Prepared in close cooperation with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the session aims at breaking down and illustrating the complexities around science-based targets (SBTs), introducing the initiative and showcasing the benefits of setting SBTs. Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly defined pathway to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, helping prevent the worst impacts of climate change and future-proof business growth. In light of the latest climate science, the UN Global Compact calls on all companies to set their science-based targets with 1.5°C pathways and reach net-zero emissions by no later than 2050. This Academy e-learning course will guide you in the process of setting a science-based target in support of a net-zero future. It will also offer an opportunity to hear from other companies about why they think setting science-based targets makes good business sense.

Limiting average global warming to 1.5°C requires an enormous transformation of our economy and energy systems. The movement of companies, countries, cities, and investors setting ambitious net zero targets and leading this transformation is building momentum faster than ever. Though progress is being made, climate action must continue to be accelerated and accompanied by efforts to address the various environmental and societal challenges we face. In the UN Global Compact Network UK’s latest Briefing, we explain how businesses can be at the forefront of this growing movement and why it is important to continue raising ambition and take immediate action.

A new strategy that spells out our ambition to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the SDGs through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change.

This report shows that companies with science-based targets are delivering on large-scale emissions reductions. Five years on from the Paris Agreement, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) analysed the emissions of a group of 338 companies whose climate targets have been approved by the SBTi as aligned with climate science and the goals of the Paris Agreement. This is the first ever study to look at how setting science-based targets correlates with corporate emissions reductions and the extent to which companies are actually delivering on those targets. Target-setting companies have successfully reduced their emissions by 25% since 2015, a difference of 302 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the same as the annual emissions from 78 coal-fired power plants.

Puts forward six key enablers which could be advanced by all systemic shapers to accelerate the sustainable development of the seafood industry - from unlocking sustainable finance and ratifying international conventions, to moving beyond data disclosure, rewarding progress, and incorporating wider food system dimensions into both policy and sustainability-related services.

Maps current regulations, business standards and best and emerging practices for the oil and gas sector to implement the Sustainable Ocean Principles. The scope of this document is all activities related to the exploration, production, processing, transport and commercialization of oil and gas products in the ocean.  For each principle, the Practical Guidance provides a set of actions which can be implemented.

Maps current regulations, business standards and best emerging practices for the aquaculture sector to implement the Sustainable Ocean Principles. The scope of this document is aquaculture - defined here as farming of aquatic resources for human consumption.

Maps current regulations, business standards and best and emerging practices for the ocean renewable energy sector to implement the Sustainable Ocean Principles. The guidance in this document has a strong focus on offshore wind, which is currently the most utilized and mature power generation technology in the ocean. This guidance is also applicable to less mature technologies, such as wave, tidal and floating solar, where potential is recognized, and development is encouraged.

Maps current regulations, business standards and best and emerging practices for the seaweed sector to implement the Sustainable Ocean Principles. The scope of this document is the seaweed industry, the production and use of macroalgae for any purpose. The guidance outlined has relevance for activities along the entire value chain, with a dual focus on both wild harvest and cultivation.

Maps current regulations, business standards and best practices for the fisheries sector to implement the Sustainable Ocean Principles. The scope of this document is marine capture fisheries, defined as the sum (or range) of all activities to harvest and process a given fish resource from the ocean. The guidance is addressed to all stakeholders operating throughout marine fishery value chains.

Global Compact Network Netherlands, with the support of employers' organisation VNO-NCW, carried out a study into stakeholder involvement by Dutch companies. This research shows that companies that actively involve their stakeholders in their organization are successful in implementing solutions to the societal challenges, as expressed by the SDGs. Political and social stakeholders are also expected to be more involved in the business. In this publication Global Compact Network Netherlands provides a model and a practical questionnaire for companies to raise their stakeholder engagement to a higher level.

This is the first white paper produced by the recently launched UN Global Compact Action Platform on Sustainable Infrastructure for the Belt and Road Initiative to Accelerate the SDGs. It provides a starting point for strategic discussion and dialogue, and a solid foundation for action in the years ahead. I look forward to working with companies, Governments and all stakeholders to build a healthier and more sustainable future. If we succeed, generations to come will remember our current difficulties as a distant crisis that was, nevertheless, a turning point for global progress.