Explains the background and the contents of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and how they relate to the broader human rights system and other frameworks. It aims to help both practitioners and newcomers to navigate the Guiding Principles and improve their understanding of the Guiding Principles by placing these in context.

This publication is an introduction to SDG Ambition — an new initiative of the UN Global Compact. By raising ambition, deepening integration, and embracing new technologies we believe business can become a leading actor in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With the launch of SDG Ambition, the UN Global Compact is proud to share its new SDG Implementation Framework, which aims to guide companies to deepen integration of the SDGs and Ten Principles into business strategy, operations, and stakeholder engagement.

The United Nations Global Compact has recently developed a transformational 2020 Global Strategy that provides a lens through which the initiative and its stakeholders can view the current and future opportunity for the initiative to create game-changing impact through private sector contributions to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Under the umbrella of the 2020 Strategy, this document presents an annualized strategic plan articulating the key priorities and associated financial resource allocations that will enable the UN Global Compact to achieve its 2020 ambitions.

Highlights the central role businesses play in determining whether or not global temperature increases can be limited to 1.5°C by 2050, and identifies key issues that businesses should consider when assessing climate change and human rights - such as climate refugees, human trafficking, litigation hotspots, investor demands, and cost of inaction. 

Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, more and more companies are disclosing how they are impacting them and contributing to their achievement. The examples featured below help businesses and interested stakeholders identify select current corporate SDG reporting practices. The examples focus on one or a few elements of the broader corporate reporting process and steps outlined in the ‘Practical Guide Integrating the SDGs into Corporate Reporting.’ Please consult the Practical Guide for best practices on SDG reporting.

Examines the aggregate results of companies using the Women's Empowerment Principles Gender Gap Analysis Tool with an aim to provide insights on global corporate performance on gender equality and and showcase the efforts of partners and other stakeholders to drive women's empowerment around the world. The report concludes that while corporate support for gender equality is strong, businesses have yet to introduce measurable targets and robust accountability mechanisms to ensure progress. 

Businesses are facing increasing demands from their stakeholders to be more transparent about their practices and exposure to risks related to their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Pushing against the trend for more transparency are the costs of data collection, requirements for assurance, exposure to legal jeopardy, and legitimate perceptions of reputational risk. This report navigates this ‘transparency dilemma’, to build a better understanding of the risk/return profile of transparency and thereby help companies to balance competing interests.

The Decent Work Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement will enable companies, procurement professionals and suppliers to develop a common understanding on how to advance decent work through purchasing decisions and scaling up efforts to improve lives around the globe. With a focus on trust and transparency, the Decent Work Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement is publicly available to all and contains real-life examples of buyers and suppliers jointly addressing decent work concerns in global supply chains.

Outlines the opportunities for the ESG bond market to secure capital for ocean-related projects and companies that have made, or are planning to make, a significant contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Ocean Principles of the UN Global Compact serve as a baseline for issuers to ensure they meet the minimum expectations of a holistic approach to sustainability aligned with the SDGs.

Offers a roadmap for how ocean-related industries and policymakers can jointly secure a healthy and productive ocean by 2030. The report describes five critical areas of success. For each area, the report suggests two ambitions and puts forward several recommendations addressing critical dimensions of public and private actions to accelerate ocean-related solutions.

Defines a vision for the seaweed industry: an upscaled, responsible and restorative seaweed industry, playing a globally significant role in food security, climate change mitigation, and support to the marine ecosystem, as well as contributing to job-creation and poverty alleviation. Explores the challenges and barriers for responsible development of the industry.

Outlines the opportunities for the private sector to support the objectives of the Decade of Ocean Science (2021-2030). Developed in collaboration with the UN Global Compact and IOC-UNESCO to raise the awareness of the Decade among private sector partners and draw the private sector’s attention to the key role of ocean science in building the blue economy in a sustainable manner.