Learn how companies in the UN Global Compact are taking action to advance corporate sustainability around the world.

The Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative is a peer-to-peer learning platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, regulators, and companies, can enhance corporate transparency – and ultimately performance – on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment. Since 2012, several other leading exchanges have joined the group of SSE Partner Exchanges. UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, the PRI and UNEP-FI, as the core organizer of the SSE Initiative, also committed to supporting stock exchanges in this effort. The SSE initiative invites exchanges globally to become a Partner Stock Exchange within the SSE by making a voluntary public commitment to promote improved ESG disclosure and performance among listed companies. http://www.sseinitiative.org

Learn about how companies in the UN Global Compact are taking action to advance corporate sustainability around the world.

With less than a third of stock exchanges currently providing written guidance to companies on ESG reporting, an information gap has emerged, preventing investors and other stakeholders from being able to access all of the information necessary to effectively evaluate listed companies. This is a resource for exchanges to ensure all markets provide reporting guidance to companies on the inclusion of ESG factors.

Seeks to advance the discussion on how the private sector can make positive contributions to peace in conflict-affected and high-risk areas around the world and, as a result, help to the realization of SDG16. This document complements existing materials such as the UN Global Compact’s Guidance on Responsible Business in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas with a new perspective on deliberate contributions to peace by companies.

Provides an overview of the current and potential role of institutional investors, companies, banks and foundations in the design and implementation of a financing strategy for global sustainability.

Helps investors to understand why and how to engage companies on their tax practices, thus promoting corporate tax responsibility: a more responsible corporate approach to tax practices, including better disclosure and transparency, good governance and appropriate management of tax-related risks.

Learn about how companies in the UN Global Compact are taking action to advance corporate sustainability around the world.

Showcases industry-specific examples and ideas for corporate action related to the SDGs. Presented in a series of publications, each matrix highlights bold pursuits and decisions made by diverse companies for each SDG.

Calls upon Governments to bring down legal barriers restricting economic opportunities for women, and by doing so, help create an enabling environment for inclusive economic growth. Open for membership-based organizations to add their logo in support.

Various stakeholder groups are mounting calls for Boards of Directors to take sustainability into account while adhering to their legal duties to shareholders. This puts questions about fiduciary duty front and center. Careful legal analyses of such questions have been prepared over the past year by law firms all over the world. The collection of memoranda below will inform and enrich discussion among Board directors, and the lawyers who counsel them, about how changing circumstances near and far are affecting their ability to meet fiduciary duty requirements. 

 Prof. Robert G. Eccles and Tim Youmans of Harvard Business School have led this collaboration which included the UN Global Compact, the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Sustainable Development and PRI, Their aim was to gather legal perspectives from law firms in a wide range of countries. Each participating law firm used a standard research template developed by Linklaters in the UK to structure their respective legal memo. The legal memos are posted below with the permission of the participating firms. To further grow the research, enquiries from law firms in countries that do not already have a legal memo are welcome. If you do not see your country listed and want to know if one is being prepared, please contact Ingvild Soerensen (soerensen@unglobalcompact.org).

Jointly hosted by the UN Global Compact and the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice, this webinar will examined the human dimensions of climate change. The webinar explored how climate change undermines human rights, including the right to adequate food, water and health, as well as the disproportionate impact climate change has on vulnerable groups such as women and children. This webinar provides an opportunity to discuss climate change through a human rights lens and will review various ways that business can respect human rights when taking action on climate change. (2015)