The COP describes any action(s) that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to have the credibility of the information in its COP externally assessed, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Information is reviewed by multiple stakeholders (e.g., representatives of groups prioritized in stakeholder analysis)

Information is reviewed by a panel of peers (e.g., members of the same industry, competitors, benchmarked leaders, others organized via Global Compact Local Network)

Information is assured by independent assurors (e.g., accounting or consulting firm) using their own proprietary methodology

Information is assured by independent assurors (e.g., accounting or consulting firm) against recognized assurance standard (e.g., ISAE3000, AA1000AS, other national or industry-specific standard)

Applies the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines or the GRI Standards

Is 'in accordance - core' with GRI Standards

Is 'in accordance - comprehensive' with GRI Standards

Applies elements of the International Integrated Reporting Framework

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Analyze each segment of the value chain carefully, both upstream and downstream, when mapping risks, opportunities and impacts

Communicate policies and expectations to suppliers and other relevant business partners

Implement monitoring and assurance mechanisms (e.g. audits/screenings) for compliance within the company’s sphere of influence

Undertake awareness-raising, training and other types of capacity building with suppliers and other business partners

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Place responsibility for execution of sustainability strategy in relevant corporate functions (procurement, government affairs, human resources, legal, etc) ensuring that no function is conflicting with company sustainability commitments and objectives

Align strategies, goals and incentive structures of all business units and subsidiaries with corporate sustainability strategy

Design corporate sustainability strategy to leverage synergies between and among issue areas and to deal adequately with trade-offs

Ensure that different corporate functions coordinate closely to maximize performance and avoid unintended negative impacts

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Commitment to comply with all applicable laws and respect internationally recognized human rights, wherever the company operates (e.g., the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Guiding Principles on Human Rights) (BRE1 + ARE1)

Statement of policy stipulating human rights expectations of personnel, business partners and other parties directly linked to operations, products or services (BRE 1)

Statement of policy publicly available and communicated internally and externally to all personnel, business partners and other relevant parties (BRE 1 + BRE 5 + ARE 1 + ARE 5)

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

System to monitor the effectiveness of human rights policies and implementation with quantitative and qualitative metrics, including in the supply chain (BRE3 + ARE3)

Monitoring draws from internal and external feedback, including affected stakeholders

Leadership review of monitoring and improvement results

Grievance mechanisms that are legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent, rights-compatible, a source of continuous learning, and based on engagement and dialogue (BRE4 + ARE4)

Outcomes of integration of the human rights principles

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

On-going due diligence process that includes an assessment of actual and potential human rights impacts (BRE 2 + BRE 3 + ARE 2 + ARE 3)

Internal awareness-raising and training on human rights for management and employees

Operational-level grievance mechanisms for those potentially impacted by the company’s activities (BRE 4 + ARE 4)

Allocation of responsibilities and accountability for addressing human rights impacts

Internal decision-making, budget and oversight for effective responses to human rights impacts

Processes to provide for or cooperate in the remediation of adverse human rights impacts that the company has caused or contributed to (BRE 3+ BRE 4 + ARE3 + ARE 4)

Process and programs in place to support human rights through: core business; strategic philanthropic/social investment; public policy engagement/advocacy; partnerships and/or other forms of collective action (BRE 6 + ARE 6)

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Reference to principles of relevant international labour standards (ILO Conventions) and other normative international instruments in company policies

Written company policy to obey national labour law, respect principles of relevant international labour standards in worldwide company operations and engage in dialogue with representative organization of the workers (international, sectoral, national).

Inclusion of reference to the principles contained in the relevant international labour standards in contracts with suppliers and other relevant business partners

Specific commitments and Human Resources policies, in line with national development priorities or decent work priorities in the country of operation

Structural engagement with a global union, possibly via a Global Framework Agreement

Participation and leadership by employers’ organizations (international and national) to jointly address challenges related to labour standards in the countries of operation, possibly in a tripartite approach (business – trade union – government).

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

System to track and measure performance based on standardized performance metrics

Audits or other steps to monitor and improve the working conditions of companies in the supply chain, in line with principles of international labour standards

Process to positively engage with the suppliers to address the challenges (i.e., partnership approach instead of corrective approach) through schemes to improve workplace practices

Outcomes of integration of the Labour principles

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Risk and impact assessments in the area of labour

Dialogue mechanism with trade unions to regularly discuss and review company progress in addressing labour standards

Internal awareness-raising and training on the labour principles for management and employees

Active engagement with suppliers to address labour-related challenges

Grievance mechanisms, communication channels and other procedures (e.g., whistleblower mechanisms) available for workers to report concerns, make suggestions or seek advice, designed and operated in line with the representative organization of workers

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Reference to relevant international conventions and other international instruments (e.g. Rio Declaration on Environment and Development)

Reflection on the relevance of environmental stewardship for the company

Written company policy on environmental stewardship

Inclusion of minimum environmental standards in contracts with suppliers and other relevant business partners

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Leadership review of monitoring and improvement results

Process to deal with incidents

Audits or other steps to monitor and improve the environmental performance of companies in the supply chain

Outcomes of integration of the environmental principles

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Environmental risk and impact assessments

Assessments of lifecycle impact of products, ensuring environmentally sound management policies

Allocation of responsibilities and accountability within the organisation

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Publicly stated formal policy of zero-tolerance of corruption (D1)

Statement of support for international and regional legal frameworks, such as the UN Convention against Corruption (D2)

Detailed policies for high-risk areas of corruption (D4)

Policy on anti-corruption regarding business partners (D5)

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Leadership review of monitoring and improvement results (D12)

Public legal cases regarding corruption (D14)

Use of independent external assurance of anti-corruption programmes (D15)

Outcomes of integration of the anti-corruption principle

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Support by the organization’s leadership for anti-corruption (B4)

Carrying out risk assessment of potential areas of corruption (D3)

Human Resources procedures supporting the anti-corruption commitment or policy, including communication to and training for all employees (B5 + D8)

Management responsibility and accountability for implementation of the anti-corruption commitment or policy (D7)

Communications (whistleblowing) channels and follow-up mechanisms for reporting concerns or seeking advice (D9)

Internal accounting and auditing procedures related to anticorruption (D10)

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Join industry peers, UN entities and/or other stakeholders in initiatives contributing to solving common challenges and dilemmas at the global and/or local levels with an emphasis on initiatives extending the company’s positive impact on its value chain

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Align core business strategy with one or more relevant UN goals/issues

Adopt and modify operating procedures to maximize contribution to UN goals/issues

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Coordinate efforts with other organizations and initiatives to amplify—and not negate or unnecessarily duplicate—the efforts of other contributors

Take responsibility for the intentional and unintentional effects of funding and have due regard for local customs, traditions, religions, and priorities of pertinent individuals and groups

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Commit company leaders to participate in key summits, conferences, and other important public policy interactions in relation to one or more UN goals/issues

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

CEO leads executive management team in development of corporate sustainability strategy, defining goals and overseeing implementation

CEO promotes initiatives to enhance sustainability of the company’s sector and leads development of industry standards

Make sustainability criteria and UN Global Compact principles part of goals and incentive schemes for CEO and executive management team

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Define sustainability strategies, goals and policies in consultation with key stakeholders

Consult stakeholders in dealing with implementation dilemmas and challenges and invite them to take active part in reviewing performance

Establish channels to engage with employees and other stakeholders to hear their ideas and address their concerns

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to fulfill this criterion, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Board establishes, where permissible, a committee or assigns an individual board member with responsibility for corporate sustainability.

Board (or committee), where permissible, approves formal reporting on corporate sustainability (Communication on Progress)

Other established or emerging best practices

Designing community stakeholder engagements that are free of gender discrimination/stereotyping and sensitive to gender issues

Gender impact assessments or consideration of gender-related impacts as part of its social and/or human rights impact assessments

Ensuring female beneficiaries of community programmes

Community initiatives specifically targeted at the empowerment of women and girls

Strategies to ensure that community investment projects and programmes (including economic, social and environmental) positively impact women and girls

Strategies to ensure that community investment projects and programmes (including economic, social and environmental) include the full participation of women and girls

No practice for this criterion has been reported

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to address this area, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Achieving and maintaining gender equality in senior management and board positions

Achieving and maintaining gender equality in middle management positions

Equal pay for work of equal value

Flexible work options

Access to child and dependent care

Support for pregnant women and those returning from maternity leave

Recruitment and retention, including training and development, of female employees

Gender-specific health and safety issues

Gender-based violence and harassment

Education and training opportunities for women workers

Creating and maintaining workplace awareness of gender equality and, inclusion and non-discrimination for all workers

Mentoring and sponsorship opportunities for women workers

No practice for this criterion has been reported

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to address this area, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Achieving and maintaining gender equality in senior management and board positions

Achieving and maintaining gender equality in middle management positions

Equal pay for work of equal value

Flexible work options

Access to child and dependent care

Support for pregnant women and those returning from maternity leave

Recruitment and retention, including training and development, of female employees

Gender-specific health and safety issues

Gender-based violence and harassment

Education and training opportunities for women workers

Creating and maintaining workplace awareness of gender equality and, inclusion and non-discrimination for all workers

Mentoring and sponsorship opportunities for women workers

No practice for this criterion has been reported

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to address this area, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff

Supplier diversity programme

Composition of supplier base by sex

Support for women business owners and women entrepreneurs

Supplier monitoring and engagement on women's empowerment and gender equality including promotion of the Women's Empowerment Principles to suppliers

Gender-sensitive marketing

Gender-sensitive product and service development

No practice for this criterion has been reported

Other established or emerging best practices

Any relevant policies, procedures, and activities that the company plans to undertake by its next COP to address this area, including goals, timelines, metrics, and responsible staff