Russian companies remain aloof from the Global Compact

On October 7 the Global Compact Office announced that over a thousand companies have been delisted since 2008 for not communicating on progress. Business participants are excluded from the initiative if they fail to submit communications on progress (COP) to the Global Compact Office. A company must submit a COP to the public Global Compact database within one year of joining the Global Compact. Consecutive failures to submit a COP leads to the delisting of the company.

Some local networks have lost many members. In the Philippines there are now only eight active business participants. A couple of years ago, the Compact had more than 150 participants in the Philippines. In 2006, UNDP received funds from the Swiss government to finance a project to develop the Philippine Local Network. After the conclusion of this project, participation in the local network dwindled.

The local network in the largest country in the world is another example. The Global Compact was launched in Russia in 2002. In April 2008 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended the (re)launch of the Global Compact Network in Russia. In spite of Mr. Ban's charm offensive, Russian companies could not work up enthusiasm for the initiative. Currently there are only 13 active business participants in the whole of the Russian Federation.

Many local networks in Africa seem to experience the same problem. There are only two active business participants in Côte d'Ivoire. In 2007, the local network in this country had 28 members. Only 14 companies in Nigeria, where the Compact was launched in 2006, participate actively in the initiative. The total number of participating companies in the most populous country of Africa is 23, which means that about 40 percent of the business participants in Nigeria do not report on progress.

Although many companies have been excluded from the Compact, the number of participants is still growing. Every month around a hundred new businesses join the initiative. The total of active business participants currently stands at about 4.200.

While delisted companies are removed entirely from the Global Compact's public database, the initiative allows companies to return to active status. To officially rejoin the Global Compact companies must provide a new commitment from the chief executive officer addressed to the UN Secretary-General and submit a COP to the public database.

© Photo by anita bp.