2022 Wrap-up: a year of growth and impact 

Last year was a key year for the UN Global Compact Network Netherlands.

It was the first year of our 3-year strategy ‘accelerating and upscaling impact’. We took the step to become an operationally independent organisation and evolved the hosting relation with VNO-NCW into a strategic partnership. In addition, we welcomed two new colleagues: Mónica Pascual, our Participate Engagement Manager, and Jamie Holton, Programme Manager for Business & Human Rights and Gender Equality.

2022, The year of growth

2022 was also a year of growth. The global network counts more than 17,000 businesses and 3,800 non-profit businesses committed to the Ten Principles and the SDGs, of which 289 companies and 38 non-profit participants are based in the Netherlands. Our local network completed 2022 with 58 new participants – a growth of 15% – and over 90% of participants continued to be a part of our network. Our online community also grew to over 3000 followers on LinkedIn.

Scaling the impact

In 2022 we facilitated many programmatic activities to help enable our members and set ambitious targets to scale the impact that the world needs to reach Agenda 2030:

We contributed to business networking and sharing knowledge by hosting and contributing to more than 20 events. This includes conferences, workshops, and roundtables hosted by us and in collaboration with partners, such as VNO-NCW, AmCham, KVNR, MKB Nederland, NBCC, SDG Netherlands, Socires, and other valuable stakeholders. Our events hosted over 1,000 participants from various sustainability areas and expertise levels – from young professionals to seasoned experts in this industry. Moreover, a number of Dutch participants were present at the global flagship events in-person and virtually, such as COP27,  the Leaders Summit, and Uniting Business LIVE.

What is next in 2023?

2023 has exciting things in store for our members! We just kicked off our Peer Learning Groups pilot, where a total of 22 companies will learn and exchange best practices in two groups: one on Climate Action and one on Gender Equality. We will start our first edition of the Business & Human Rights Accelerator in February. Together with the Social and Economic Council (SER), we will support a record-breaking 26 participating companies to improve their human rights due diligence processes.

In March 2023, we will launch the new platform for our Communication on Progress (make sure to join our live demonstration on February 9th) We also want to thank our participants: Akzo Nobel N.V., Athalos, Barentz International, Bugaboo International, Core Laboratories N.V., Delft Imaging Systems, Dietsmann Monte-Carlo SAM, Heineken N.V,  Imres B.V., and Trital Safety B.V., who were last year’s early adopters and helped to improve the platform.

Besides offering our members inspiring and impactful programmes and events, one of our goals in 2023 is to strengthen and grow our network. Our new ‘Referral Programme’ will reward our members for being ambitious and inspiring organisations to join the UN Global Compact.

We want to thank our participants for their commitment and collaboration in 2022. We look forward to working together on our joint mission to unite businesses for a better world in 2023.

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