
The enhanced Communication on Progress
In June, we paused submissions of the 2023 Communication on Progress (CoP) due to technical challenges associated with our original digital platform. We are diligently working to relaunch the digital process for submitting the 2023 CoP through an interim platform, which will be made available by mid-October. To provide sufficient time to complete the reporting requirements, we are extending the reporting deadline to 31 December 2023.
We invite you to review these Frequently Asked Questions and reach out to cop-support@unglobalcompact.org or your Local Network for additional support.
Benefits of the enhanced Communication on Progress
The enhanced CoP enables participating companies of the UN Global Compact to:
- Measure and demonstrate progress to stakeholders and the public on the Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals in a consistent and harmonized way.
- Build credibility and brand value by showing their commitment to the Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Receive insight, learn and continuously improve performance by identifying gaps, accessing guidance and setting sustainability goals.
- Compare performance against peers with access to one of the largest sources of free, public and comparable corporate sustainability data.
Prepare for the Communication on Progress
Learn more about the requirements, deadlines and how to best prepare for the new CoP by reading the five steps below.
Step 1: Understand your requirements The enhanced Communication on Progress (CoP) consists of two elements:
For the 2023 reporting year, a sustainability report uploaded through the interim digital platform can be submitted in lieu of the CoP questionnaire. |
![]() |
![]() |
Step 2: Know your deadlines 2023 CoP submissions will be accepted within a 10-week window between mid-October (exact date TBA) and 31 December. Companies that fail to complete and submit their CoP during this time period will be listed as ‘Non-communicating’ on their public participant profile as of 1 January 2024. Companies can restore their ‘Active’ status by submitting a 2023 CoP before the start of the 2024 reporting period, or by submitting their 2024 CoP during the 2024 reporting period. Companies remaining in “Non-communicating” status will be delisted as of 1 January 2025. Please note that no company will be delisted for failure to submit the 2023 CoP, but the UN Global Compact highly encourages all participants to demonstrate their commitment and progress toward the Ten Principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the 2023 interim digital platform. |
Step 3: Prepare your report
|
![]() |
![]() |
Step 4: Complete and submit your CoP
Once you have…
… you are ready to submit your CoP through the digital platform. |
Step 5: Visualize your submitted CoP report Upon submission of the CoP, all companies will be able to view their completed CoP report on their participant profile on the UN Global Compact website, where it will be accessible by any stakeholder and the public as an html web page and downloadable as a PDF. Companies will also be able to visualize their CoP answers, track and understand performance and benchmark against peers through their data visualization dashboard on the CoP digital platform. The UN Global Compact will not score or rank of participating companies associated with the CoP questionnaire. |
![]() |
Please note that all data, including supplemental documentation that was submitted by a participating company through the CoP digital platform, will be made publicly available on the UN Global Compact website. This data may be used by the UN Global Compact in aggregate form to present trends or included in reports about the status of corporate sustainability. The UN Global Compact does not have any responsibility on the accuracy of the data submitted by its participating companies nor on how this public data will be used by other stakeholders.
Resources
Find Your Local Network | CoP Questionnaire | CoP Guidebook |
FAQs |
Access the CoP Academy page for on-demand sessions and templates |
CEO Statement of Continued Support |
Need Support?
Reach us at cop-support@unglobalcompact.org