DECLARATION ON RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICES ADOPTED

 

AS GLOBAL COMPACT LEADERS SUMMIT CLOSES IN GENEVA

Participants Pledge to Pursue More Sustainable, Inclusive Economy

GENEVA, 6 July -- Business leaders from developed and developing countries today pledged to comply with labour, human rights, environmental and anti-corruption standards as the two-day United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit closed in Geneva.

Top executives of such corporations as Coca-Cola, Petrobras, Fuji Xerox, China Ocean Shipping Group, Tata Steel, LM Ericsson and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria adopted the 21-point Geneva Declaration, which spells out concrete actions required of business, Governments and United Nations Global Compact participants.  “Globalization, if rooted in universal principles, has the power to improve our world fundamentally -- delivering economic and social benefits to people, communities and markets everywhere,” the document states.

Stressing the urgent need for action, it says poverty, income inequality, protectionism and the absence of decent work opportunities pose serious threats to world peace and markets, adding that business, as a key agent of globalization, can be an enormous force for good.  By committing themselves to corporate citizenship, companies can create and deliver value in the widest possible terms, and globalization can thus act as an accelerator for spreading universal principles, creating a values-oriented competition for a “race to the top”.

Summing up the Summit’s outcome as he formally closed the event, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said participants had made it abundantly clear that market leadership and sustainability leadership went hand in hand.  “This will help us build the supportive measures needed to create more sustainable markets.  And it will ultimately help improve the lives of many people around the world.”

The Summit had given the Global Compact and its partners an opportunity to introduce new tools and resources to help businesses integrate the 10 principles into their operations.  “In this way, we can demonstrate that voluntary does not mean unaccountable,” he noted, calling on business leaders to ensure full implementation of the Global Compact within their companies and through their suppliers and business partners.

Calling on civil society and labour leaders to remain vigilant and engaged, continuing to hold businesses accountable for their commitments, he urged Governments to support the Global Compact as a unique public-private partnership initiative, and the United Nations to integrate the Compact’s principles throughout the Organization.  “Together, through the Geneva Declaration, we have deepened our collective commitment to embedding universal values in economies and markets.  Let us each do our share to give practical meaning to the Declaration.”

Also today, a Ministerial Roundtable chaired by General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa discussed the role of Governments in promoting responsible corporate citizenship.

Six parallel sessions focused on human rights, labour, climate change and the environment, United Nations-business partnerships, corruption and responsible investment.  Speakers included Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization; Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme; Antonio Maria Costa Paul, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; Paul Polman, Chief Financial Officer of Nestlé; and Anthony Ling Chief Investment Officer of Goldman Sachs.

On the role of business in society, the Declaration notes that responsible business practices contribute to social and economic inclusion, helping to advance international cooperation, peace, development and human rights protection.  It invites businesses to establish partnerships and collaboration with Governments, civil society and labour, and states that, in countries afflicted by conflict or weak governance, investors and companies can play a more helpful role by engaging rather than divesting -- provided they act in line with the Global Compact principles.  The Declaration calls on investors to encourage companies to be transparent and pursue responsible business practices, while lenders should ensure that their loans are in line with international standards.  Investors should also urge Governments to act responsibly and uphold laws and international norms.

According to the Declaration, Governments should cultivate environments with effective economic institutions and supportive policies that promote stability, transparency and entrepreneurship.  It urges them to support an open international trading system, discourage protectionism and ratify and implement international instruments on labour standards and against corruption.

For their part, Global Compact participants should follow a principles-based approach in their strategies operations and culture, the Declaration states.  That involves encouraging their supply-chain and business partners to commit to the Compact’s 10 principles, and to carry out advocacy on climate change and development.

The Summit saw the launch of global and local initiatives.  They included the “Caring for Climate” platform, whereby chief executive officers (CEOs) of 150 companies from around the world -- including 30 from the Fortune Global 500 -- pledged to speed up action on climate change and called on Governments to agree as soon as possible on Kyoto follow-up measures to secure workable and inclusive climate market mechanisms.

CEOs of six corporations – the Coca-Cola Company, Levi Strauss & Co., Läckeby Water Group, Nestlé S.A., SABMiller and Suez -- urged their business peers everywhere to take immediate action to address the global water crisis.  They launched “The CEO Water Mandate”, a project designed to help companies to better manage water use in their operations and throughout their supply chains.

Also launched at the Summit, the “Principles for Responsible Investment” initiative seeks to disseminate the tenets of corporate citizenship among capital markets.  The “Principles for Responsible Management Education” initiative seeks to take the case for universal values and business into business schools around the world.

A total of 1,027 people registered for the Summit -- 638 from companies, 95 from Government entities, 76 from international organizations, 65 from international business organizations, 62 from international non-governmental organizations, 45 from academia, 28 from the Global Compact network, 13 from foundations and 5 from international labour organizations.

New York City hosted the first Global Compact Leaders Summit in 2004 and the next is planned for 2010.

Some 4,000 organizations from 116 countries -- among them trade unions, non-governmental entities and private sector firms -- have so far subscribed to the Global Compact, pledging to observe its 10 universal principles relating to human rights, labour rights, the environment and the struggle against corruption.

For information, please visit the website http://www.globalcompactsummit.org or contact Gavin Power, Global Compact Senior Advisor and Head of Public Affairs, tel.: + 41 79 629 4482; e-mail: powerg@un.org; or Matthias Stausberg, Global Compact Spokesperson, tel.: + 41 79 629 4431; e-mail: stausberg@un.org.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record