Webinar: Introduction to the SDG Compass
28 February 2017
The SDG Compass provides guidance for companies on how they can align their strategies, as well as measure and manage their contribution to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals. This webinar took participants through the various elements of the SDG Compass and highlighted business tools against the SDGs.
13 December 2016
1 December 2016
Webinar: UNGC UK Network – Communicating the UNGC
2 November 2016
Many UNGC signatories fail to maximise the benefits of UN Global Compact membership by communicating the initiative incorrectly or insufficiently. The UK Network has recently conducted an assessment on how UK-based signatories are communicating about the UN Global Compact. In this context, we are looking at the extent to which signatories are communicating their participation on their organisation’s website and through various social media channels. During the webinar we reported back the findings from our research to provide helpful guidance for UK members.
Event: The UK Bribery Act – Five years on
11 October 2016
The UN Global Compact Network UK organised an event that addressed Principle 10 of the UN Global Compact – anti-corruption. We looked at the Bribery Act and took stock of developments and trends over the last five years, since this ground-breaking legislation came into force.
The event presented a multi-stakeholder perspective, drawing on speakers from Anglo American, Transparency International UK, Hermes Equity Ownership Services and the Serious Fraud Office amongst others.
UK Women’s Empowerment Principles Consultation
14 September 2016
The UN Global Compact Network UK convened a consultation alongside co-organisers the UN Global Compact, UN Women and BSR to discuss a self-assessment tool that has been jointly developed to support implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).
As part of the tool’s development process, there have been a series of global consultations with companies to ensure the tool resonates and is useful for companies of all sizes, in all sectors, around the world. The objective of this consultation was to receive direct input and technical feedback from companies on the proposed indicators and questions to maximize the tool’s utility in advancing gender equality practices within the private sector.
Workshop: ‘Communicating Progress: The Essentials’
7 September 2016
The UN Global Compact Network UK repeated its half-day training workshop on how to draft a Communication on Progress (COP) that complies with the UN Global Compact’s reporting requirements and effectively communicates with your company’s stakeholders.
Presenters discussed COP requirements, materiality, links to GRI, data collection/metrics and effective presentation. This workshop is aimed at people producing their first COP and always receives very positive reviews from participants.
Dialogue: Refugees in Supply Chains
30 June 2016
The UK Network partnered with Sedex to bring a small group of companies together to discuss the issue of refugees and how this is impacting global supply chains.
Roundtable: Engaging the Food and Drink Sector in the UN Global Compact
16 June 2016
The UK Network chaired a roundtable with DNV GL and the Food and Drink Federation, with speakers from Marks and Spencers and The One Brand, to support food and drink companies in engaging with the UN Global Compact.
The roundtable considered the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and provided guidance and insight on how the food and drink sector can begin on this journey. Read the summary report here.
Workshop: ‘Communicating Progress: The Essentials’
14 June 2016
Hosted by UN Global Compact UK
The UN Global Compact Network UK repeated its half-day training workshop on how to draft a Communication on Progress (COP) that effectively communicates with company stakeholders and complies with the UN Global Compact’s reporting requirements.
This workshop was aimed at those struggling to produce their COP and always get very positive reviews from participants. Presenters discussed COP requirements, materiality, links to GRI, data collection/metrics and effective presentation.
Event: Doing business differently for children
6 June 2016
To mark the 5th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Global Compact Network UK and Unicef UK hosted a seminar that examined private sector progress towards embracing respect for human rights. Against the backdrop of the Sustainable Development Goals, the seminar discussed best practice in human rights due diligence and meeting the challenge of integrating child rights into business operations.
Event: How can sustainable corporations offer sustainable pensions?
27 April 2016
Hosted by AXA Investment Management
More and more companies have come to see sustainability as a fundamental part of the way they do business. However, most have not yet linked their sustainability strategies with the investment practices of their corporate pension schemes.
The UN Principles for Responsible Investment, Univest Company (Unilever Pension Funds), and the UN Global Compact Network UK coordinated this event where participants had the opportunity to hear from prominent practitioners about the journey to integrate corporate sustainability views into responsible investment strategies of employee pension funds.
Conference: UKSSD Sustainable Development Conference
25 April 2016
Hosted by Pearson
A new network to promote a more sustainable UK was formally launched yesterday at a conference gathering more than 100 leading businesses, charities, think tanks and academics. The UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (UKSSD) network, which already includes in its membership retail giant Kingfisher, New Economics Foundation and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, aims to catalyse domestic action to implement the newly agreed global goals for sustainable development.
The UK Network believes it is vitally important that action on SDGs are taken at the national level. The primary focus of the Network is supporting businesses to contribute to the SDGs, but companies also need to be part of a national and global effort to implement the SDGs.
Professor Sir David King, the government’s Special Representative for Climate Change and Chairman of Future Cities Catapult, gave a keynote speech at the conference, Towards a Sustainable UK, highlighting the universality of the SDGs and the need for developed countries like the UK to recognise their role in implementing them at home. He said:
“I get upset when people say we can afford to buy our way out of it. This is a massive challenge for developed countries. We need to invest in the future because otherwise there will be no future.”
Welcoming the formation of the group, Sir David also recognised the crucial role the UK has played in the SDG process so far: “We now need to step up to the plate and demonstrate our continued leadership in this area.”
The Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, were agreed by governments on 25 September 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. A key difference to the Millennium Development Goals, which they replace, is their universality – all governments, including those in developed countries, are required to implement them.
Other speakers at the conference included Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Colombia University (via skype); Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future; Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales; Kate Raworth of the University of Oxford and creator of ‘doughnut economics’; Barbara Crowther, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Fairtrade Foundation; Juliet Davenport OBE, CEO and Founder of Good Energy and Anna Easton, Sustainable Business Director at BT.
UKSSD’s steering group consists of Bioregional, Neighbourly, Stakeholder Forum, UN Global Compact Network UK and WWF. A full list of members is here. To find out how you can join the network, contact joe@ukssd.co.uk.
Webinar: Human Rights Due Diligence for Procurement Professionals
13 April 2016
This 45 minute webinar presented by twentyfifty and the UN Global Compact Network UK explored implementing respect for human rights through procurement practices and as a taster for forthcoming training on this subject.
In May, twentyfifty and the UNGC UK Network will be running a full-day workshop for procurement practitioners to explore how to use the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to meet evolving external expectations of supply chain management, including in relation to modern slavery.
In advance of that course, this free webinar provided participants with:
• Trends in the expectations
• Insight into what’s different about a human rights approach, and what that means for responsible procurement
• An overview of the forthcoming training course for supply chain practitioners
• The opportunity to ask questions
Webinar: Modern Slavery Act (2015)
5&6 April 2016
The UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) has led to the creation of a dedicated enforcement office, which is tasked, among other things, to engage key actors in certain high priority countries that are considered to be countries where a significant number of people are trafficked to the UK. With this new legislation, the UN Global Compact Network UK organised a webinar to explore the implications on companies in the UK and foreign companies that operate in or have businesses in the UK. You can watch the webinar here.
Webinar: ‘Communicating Engagement: The Essentials’
17 March 2016
The Global Compact Network UK hosted a short webinar on how to draft a Communication on Engagement (COE) that informed stakeholders of the specific activities that a non-business participant takes in support of the UN Global Compact. The webinar session covered different aspects of producing a COE including necessary requirements, case studies of best practice and measuring outcomes.
Event: Putting the Modern Slavery Act and the UN Guiding Principles into practice
8 March 2016
Hosted by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in partnership with Sancroft International and the UN Global Compact Network UK held an interactive panel discussion that focused on compliance with the Modern Slavery Act and the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights and the practical implications for businesses.
Drawing on real-world scenarios, the panel role played a company board dealing with supply chain issues in the context of the Modern Slavery Act and human rights issues. The panel looked at how to carry out effective supply chain due diligence, develop appropriate policies and deal with the difficulties of effecting real change in challenging operating contexts, including the role of General Counsels, in-house counsel and Heads of Compliance in managing risk.
Event: Ring the Bell for Gender Equality
8 March 2016
Hosted by the London Stock Exchange
To commemorate International Women’s Day, thirty-five stock exchanges around the world joined the UN Global Compact and the Local Networks from 3-11 March in a global ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ partnership to highlight the business case for achieving gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.
With support from the London Stock Exchange we rang its opening bell on 8 March raising awareness of the benefits of women’s economic empowerment and the opportunities for business to advance gender equality. The event highlighted how UN Global Compact local networks are supporting business to advance gender equality at the local level and showcased actions that companies and other key stakeholders are taking to invest in women and girls to enhance the bottom line.
Workshop: ‘Communicating Progress: The Essentials’
18 February 2016
Hosted by UN Global Compact UK
The UN Global Compact Network UK repeated its half-day training workshop on how to draft a Communication on Progress (COP) that effectively communicates with company stakeholders and complies with the UN Global Compact’s reporting requirements.
This workshop was aimed at those struggling to produce their COP and always get very positive reviews from participants. Presenters discussed COP requirements, materiality, links to GRI, data collection/metrics and effective presentation.
Meeting: UNGC-UK Network’s Modern Slavery Working Group
15 February 2016
Hosted by Marshalls plc
The first working group meeting was an opportunity for guest speaker Kevin Hyland, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to outline his expectations for how the private sector should be implementing the Modern Slavery Act (MSA). The second half of the meeting allowed working group members to present their thoughts on the MSA and to voice any implementation challenges they are currently facing or foresee in the near future.
Event: Advancing Responsible Business Practice in Land, Construction, and Real Estate use and investment
1 February 2016
Hosted by RICS
This event drew on the recently launched joint UN Global Compact / RICS ‘Advancing Responsible Business Practices in Land, Construction and Real Estate Use and Investment’, a practical resource for companies operating within the sector and real estate users. The event specifically focused on translating the specific issues and recommended actions for the real estate investment, use, operation and management phase of the sectoral life cycle.
