Role of Governments in Promoting Corporate Responsibility and Private Sector Engagement in Development

This Report fromt he United Nations Global Compact finds that the economic crisis that so many countries have been experiencing has put the spotlight on the need for more corporate responsibility and what governments can do to promote it. In addition, interest in innovative ways to help stretch government resources for development has risen. Responsible business, as the key driver of sustainable development, also has a lot to offer in the way of resources, expertise, distribution networks, personnel, and so forth.

Against this backdrop, this report focuses on two dimensions of the relationship between governments and business. The first explores trends in public policies promoting corporate responsibility (CR). The second explores opportunities for governments to engage the private sector in development. The approach advocated
by the report is that business efforts to promote development are or should be seen as core to being a responsible business.

A New Era of Sustainability: UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study 2010

This Report dated June 2010 states that CEOs around the world are starting to see the shape of a new era of sustainability coming into view. In the face of rising global competition, technological change and the most serious economic downturn in nearly a century, corporate commitment to the principles of sustainability remains strong throughout the world: 93 percent of CEOs see sustainability as important to their company’s future success.

This is one of the most significant headlines of our survey of 766 United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) member CEOs, extensive interviews with an additional 50 member CEOs and further interviews with more than 50 business and civil society leaders. The scale of this research is such that it represents the largest such study of CEOs ever conducted on the topic of sustainability.