The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate social responsibility and sustainable development initiative and has over 10,000 participants and 100 Local Networks. The Local Networks (usually national in scope) play an important role in spreading the ten principles of the UN Global Compact and in actively involving the individual participants.
The Austrian Network
Every Austrian UN Global Compact member is automatically a member of the Worldwide Network and the Local Network. The Austrian Network has been coordinated by respACT – austrian business council for sustainable development, the official Focal Point of the initiative in the country, since 2006.
respACT strives to support the Austrian members of the UN Global Compact in the following ways:
- Providing a learning platform for the implementation of the ten principles (encouraging participating companies to create their own articles and to hold instructional events)
- Assisting companies with the implementation of the ten principles and the preparation of their annual Communication on Progress
- Organization of two general meetings per year exclusively for the Austrian members of the UN Global Compact
- Organization of various events (workshops, etc.) on the four areas of the UN Global Compact: human rights, labor standards, the environment and anti-corruption
- Focusing on one area per year and assisting the participants in their work on this topic (2012: Rio+20)
- Motivating Austrian companies to join the UN Global Compact
- Encouraging participating companies to enter into partnership projects
- Increasing awareness of the UN Global Compact in Austria
- Acting as a point of contact for government agencies that are also working towards the objectives of the Global Compact
- Collaboration with other Global Compact Networks and the Global Compact Office in New York in connection with the areas above
- Annual report about the activities and initiatives over the year
- Maintenance of a web platform to facilitate communication with other members, other Networks and New York
- Participation in the Annual Local Network Forum, the worldwide conference of all Networks (organized by the Global Compact Office)
