ABSTRACT
When United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressed a plenary session of the World Economic Forum on 31 January 1999 (see Chapter 1), it was neither planned nor imagined that the speech-titled ‘The Global Compact’—would mark the beginning of a global corporate citizenship initiative. The idea started to take root rapidly, however, and on 26 July 2000 the Global Compact was launched at UN Headquarters as an operational initiative. At this event, 18 months after the delivery of the Davos speech, about 50 executives from multinational companies, global trade unions and civil-society organisations convened to collectively announce their support and participation. The Global Compact has grown organically over the four years since into a comprehensive, worldwide network of stakeholders. This network comprises several international labour groups, dozens of civil -society organisations and more than 1,000 companies from over 50 countries-all contributing to dialogue, learning and projects that give practical meaning to universal principles on human rights, labour conditions and the environment.
