United Nations Global Compact

What United Nations Global Compact does

The United Nations Global Compact is a voluntary corporate sustainability initiative launched on 26 July 2000 at UN Headquarters in New York by then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and operates as a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General rather than as an independently incorporated entity. It anchors the world's largest network of companies and non-business organizations committed to the Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, and to advancing the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of 2026 it reports more than 20,000 business participants and 3,800+ non-business entities (civil society, business associations, labour, academia) across 162-163 countries, supported by 60+ Local Networks organized into five regional structures (Africa, Asia & Oceania, Europe & North America, Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East).

The portfolio is delivered through a multi-module digital platform and program set rather than a single product. The core accountability mechanism is the annual Communication on Progress (CoP) for businesses and the biennial Communication on Engagement (CoE) for non-business participants; 91,000+ cumulative CoP disclosures have been submitted. Surrounding modules include the UN Global Compact Academy (e-learning), the CoP Data Visualization Tool, Think Labs (e.g., Human Rights, Business Integrity), Accelerators (e.g., SDG Ambition, Forward Faster, Living Wage Ambition), Peer Learning Groups, and Forward Faster. Specialized action platforms include the Business & Human Rights Navigator (co-developed with Verisk Maplecroft, March 2026), the Business-Led Blended Finance Playbook (CFO Coalition for the SDGs, June 2026), the Ocean Investment Protocol (with UNEP FI), the Climate Just Transition Action Initiative, the CMO Benchmark Study (with Kantar), the Women's Empowerment Principles, the CEO Water Mandate, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, and thematic principles frameworks (Children's Rights, Business for Rule of Law, PRME, PRI). No public API or SDK is documented; developer resources are limited to PDF guides, the Participant Dashboard, and online application forms.

The business model is funded through (i) annual participation fees from business and non-business participants (amounts are confidential and tiered by company size/type and are not publicly disclosed), and (ii) voluntary philanthropic contributions to the Foundation for the Global Compact, supplemented by UN system support. Go-to-market is community-led and self-serve via public online application forms, with field-level engagement through Country Networks and enterprise-level engagement via flagship events such as the Leaders Summit (New York, Sept 22-23, 2026), the Private Sector Forum (Doha, 2025), regional CEO roundtables, and the annual Ring the Bell for Gender Equality (12th edition March 8, 2026, 110+ stock exchanges). Leadership comprises António Guterres as Board Chair (in his UN Secretary-General capacity) and Sanda Ojiambo as Executive Director & CEO.

Name

United Nations Global Compact

Legal name

United Nations Global Compact

Website

https://unglobalcompact.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The United Nations Global Compact is the world's largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative, with 25,000+ business and non-business participants across 160+ countries, committed to the Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption and to advancing the UN SDGs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Sustainability Services

NAICS

Business Associations (81391), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA), Environmental, Climate & Sustainability Standards & Reporting Cooperation (BPADANAI)

Keywords

• Corporate sustainability initiative
• Sustainability reporting framework
• UN Global Compact membership
• Responsible business principles
• Sustainable development goals

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual participation fees from business and non-business participants: Companies and non-business entities pay an annual financial commitment to participate in the UN Global Compact; participation includes annual Communication on Progress (CoP) for businesses or biennial Communication on Engagement (CoE) for non-businesses. The Foundation for the Global Compact also accepts philanthropic contributions.
2. Foundation contributions: The Foundation for the Global Compact accepts voluntary contributions to support the organization's mission of transforming the world through responsible business.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The UN Global Compact is a voluntary corporate sustainability initiative that invites companies and non-business entities to commit to its Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, and to take action to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Participants pay annual fees, submit annual Communication on Progress (CoP) or biennial Communication on Engagement (CoE) disclosures, and gain access to digital learning (Academy), working groups (Think Labs), cohort programs (Accelerators), peer learning, the digital Library, the Business & Human Rights Navigator, the CoP Data Visualization Tool, and a global network of 60+ Country Networks and flagship convenings.

Product overview

The UN Global Compact is a single overarching corporate sustainability initiative delivered as a multi-module digital platform and program portfolio rather than a unified SaaS product. At the core sits the company participation program (over 20,000 business participants across 162 countries), structured around three pillars: the Ten Principles (human rights, labour, environment, anti-corruption), the SDGs, and accountability via the Communication on Progress (CoP) — a yearly disclosure for businesses — and the Communication on Engagement (CoE) for non-business participants. Surrounding the core are specialized modules: the UN Global Compact Academy (digital e-learning), the CoP Data Visualization Tool (analytics), Think Labs (thought leadership working groups), Accelerators (cohort-based programs including SDG Ambition), Peer Learning Groups (communities of practice), and the Forward Faster initiative (commitments ahead of 2030). Action platforms include the Business & Human Rights Navigator (co-developed with Verisk Maplecroft), the Business-Led Blended Finance Playbook (CFO Coalition for the SDGs), and the UN Global Compact–Kantar CMO Benchmark Study. Sub-initiatives include the CEO Water Mandate, Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, the Ocean Investment Protocol, the Climate Just Transition Action Initiative, the CFO Coalition for the SDGs, and principles frameworks such as the Children's Rights and Business Principles, Women's Empowerment Principles, Business for Rule of Law Framework, PRME, and PRI. The portfolio is delivered operationally through a global network of more than 60 Country Networks (including newly launched Country Network Rwanda and Country Network Angola) and events such as the annual Ring the Bell for Gender Equality campaign and the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Forward Faster initiative: UN Global Compact initiative guiding companies on where they can make the biggest, fastest SDG impact before 2030.
• UN Global Compact Academy
• Communication on Progress (CoP)
• Communication on Engagement (CoE)
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
• CFO Coalition for the SDGs
• Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative

Products and services

• UN Global Compact Corporate Participation Initiative The world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, with over 20,000 business participants across 162 countries committing to the Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, and taking action to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Communication on Progress (CoP)

Named customers23 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core ocean finance initiative partner, supporting partner for ocean finance work, flagship research partner, country-level host partner, core technical content partner, supporting technical partner, un-system partner, core standards partner, flagship multi-stakeholder convener, flagship gender equality partner, flagship capital markets partner, flagship exchange-industry partner, core social development convener, core un-system partner, core regional convening partner, flagship climate initiative partner, core climate disclosure partner, core research partner, core environmental partner and core academic partner.

• UNEP FI (UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative)core ocean finance initiative partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Co-developed the Ocean Investment Protocol. Convened closed-door London roundtable (June 23, 2026) with WWF's Greening Financial Regulation Initiative to expand the Protocol's scope to central banks, financial regulators, and supervisors. Targets the $5.5 trillion sustainable ocean economy opportunity by 2050.
• WWF (Greening Financial Regulation Initiative)supporting partner for ocean finance workStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Collaborated with UN Global Compact and UNEP FI to convene a June 23, 2026 London roundtable on expanding the Ocean Investment Protocol to central banks, financial regulators and supervisors.
• Kantarflagship research partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026Jointly launched the UN Global Compact–Kantar CMO Benchmark Study (May 2026), drawing on 1,700+ senior marketing and sustainability leaders. The benchmark measures marketing organizations' progress in embedding sustainability into growth strategy, brand building, innovation, and partnerships. Flagship collaboration generating annual benchmarking insights.
• Government of Rwanda (Ministry of Trade and Industry)country-level host partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2026Inaugurated the UN Global Compact Country Network Rwanda on May 15, 2026, on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum. Rwanda's Minister of Trade and Industry highlighted that the private sector employs ~90% of the country's workforce. The 12th African network under the initiative.
• Government of Angolacountry-level host partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026Inaugurated the UN Global Compact Country Network Angola (May 11, 2026), prioritizing onboarding companies, governance structures, and Lusophone cross-border partnerships (Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique).
• Verisk Maplecroftcore technical content partnerTechnology or Integration · 11 March 2026Co-developed the Business & Human Rights Navigator (March 2026), an online resource covering 10 human rights issues with risk factor analysis and case studies. Brings risk intelligence and country-level data on human rights issues to UN Global Compact participants.
• Germany's Helpdesk on Business & Human Rightssupporting technical partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Co-developed the Business & Human Rights Navigator with Verisk Maplecroft to help companies address human rights impacts in operations and supply chains.
• UN Human Rights (Office of the High Commissioner)un-system partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Provided input for the Business & Human Rights Navigator aligned with UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
• International Labour Organization (ILO)core standards partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Provides input for the Business & Human Rights Navigator and co-develops content (e.g., Nine Business Practices for Improving Safety and Health Through Supply Chains, ILO Helpdesk for Business on International Labour Standards).
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)flagship multi-stakeholder convenerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2026Co-organizer of the 12th annual Ring the Bell for Gender Equality campaign (March 8, 2026) alongside UN Women, UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, and World Federation of Exchanges. Mobilized 110+ stock exchanges to ring bells and promote the Women's Empowerment Principles framework.
• UN Womenflagship gender equality partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2026Co-organizer of the 12th annual Ring the Bell for Gender Equality campaign; partner in advancing the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) framework and standardization of gender-disaggregated data in corporate disclosures.
• UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiativeflagship capital markets partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2026Co-organizer of Ring the Bell for Gender Equality; collaborates on capital-market alignment with sustainability disclosure.
• World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)flagship exchange-industry partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2026Co-organizer of Ring the Bell for Gender Equality representing the global exchange industry.
• International Organisation of Employers (IOE)core social development convenerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025Co-organized the Private Sector Forum in Doha, Qatar (November 2025) with UN DESA, convening 150+ leaders to discuss business-government collaboration on inclusive workplaces, reskilling, sustainable finance, and responsible business conduct.
• UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)core un-system partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025Co-organized the Private Sector Forum in Doha, Qatar (November 2025) to advance business-government collaboration on inclusive and sustainable social development.
• African Unioncore regional convening partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025Co-convened the 4th African Business and Human Rights Forum in Lusaka, Zambia (Oct 7-9, 2025) with 600+ participants to promote responsible business conduct and human rights frameworks across Africa.
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)flagship climate initiative partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between UN Global Compact, CDP, World Resources Institute (WRI), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Provides companies with science-based target-setting guidance, validation, and progress tracking aligned with the Paris Agreement 1.5°C goal.
• CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project)core climate disclosure partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) alongside UN Global Compact, WRI, and WWF; supports corporate climate disclosure and target validation.
• World Resources Institute (WRI)core research partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) providing scientific methodology and resources.
• World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)core environmental partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and co-convener (via Greening Financial Regulation Initiative) of the June 2026 Ocean Investment Protocol roundtable.
• Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME)core academic partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN-backed academic initiative co-hosted with UN Global Compact; co-developed the Human Rights Open Letter and integrates responsible management education into the broader UN Global Compact strategy (Strategy 2026-2030 references PRME partnership).

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• IFRS Foundation / ISSB: International sustainability disclosure standards body that has consolidated TCFD and VRF. ISSB's IFRS S1/S2 standards are increasingly mandated by national regulators (e.g., UK, Japan, Brazil), positioning it as a regulatory-backed incumbent that competes with UNGC's voluntary CoP.
• Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD): Financial Stability Board-created framework for climate-related corporate disclosure, now consolidated under the IFRS Foundation/ISSB. TCFD's recommendations compete with UNGC's broader environmental pillar for attention from CFOs and listed-company boards.
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC): World business organization with a long history of sustainability, anti-corruption, and rule-of-law initiatives. ICC is a comparable UN-adjacent business convener whose principles and tools (e.g., anti-corruption, trade sustainability) overlap with UNGC's Ten Principles.
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO): Global standards body whose ISO 14000 family (environmental management), ISO 26000 (social responsibility) and emerging ESG-related standards overlap with UNGC's Ten Principles and CoP framework, and which many corporates adopt alongside or instead of UNGC participation.

Direct peers

• CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project): Global disclosure system for environmental impact (climate, water, forests). CDP is a partner organization of SBTi alongside UNGC, and competes/overlaps with UNGC's CoP on environmental reporting, particularly for climate disclosure and science-based target validation.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): Independent international standards organization for sustainability reporting. GRI is the closest direct peer: both set global voluntary reporting standards used by corporates, and GRI is widely referenced alongside UNGC's Ten Principles and CoP framework as the default baseline for corporate sustainability disclosure.
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): CEO-led business association of ~200 multinationals working on sustainability. WBCSD is a comparable peer in mission and membership profile, focused on member-driven sustainability strategy, tools, and advocacy; often referenced alongside UNGC in ESG ecosystem discussions.

Emerging players

• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI): UN-supported network of investors committing to incorporate ESG into investment decisions. PRI overlaps with UNGC on the institutional/financial side of the sustainability ecosystem and shares the UN-backed brand and Secretariat-style governance.
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi): Partnership between CDP, UNGC, WRI and WWF that enables companies to set science-based GHG reduction targets. Although UNGC is a co-founder of SBTi, SBTi operates as a distinct entity and competes for mind-share in target-setting, especially after recent governance and standards-update controversies.
• B Lab / B Corp: Non-profit certifying for-profit companies meeting social and environmental performance standards. B Corp competes for SME attention in the 'responsible business' space where UNGC's outreach also focuses, though UNGC targets primarily larger enterprises.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/globalcompact
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvGxh25-RUvCcZJXHj32Zzg
• Facebookfacebook.com/unglobalcompact
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/united-nations-global-compact
• Instagraminstagram.com/globalcompact

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about United Nations Global Compact