UN Global Compact 20th-Anniversary Progress Report: Uniting Business in the Decade of Action (2020)

Detailed Description

Provides an assessment of how companies participating in the UN Global Compact are adopting the Ten Principles and taking action to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on data collected as part of the UN Global Compact annual survey, the report takes stock of how businesses are performing on critical sustainability topics. For the first time, the 2020 report reviews data from a sectoral perspective. It also dives into the current state of progress for specific industry contributions to the SDGs. Broadly, the report finds that companies need to take more ambitious actions, at scale, to meet the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and create the world we want. This special 20th-anniversary edition of the UN Global Compact Progress Report was developed in collaboration with DNV GL.

METHODOLOGY

The “Uniting Business in the Decade of Action” report is based on a research frame developed by DNV GL’s sustainability experts on behalf of the UN Global Compact. The underlying premise of the research is that systemic change is needed if we are to deliver on the SDGs in this Decade of Action. By looking at business contribution in sectors that correlate to systems, we can obtain new and more businessrelevant insights into the current status, the action required and associated barriers and enablers. Seven systems were examined to answer three fundamental objectives:

1. Looking back on 20 years of embedding the Ten Principles
2. Progress on the SDGs and changes needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda
3. Looking ahead to the Decade of Action and what companies need to do to propel the Decade of Action.

DNV GL gathered evidence from the UN Global Compact Annual Implementation Survey 2020 (including new ‘systems’ questions) supported by 40 interviews with UN Global Compact participants from around the world, the majority at the Chief Sustainability Officer level. This was combined with a trend analysis of surveys since 2010, an in-depth look at selected participants’ self-assessment through their Communication on Progress (CoP), additional data from the UN Global Compact and wider desktop research. The research was conducted between February and May 2020. The UN Global Compact provided content covering its own history, descriptions of key initiatives over the last years and stories from their Local Networks in chapter 3. The call to action in chapter 7 was also provided by the UN Global Compact. Participants in the UN Global Compact provided case studies. For more details, please see the Methodology section on page 134.