The Global Compact: We can make a difference - CSR in Europe, Middle East and Africa -
CSR in Europe, Middle East and Africa » The Global Compact: We can make a difference
The Global Compact: We can make a difference
I had recently the chance to attend the Global Compact Leaders Summit in Geneva. The event was chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and high level representatives of business leaders, government ministers, and heads of civil society participated to engage in lively discussions. We exchanged experiences and knowledge about corporate citizenship and how to build sustainable markets of tomorrow. I would like to share my impressions from this marvelous event with you.

First, I want to give you a short overview of what the Global Compact stands for. It was established in 2000 and the goal is to encourage corporations to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies. More than 3,000 corporations have signed the Global Compact until now and have committed to its ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. HP was the first IT company which signed the Global Compact in 2002. As you know at HP Global Citizenship is one of our company objectives - we have a long history in this area and so it is not really a surprise that we showed leadership with the Global Compact right from the start.

Coming back to the summit: What I liked in the first place was the set up of the Summit which guaranteed constant interaction and discussion among the participants. Besides a general plenary we had roundtable sessions at small tables with 6-10 participants who covered basically all stakeholder groups. This set up ensured a lively discussion about the topics from diverse angles. In one of these discussions I met with representatives from some of our large customers, organisations that we are collaborating with and government officials. We had great discussions which showed again the importance of driving Public Private Partnerships to deliver against the goals of the Global Compact.

After the intensive two days discussions around Corporate Social Responsibility I can tell you that CSR is on the business agenda. Of course, we still have some work to do there, but it was great hearing from corporations of all sizes from different parts of the world about how they implement the Global Compact Principles. It is a great feeling to see that people join hands doing something. A number of recent studies by the UN, Goldman Sachs and McKinsey and company presented at the summit indicate consumers care and corporations increasingly incorporate the Global Compact principles in their daily business. From my impressions from the summit I can tell you that business cares about sustainability and CSR.

We are on the right track I believe, but we have still a long way to go. I hope you stay with us and support us on our CSR path.

Gabriele Zedlmayer, Vice President Corporate Marketing and Global Citizenship, HP EMEA
Posted 07-18-2007 9:49 AM by BlogArchive
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