A new way to communicate your progress is coming

A new way to communicate your progress is coming

A new way to communicate your progress is coming in 2023

When you join the UN Global Compact, you are taking an important, public step to transform our world through principled business. Participation makes a statement about your values, and it benefits both society and your company’s long-term success. The Communication on Progress (CoP) is a visible expression of a company’s commitment to sustainability which is mandatory to comply with annually.

This year, we launched our new reporting system for our CoP. With this new format, we will transition from a narrative format to a standardised questionnaire supported by a digital platform that will facilitate the reporting of the UN Global Compact’s 10 principles to our participating companies.

This 2022 ten Dutch participants participated in the ‘early adopter program’ testing the new reporting system. Thanks to their support we have improved the platform and will be available to all the business participants next March 2023. What do you need to know for next year’s CoP?

New unified deadline

We will also introduce a universal submission period that runs from 1 March through 30 June each year starting in 2023. The companies that don’t report before June 30th will appear on our website as Non-Communicating and will be able to submit their CoP until the 31st of December. The companies that will fail to report will be delisted and automatically expelled from the Global Compact from the 1st of January 2024.

Why is the new CoP better?

The new Communication on Progress will result in improved data that drives sustainability progress and enables participating companies like yours to:

  • Build credibility and brand value by showing their commitment to the Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Measure and demonstrate progress to stakeholders on the Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals, in a consistent and harmonized way.
  • Receive insight, learn and continuously improve performance by identifying gaps, accessing guidance, and setting sustainability goals.
  • Compare progress against peers with access to one of the largest sources of free, public, and comparable corporate sustainability data.

Your communication process ready in 2 steps

The new reporting system will have 2 mandatory steps:

  • Step 1: Complete the online questionnaire
  • Step 2: E-sign the CEO’s statement of continued support

Do you want to know more? Take a look at the new CoP policy, the questionnaire, and the questionnaire guidebook where we explain the structure of the questionnaire as well as a deep dive into each question and how it related to reporting standards.

Do you have questions about the new CoP? Join our upcoming Q&A webinar on December 13th at 2 PM.

Register by clicking here.

Roundtable: Mapping businesses’ influence on children’s rights

Roundtable: Mapping businesses’ influence on children’s rights

Roundtable: Mapping Businesses’ Influence On Children’s Rights

“Government, take the lead!”

On Monday 28-11, a group of stakeholders from various sectors, including businesses, government, academia, youth leaders, international organizations, and others committed to protecting children’s rights gathered by the invitation of Save the Children, UN Global Compact and UNICEF.

10th Anniversary of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP’s)

The occasion was the 10th anniversary of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBPs). These have been jointly developed by Save the Children, UN Global Compact and UNICEF, in consultation with children, businesses, investors, governments, civil society, trade unions, national human rights organisations and the United Nations. The organisations also recently released the joint report: Charting the Course: Embedding Children’s Rights in Responsible Business Conduct and in extension a Dutch paper. This report outlines key achievements and themes that need to be addressed to accelerate the impact on children through business actions and policy decisions.

What Do Dutch Companies Need To Do?

The invitees, including representatives of FNV, PostNL, Bugaboo International, ABN AMRO, Tony’s Chocolonely, het Kinderrechtencollectief, de Bond van Adverteerders, Raccoon Games, VNO-NCW, Fonds Bestrijding Kinderarbeid (FBK), and het Kennisnet were given three themes on children’s rights: international value chains, the digital environment, and the platform economy. What followed was a lively conversation in which concerns were expressed about, among other things, the – often complex – approach to child labour in developing countries. Furthermore, the working conditions of young employees of delivery services were discussed, as was the need for education for children, parents, and teachers within schools and at home around digital literacy.

“By having a conversation with all kinds of stakeholders together, you increase the awareness that affects children in many different ways. It is not only about child labour, but also about poverty, destruction of the living environment, parental stress and dangerous marketing. We all have to work together to make things better for children, everyone agreed on that.” Linda van Beek (Director UN Global Compact Network Netherlands).

Conclusion

The main conclusion that emerged was that the government should take a leading role in the:

  • Protecting children’s rights;
  • Hold companies accountable for their responsibility (and take measures if necessary);
  • Making consumers more aware of the ‘true price’ of products and services;
  • Raising prices of certain products and services to ensure fair production and trade.

Companies need to:

  • Respect and protect children’s rights in all parts of the chain;
  • Make known what is needed by the government;
  • Dare to be a forerunner when it comes to fair and sustainable business;
  • Incorporate the rights of children in the design of products and services, and also involve children and young people directly in the designs to prevent possible harm.

And for all parties:

  • Make it known that children’s rights are still violated on a daily basis;
  • Keep discussing it and…

Keep working together!

Companies still pay too little attention to children’s rights

Companies still pay too little attention to children’s rights

Companies still pay too little attention to children’s rights

2022 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles. These are jointly developed with Save the Children, UNICEF en UN Global Compact. In a new report, we take a look back. 

The Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBPs) are the first comprehensive set of principles to guide companies on actions they can take in the workplace, the marketplace and society to respect and support children’s rights. 

The new joint report “Charting the Course: Embedding children’s rights in responsible business conduct” describes what has already been done and what needs to be done further to realize these principles.

How are we doing globally now?

A decade after the development of the CRBPs, the report analyzes how children’s rights can be better addressed in the context of corporate responsibility. CRBPs report on the past ten years says: “Shows promise, but could do better”

The report concludes that international corporate responsibility will not work for children unless their rights are taken into account from the outset (in the risk analysis and action planning) so that solutions and risk management match the situation of children. Unfortunately, companies still have a lot of negative impact on children’s rights. Think of child labour, but also environmental pollution and exposure to toxic substances that are bad for their health and development. In addition, children as ‘consumers’ can also experience bad influence through marketing and bad privacy rules.

What should Dutch companies do?

In our Dutch report we zoom in on the situation in the Netherlands. Three themes are discussed that play a role in Dutch business and have an impact on children: children’s rights in the international chain (focus on the cocoa sector), the digital online world with children as users and customers and the platform economy.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it provides an overview of important children’s rights issues on which companies (can) influence and shows that Dutch companies can also be confronted with issues surrounding children’s rights in their business operations. The purpose of these examples is a plea to the government and the business community to put children at the center of policy and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) processes.

READ THE DUTCH REPORT HERE

Transforming conventional business models through stakeholder inclusion

Transforming conventional business models through stakeholder inclusion

Transforming conventional business models through stakeholder inclusion

Workshop on inclusion of the stakeholders

On 11 October 2022, Global Compact Network Netherlands  hosted a workshop on stakeholder inclusion for young professionals from a number of leading Dutch companies at a visit to DOW Chemical in Terneuzen, organized by our partner AmCham.

Constantly changing business environments and emerging uncertainties worldwide are causing organizations to rethink who they work with and how. Both academia and policy makers emphasize the need to shift from a shareholder corporate governance model to an inclusive stakeholder model.

Take home messages

During this workshop, Global Compact Network Netherlands introduced an innovative and globally applicable stakeholder inclusion model that covers complex variables and indicates how to increase companies’ contribution to the SDGs. Through a simulation game, led by our Participant Engagement Manager Mónica Pascual, young professionals experienced what it is like for different stakeholders to balance their own interests with the overarching goal of being more sustainable., moving from an opportunistic attitude to stewardship.

 

The young professionals shared several key takeaways from the workshop:

  • To move forward and create a more sustainable future, we need to be transparent and practice honest communication with our stakeholders.
  • Stakeholder inclusion around sustainability is more likely to be successful if we first identify a common goal.
  • All relevant industry stakeholders must be willing to share knowledge and dedicate resources to sustainability, otherwise we won’t be able to scale our impact.
  • By changing their demands and behavior, clients and consumers can help transform conventional business models to become more sustainable.

How companies can acknowledge a lack of sustainability

After the workshop, we invited Iris van Wanrooij, who is a 2022 UN Global Compact SDG Pioneer and works as the Program Manager Corporate Social Responsibility at EMMA Safety Footwear, to explain how her company has navigated stakeholder inclusion in practice. She highlighted that companies must first acknowledge that a lack of sustainability is problematic, and choose to address it. In the case of EMMA Safety Footwear, the company decided that the amount of waste they produced and their CO2 emissions were unacceptable. They soon realized that they couldn’t tackle this alone and partnered with their competitor to co-found the Circular Footwear Alliance to make their businesses more circular. Her main advice to businesses and the young professionals who work for them is to look at your area of work and assess where things can improve. Most importantly, she encouraged young professionals to involve their colleagues and partners so they can start taking steps in the right direction together, even if the steps are small.

Summary & Call to action

Young professional leaders need to gain the skill and knowledge today in order to be the leaders that the world will need tomorrow. So take action today, start being involved in your company at any level.

Is your company ready to end violence against women? Join the Orange the World campaign

Is your company ready to end violence against women? Join the Orange the World campaign

Is your company ready to end violence against women? Join the Orange the World campaign.

Key facts about violence against the women

Violence against women is a global issue. Worldwide, 137 women die every day at the hands of violence by a family member, partner, or ex, and 1 in 3 women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Unfortunately, the situation is not much better in the Netherlands, where almost 1 in 4 women experiences some type of sexual abuse or violence.

How it affects businesses

here is no question that violence against women affects businesses. For one, it occurs during business hours. 61% of employed women in the Netherlands have experienced sexual intimidation and 30% have experienced sexually transgressive behavior at work. Furthermore, violence that happens outside of office hours affects who we conduct business with. Since 1 in 5 women experience intimate partner violence, many of our employees, colleagues, clients and consumers are survivors or currently surviving a violent situation. Such violence inflicts enormous social and economic costs: women may suffer isolation, inability to work, loss of wages, lack of participation in regular activities, and limited ability to care for themselves and their children.

Orange the World campaign

Ending violence against women is therefore not just the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do for businesses. Thankfully, UN Women’s Orange the World campaign is just around the corner. This global yearly campaign offers tools to companies, local governments, and other civil society organizations to help end violence against women. It will run from November 25 until December 10, starting on the International Day of Violence Against Women and ending on International Human Rights Day. Participating in the campaign is a great way to show your company’s solidarity and condemn violence against women. Orange the World’s Business Toolkitoutlines 14 actions that companies in the Netherlands can take to create awareness, offer support to employees and customers, and commit to existing initiatives to promote gender equality, for instance by becoming a signatory of the Women’s Empowerment Principles. The campaign also welcomes donations. The campaign also welcomes donations.

How your company can participate

Are you excited for your company to participate in Orange the World, but still unsure where to start? Join UN Women Netherlands’ special information session for companies on Thursday, October 20 from 9.30-10.30 am. You can register for the webinar via this link. Global Compact Netherlands is grateful to participate in this webinar to further emphasize the need for businesses to participate in the campaign.

Program Management Trainee

Position Title: Program Management Trainee

Location: The Hague, the Netherlands

 

The United Nations Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, and has an unparalleled global reach and the exclusive opportunity to activate a diverse network of businesses to advance sustainable development in collaboration with investors, Government, UN and civil society stakeholders.

In the 2022-2024 strategy of Global Compact Network Netherlands, the organization has identified peer-to-peer learning spaces as an essential programmatic delivery method to achieve impact, and effectively support the Dutch business community.

As a trainee, you will fulfil the role of Project Manager, Peer Learning for Business, in which you will be responsible for supporting the organization and facilitation of the first peer-to-peer learning spaces in the areas of Gender Equality and Climate Action. Furthermore, you’ll support the program managers to make our impact indicators more concrete and measurable.

Candidates should have exceptional communication and collaboration skills, be passionate about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and preferentially have experience in or a strong connection to facilitating workshops/sessions, and project management

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Coordinate and support the organization and facilitation of the first peer-to-peer learning spaces in the areas of Gender Equality and Climate Action.
  • Support and represent the organization during in-person and virtual meetings with stakeholders, including, the design and delivery of presentations, reports and other materials.
  • Involvement with preparations for the strategic planning of more peer-to-peer learning spaces in 2023-2024, as well as setting targets and measuring our impact indicators.
  • Other duties and projects, as applicable

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Bachelor or higher in a relevant fieldFollows a relevant study
  • Excellent communicator in Dutch and English, both verbally and writing
  • Practical experience with facilitating sessions/workshop, and project management
  • Flexible and service-oriented team player with can-do and eager-to-learn attitude

DURATION

November 2022 -April 2023 (3 days per week). Option to write MSc thesis on topic internship.

COMPENSATION

€500 per month

SUPPORT

During your traineeship you will work closely together with, and you will receive professional support from Marco Swan (Sr. Program Manager) and Jamie Holton (Program Manager, Gender Equality)

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please include the below documents in your email submission to Linda van Beek, Executive Director Global Compact Network Netherlands, beek@gcnetherlands.nl before 14 October 2022:

  • Cover letter (max 1 A4)
  • Resume

If selected for the interview round, you’ll be invited for an in-person meeting at the Malietoren (Bezuidenhoutseweg 12, The Hague) sometime between 17-25 October.

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