Building on the original Guide for General Counsel on Corporate Sustainability published in 2015, Version 2.0 provides further guidance to General Counsel to ensure they are better placed and better equipped to drive change and deliver value to their organizations through an increased focus on corporate sustainability. Topics include: Corporate Sustainability and Business Integrity Corporate Sustainability and Business Integrity Human Rights and Supply Chain Due Diligence Corporate Sustainability and Grievance Mechanisms Challenges to Corporate Sustainability - Managing a Crisis Please fill out the form below to download the full guide.

Climate change and human rights can no longer be approached as separate issues. With every passing year, the consequences of our changing climate threaten a widening range of fundamental human rights. And with regulation lagging behind, companies are taking the initiative to address the interlinked nature of these issues.

Outlines how companies can embed human rights into their corporate strategies and advance people-centred solutions to growing global challenges. The report presents snapshots of good practice from companies participating in the UN Global Compact, highlights insight by Global Compact Local Networks around the world, and showcases initiatives that are advancing seven major themes: future of work, climate justice, effective remedy and grievance mechanisms, migrant rights, gender equality, due diligence and tackling working poverty.

This guide aims to help companies set effective site water targets that are informed by catchment context, which can create value and lessen risks for the company and support collective action. This guide is intended for site staff or technical water specialists responsible for water management, and relevant corporate staff. This guide lays out three key elements for setting effective site water targets: Water targets should respond to priority water challenges within the catchment; The ambition of water targets should be informed by the site’s contribution to water challenges and desired conditions; and Water targets should reduce water risk, capitalize on opportunities, and contribute to public sector priorities. This case of the Santa Ana RIver Watershed illustrates how the guidance was applied by a group of companies in that watershed.

Provides the first ever estimates of child labour and human trafficking in global supply chains. A significant share of child labour and human trafficking in global supply chains occurs at lower tiers, in activities such as raw material extraction and agriculture, making due diligence, visibility and traceability challenging. The report outlines several key areas in which governments and businesses can do more. It underscores the critical role of States in addressing gaps in statutory legislation, enforcement, and access to justice and in establishing a framework for responsible business conduct. For business, the report underscores the need for a comprehensive, whole-of-supply-chain approach to due diligence.

This publication presents the main discussions and outcomes from the 2019 UN Private Sector Forum Meeting on Climate Change. The Private Sector Forum took place in New York on 23 September 2019 as the official Luncheon of the UN Climate Action Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General to raise ambition to tackle climate change. It brought together more than 350 global climate leaders for a multi-stakeholder, inter-generational dialogue designed to help the world urgently align on a collective course of action in tackling the climate crisis. Important highlights included the introduction of the “Business Ambition for 1.5˚C” campaign, incentivizing companies to set science-based targets to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and in line with a 1.5˚C future.

This guide aims to help companies set effective site water targets that are informed by catchment context, which can create value and lessen risks for the company and support collective action. This guide is intended for site staff or technical water specialists responsible for water management, and relevant corporate staff. This guide lays out three key elements for setting effective site water targets: Water targets should respond to priority water challenges within the catchment; The ambition of water targets should be informed by the site’s contribution to water challenges and desired conditions; and Water targets should reduce water risk, capitalize on opportunities, and contribute to public sector priorities.

Provides an overview of the current state of the business school rankings and suggests possible changes to help align business school education with the needs of the 21st century. It includes 20 actions to improve evaluation and ranking and encourage “a race to the top” in business education.

Showcases business leadership on climate action aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Featuring solutions and strategies developed by companies that have taken the 1.5°C pledge, the report examines how business leaders are integrating this process into corporate strategies and generating employee buy-in. 

Investigates six sectors and analyzes how selected companies have turned climate risks into climate opportunities. Considered one of the most urgent risks, climate change is already determining how markets are evolving. Factors like new consumer preferences, new regulations, changing investor focus and market prices will increasingly favour the climate, and create a new kind of pressure on companies.

Provides a summary and highlights of the inaugural SDG Investment Forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Features recommendations on how corporate reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can best address investors’ information needs. By helping inform investors' decision-making process, corporate SDG reporting can stimulate more investment in sustainable business solutions to help advance the Global Goals. Translations of this publication are available in several languages.