Update on UN Global Compact Participation: 2017 Midyear Status

(New York, 12 July 2017) – The United Nations Global Compact today reports on its midyear participation status.

The rate of companies joining the UN Global Compact has decreased ten per cent with 725 companies joining in the first half of 2017, compared to 809 companies joining during the same period in 2016. This brings the total number of business participants to 9,531 as of 30 June 2017. The largest companies in each region by employee number to join during this period were:

• Africa: Airtel Congo RDC SA
• Americas: Colgate-Palmolive Company
• Asia & Oceania: Tech Mahindra
• Europe: NXP Semiconductor
• MENA: The American University of Beirut - Medical Center (AUBMC)

An increased quality of reporting is noted in the higher number of Communications on Progress (COPs) submitted at the GC Active and GC Advanced levels this year compared to the same period in 2016. GC Active level COPs meet the minimum reporting requirements, whereas the Advanced level also covers a company’s implementation of advanced criteria and best practices. In the first half of 2016 a total of 2,981 COPs were submitted at these levels. In the same period in 2017 the number increased to 3,400.

A total of 437 companies have been expelled in the first half of 2017 for failure to communicate progress. 78 per cent of these companies are Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which have historically shown a lower rate of COP submission compared to larger companies. The UN Global Compact continues to offer customized and direct support to participants, including SMEs, through its Relationship Management and Reporting teams, as well as through its Local Networks in over 70 countries.

The Communication on Engagement (COE) policy, introduced in October 2013, requires UN Global Compact non-business participants to disclose specific activities in support of the initiative to stakeholders every two years, as well as results. Non-business participants that fail to submit a COE every two years will also face expulsion from the initiative as of 31 October 2015. Since the implementation of the COE, 2,558 COEs have been submitted and 2,343 non-business participants have been expelled for failure to communicate on engagement.

The UN Global Compact urges the international community to utilize its members’ COP information and encourages more companies and other organizations to make a serious and enduring commitment to responsible business practices.

• Learn more about the Communication on Progress
• Review all companies expelled for not communicating progress
• Explore UN Global Compact participants by country, sector and type
• Contact the UN Global Compact for a  list of the new and expelled companies.