Global Compact LEAD Anniversary: UN Secretary-General Urges Business Leaders to Advance Corporate Sustainability

(Source: Global Compact, Davos, 27 January 2012). Marking the first anniversary of Global Compact LEAD, a platform for advanced corporate sustainability performance, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon challenged private sector leaders to accelerate uptake of global corporate sustainability practices in the months leading up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

The high-level LEAD luncheon was chaired by the Secretary-General and co-hosted by the Swiss Government, the UN Global Compact and the Guile Foundation on the margins of the World Economic Forum. The 50 participants included Heads of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes; LEAD chief executives; and investor and business-school representatives from PRI and PRME.

The Secretary-General commended LEAD participants for their sustainability leadership during a time of global uncertainty, particularly in the areas of corporate governance, collaboration with investors and the UN, and in forging stronger ties with Global Compact Local Networks.

As part of the event, Global Compact LEAD launched a set of recommendations for Boards of Directors on their role in improving the sustainability performance of the corporations they oversee. Titled A New Agenda for the Board of Directors: Adoption and Oversight of Corporate Sustainability, the recommendations will be supplemented by a program for Board education and collaboration with investors in integrating sustainability into executive pay.

Read the full info in Global Compact website