ABSTRACT
The Global Compact is evolving, the participants are learning and there are many beneficial spin-offs from a process that has been set in motion by this attempt to directly marry market activity and international development. As the number and
scope of global corporate citizenship initiatives increases, it is important to take time out to consider how these new social partnerships between the private, public and civil sectors are evolving. That is the aim of this chapter, which presents the findings from the first phase of the Global Compact. These findings have been presented at a number of public forums, and the ensuing energetic discussion led to a refinement of the data and lengthy debate on a number of distinct topics. It may not have been the intention of the architects of the Global Compact to focus attention on some of these topics but the learning process is possible only if all parties stand back from their entrenched positions. Here are the main topics that have arisen in open discussion:
● The varied nature of company engagement, represented by quality, selfanalysis, sector and topic
● The nature of learning on the part of companies and the UN
● The reaction of the UN to the findings of this research
● The learning lessons drawn from the data presented by the first wave of companies in their submissions
It is crucial that the information presented here is taken as a starting point for discussion of a central dilemma elucidated by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, in Davos, Switzerland, presented on 31 January 1999 (see Chapter 1 of this book). It is perhaps the leitmotif for the 21st century. He called for a compact ‘on the global scale, to underpin the new global economy’ (Chapter 1, page 29), asking business ‘to embrace, support and enact a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards and environmental practices (page 29). The first phase of the Global Compact was an attempt to engage with business on these principles based on a new approach to change, based on shared learning.
