Following are key concepts related to the Global Compact’s ten principles and suggestions for practical steps to implement these principles into a company’s strategy, operations and culture. More comprehensive information can be found on the Global Compact website, particularly on the "The Ten Principles", "Issues" and "Tools and Publications" sections.


HUMAN RIGHTS (Principles 1-2)

Human rights are commonly understood as those rights that are inherent to the human being (e.g., the right to education, freedom of speech). The concept of human rights acknowledges that every single human being is entitled to enjoy his or her human rights without distinction as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

The responsibility for human rights does not rest with governments or nation states alone. Human rights issues are important both for individuals and the organizations that they create. As part of their commitment to the Global Compact, businesses have a responsibility to uphold human rights both in the workplace and more broadly within their sphere of influence. A growing moral imperative to behave responsibly is linked to the recognition that a good human rights record can support improved business performance.

Principle 2: Business should ensure that their own operations are not complicit in human rights abuses.

There are several types of complicity. Direct complicity occurs when a company actively assists in human rights violations committed by others. Beneficial complicity suggests that a company benefits directly from human rights abuses committed by others. Silent complicity describes a situation where a company may not be assisting or encouraging human rights violations, nor benefiting from the actions of those that commit abuses, but is viewed as staying silent in the face of human rights abuses.

Some suggested steps:

• Develop your company’s business case for human rights (“Why are human rights relevant for your company?”).
• Develop and encourage a transparent and rights-aware approach to your business.
• Make use of existing human rights resources and guidance materials.
• Find out what your company is already doing on human rights, for instance under health and safety, labour relations and human resources.
• Establish procedures for identifying and managing risks and opportunities related to human rights, and for addressing human rights impacts.
• Put in place management systems for human rights policy implementation, monitoring and reporting across the company.
• Learn from sector-wide business initiatives on human rights and consider a collective action approach with industry peers where appropriate.
• Provide mechanisms to protect employees who report potential human rights concerns within the company or with business partners.

LABOUR (Principles 3-6)

The Global Compact's labour principles are derived from the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.

Freedom of association implies a respect for the right of employers and workers to freely and voluntarily establish and join organizations of their own choice. It further implies that these organizations have the right to carry out their activities in full freedom and without interference.

Collective bargaining refers to the process or activity leading up to the conclusion of a collective agreement. Collective bargaining is a voluntary process used to determine terms and conditions of work and the regulation of relations between employers, workers and their organizations.

Some suggested steps:

• Ensure that company policies and procedures do not discriminate against individuals because of their views on trade unions or for their trade union activities.
• Provide information needed for meaningful bargaining.
• In countries where the government does not permit respect for human rights (including rights at work) or does not provide a proper legal and institutional framework for industrial relations and collective bargaining, preserve the confidentiality of trade unions and leaders.

Principle 4: Businesses should uphold the elimination of forced or compulsory labour.

Forced labour is a fundamental violation of human rights. Most victims receive little or no earnings, and work for long hours in extremely poor conditions of health and safety. Forced or compulsory labour is any work or service (whether or not wages or compensation are offered) that is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty, and for which that person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily. By right, labour should be freely given and employees should be free to leave. While companies operating legally do not normally employ such practices, forced labour can become associated with enterprises through their use of contractors and suppliers.

Some suggested steps:

• Have a clear policy not to use, be complicit in, or benefit from forced labour. 
• Ensure that all company officials have a full understanding of what forced labour is. 
• If relying on labour providers for recruitment, ensure that no forced labour is supplied. 
• Write employment contracts in language easily understood by workers, indicating the scope of and procedures for leaving the job.

Principle 5: Businesses should uphold the effective abolition of child labour.

Child labour is work that is damaging to a child’s physical, social, mental, psychological and spiritual development because it is work performed at too early an age. Child labour deprives children of their childhood and their dignity. They are deprived of an education and may be separated from their families. Children who do not complete their basic education are likely to remain illiterate and never acquire the skills needed to get a job and contribute to the development of a modern economy. Consequently, child labour results in under-skilled, unqualified workers and jeopardizes future improvements of skills in the workforce.

The ILO’s Minimum Age Convention calls for the fixing of a minimum working age (usually about 15) in line with the end of compulsory schooling. It gives flexibility options (for instance in developing countries) for work done in the context of training, or for light work that does not affect schooling.

Some suggested steps:

• Be aware of countries, regions, sectors, economic activities where there is a greater likelihood of child labour.
• Adhere to minimum age provisions of national labour laws and regulations.
• Develop and implement mechanisms to detect child labour. 
• Support and help design community education, vocational training, and counseling programmes for working children. 
• In communities, encourage and assist in launching supplementary health and nutrition programmes for children removed from dangerous work, and provide medical care.

Principle 6: Businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Discrimination in employment means treating people differently or less favourably because of characteristics that are not related to their merit or the inherent requirements of the job (e.g., race, age, disability, gender). Discrimination can arise in a variety of work-related activities, including access to employment, particular occupations, and training and vocational guidance.

Some suggested steps:

• Implement policies and procedures which make qualifications, skill and experience the basis for the recruitment, placement, training and advancement of staff.
• Establish programs to promote access to skills development training. 
• Provide staff training on disability awareness and reasonably adjust the physical environment. 

ENVIRONMENT (Principles 7-9)

Principle 7: Businesses are asked to support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.

The precautionary approach is defined as follows: “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.” Precaution involves the systematic application of risk assessment (hazard identification, hazard characterization, appraisal of exposure and risk characterization), risk management and risk communication. When there is reasonable suspicion of harm and decision-makers need to apply precaution, they have to consider the degree of uncertainty that appears from scientific evaluation.

Principle 8: Businesses are asked to undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.

Companies have the responsibility to ensure their activities do not cause harm to the environment of their neighbours. Society also expects businesses to be good neighbours. Business gains its legitimacy through meeting the needs of society, and increasingly society is expressing a clear need for more environmentally sustainable practices.

Principle 9: Businesses are asked to encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Environmentally sound technologies are those that protect the environment, are less polluting, use resources in a more sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products, and handle residual wastes in a more acceptable manner than the technologies for which they were substituted. Environmentally friendly technologies include a variety of cleaner production processes and pollution prevention technologies, as well as end-of-pipe and monitoring technologies. They also refer to total systems including know-how, procedures, goods and services and equipment, as well as organizational and managerial procedures.

Some suggested steps:

• Provide information to consumers and stakeholders about potential environmental risks of products and services.
• Join industry-wide efforts to share knowledge and deal with issues, in particular production processes and products around which a high level of uncertainty, potential harm and sensitivity exist.
• Establish sustainable production and consumption programmes with clear performance objectives to take the organization beyond compliance in the long-term.
• Establish a corporate policy on the use of environmentally sound technologies. 
• Measure, track and communicate progress in incorporating sustainability principles into business practices. 
• Share and disseminate information illustrating the benefits of using clean technologies.
• Use life-cycle assessments (LCA) in the development of new technologies and products.

ANTI-CORRUPTION (Principle 10)

Principle 10: Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.

Corruption -- the abuse of entrusted power for private gain -- can take many forms that vary in degree from the minor use of influence to institutionalized bribery. Corruption poses risk to a company's reputation and increases exposure to legal, financial and other risks.

The OECD definition of extortion: "The solicitation of bribes is the act of asking or enticing another to commit bribery. It becomes extortion when this demand is accompanied by threats that endanger the personal integrity or the life of the private actors involved."

Transparency International defines bribery as “an offer or receipt of any gift, loan, fee, reward or other advantage to or from any person as an inducement to do something which is dishonest, illegal or a breach of trust, in the conduct of the enterprise's business."

Some suggested steps:

• Introduce and implement effective zero tolerance policies and programmes, and adopt a company ethics code.
• Train employees to ensure that an ethical culture is developed within the company and integrated in management systems.
• Adopt internal reporting procedures.
• Be accountable and transparent in all company transactions.
• Cooperate with authorities investigating and prosecuting cases of corruption.
• Engage in collective business action with industry peers.

Check with your human resources or other relevant departments to see if any of the following exist:

• An employee training programme on how to identify bribery and corruption.
• A code of business conduct and ethics that includes a requirement for employees to review and sign off on the code regularly.
• An ethics “hotline” for reporting suspected violations (as well as use statistics).
• An investigations procedure that addresses violations, including information on investigation results.