Corporate sustainability starts with a company’s value system and a principles-based approach to doing business.
By incorporating the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact into strategies, policies and procedures, and establishing a culture of integrity, companies are not only upholding their basic responsibilities to people and planet, but also setting the stage for long-term success.
The GCNC assists Canadian businesses to embrace, support, and enact a set of core principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment, and anti-corruption.
The Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact
Human Rights
Principle 1
Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
Principle 2
Make sure that they are not complicit in human right abuses.
Labour
Principle 3
Business should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
Principle 4
The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour.
Principle 5
The effective abolition of child labour.
Principle 6
The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7
Business should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.
Principle 8
Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
Principle 9
Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10
Business should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.