The milestone comes at a time of accelerating alignment by businesses around the world of their core, long-term interests with the success of societies, according to Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact.
According to the Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2013, released ahead of the Summit, 52 percent of corporate boards participating in the UN Global Compact address corporate sustainability, and 65 percent of CEOs have developed policies and strategies for a more sustainable operation.
Also announced by the UN Secretary-General at the conference – attended by more than 1,000 top executives and representatives from Government, civil society and labour – was the launch of three new issue platforms for business support of education, agriculture, and peace. They complement existing UN Global Compact platforms on children’s rights, women’s empowerment, climate and energy, water, and anti-corruption.
On 19 September, the opening day of the Summit, 30 special events brought leaders together on a wide range of issues.
A new Business Partnership Hub that matches businesses with potential partners in order to facilitate collective action in support of UN goals was launched.
At a 20 September UN Private Sector Forum 2013:Africa, chaired by the Secretary-General, businesses announced 25 material commitments to progress on the continent.
Speaking to the press ahead of the Forum, Elias Masilela, CEO of the Public Investment Corporation (South Africa), said that the Global Compact’s new architecture for business engagement is highly suited to the challenges of African business as it moves forward. “At this juncture, the path of the Global Compact needs to be celebrated and embraced,” he said.
At the closing plenary of the Leaders Summit, UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told executives: “You have made it clear in the last two days that business is ready to take a major role in advancing UN priorities.
“Now we have a road map,” he said. “The Secretary-General presented a new business engagement architecture. This can be our guide for scaling up and making transformative impact.”
