business executives to navigate new levels of uncertainty. The war in Ukraine is producing alarming cascading effects across a world already impacted by COVID-19 and climate change. The risks of generations lost, as well as waves of food insecurity, energy shortages, unfolding debt crises, and social unrest are very real. In this context of uncertainty, more and more chief executive officers (CEOs) are stepping into broader leadership capacities, propelled by business necessity and by evolving societal expectations of their role. The UN Global Compact has compiled perspectives from CEOs across the globe, to provide policymakers, companies, and the public with practical insights into business leadership in today’s novel and dynamic operating environment. This report describes how today’s CEOs face complex challenges to their operations—and to their sustainability agenda.

The Annual Report of the Global Seaweed Coalition presents the results of the first two years of the Coalition’s operation, formerly known as the Safe Seaweed Coalition.

The United Nations Global Compact-Accenture Global Private Sector SDG Stocktake offers an appraisal of private sector contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the first half (2015-2022), and a clear path forward for the second half (2023-2030). Based on a combination of innovative data sources, including insights from more than 2,800 business leaders around the world, this report measures the global private sector's impact on the SDGs for the first time.

In 2015, the UK Government joined every other country worldwide and committed to Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and through it the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Goals provide a holistic framework that defines our global priorities and aspirations for 2030. They represent a crucial opportunity to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and protect our planet. Achieving the Goals requires an unprecedented effort across all aspects of society – and business sits at the heart of it. The SDGs are not just another sustainability framework, but the only universally agreed blueprint to turn meaningful ambition into transformational change. Yet, with just seven years to go and already halfway through the 2030 Agenda, we are far from achieving the Goals in the UK. There is a multifaceted business case for smaller companies to embrace sustainability. Stakeholders – from regulators to investors to customers to employees – expect all companies to be improving their sustainability performance and they are ready to reward companies that embrace this agenda and punish those that do not. However, SMEs consistently report difficulties with embedding the SDGs at the core of their business models. The UN Global Compact Network UK, in partnership with Irwin Mitchell, has developed the SDG Playbook for SMEs: a step-by-step guide to help smaller companies unlock the competitive advantages associated with embracing the SDGs.    

More and more countries and regions pay attention to the retirement, scrapping and recycling of power batteries, and formulate corresponding battery regulations. This report collects the data of LFP batteries, NCM batteries and rapidly developing SSBs commonly used in electric vehicles and calculates and analyzes their carbon footprints. It compares the energy consumption and environmental impact of different types of EV batteries in the process of raw material acquisition and manufacturing. By comparing the emission reduction potential of different recycling technologies, it puts forward carbon emission reduction measures in the battery life cycle.   As part of the GDI for SDG project series reports, this report puts forward a series of suggestions to promote sustainable development of the battery industry, optimize the environmental performance of batteries and reduce carbon emissions.

On 16 October 2023, the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, unveiled new guidance and assessment tools for companies to advance sustainable infrastructure under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).   By shedding light on the relationship between the BRI and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the reports offer practical tools and insights for companies to ensure that their projects align with global sustainability trends, particularly the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact covering human rights, labor practices, the environment and the fight against corruption.