With over 25,000 participants, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. It is a call-to-action for companies to align themselves with a wider ESG strategy and an opportunity for different businesses to collaborate, be accountable and encourage environmentally and socially beneficial changes.
The UNGC is seen as the highest standard of best practice in ESG alignment, and so this means that any company that joins it adds credibility to their data collection and reporting. With their various learning tools and knowledge hub, a brand can build credibility and work towards an ESG strategy that is well-informed and tangible.
The UNGC strategy centres around the 10 Principles that cover the topics of Human Rights, Labour, Environment, and Anti-Corruption. This aids participants in incorporating these elements into their policies, procedures, and strategies to ‘encourage a culture of integrity’. The 10 Principles are used as the building blocks to shape a strong and clear ESG strategy.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a list of 17 goals covering the following topics:
Within each goal, there are multiple targets that include specific actions and timeframes for which that target must be achieved. A company does not have to align itself with every goal and target, but instead must prioritise the ones that are most relevant to them and their strategy. This way, real progress can be made because focus and resources are not as thinly spread. It also then acknowledges that not every business impacts every goal or target, and being able to concentrate time and resources to a handful of specific targets means that progress is more likely to be made.
Read the latest SDG Progress Report.
The UNGC provide a framework for companies to work from in order to prioritise and effectively report on their ESG strategy. It supports accurate data disclosures regardless of the size of the company, where it is based, and which principles and goals it aligns most closely with. It also adds credibility to your reporting due to its well-respected reputation, with 81% of companies attributing progress on their sustainability work to their participation in the UNGC. The platform also offers many tools and resources to support your sustainability journey and reporting, meaning you can gain access to many great resources to help you on your sustainability journey.
By joining the UNGC, you will be joining thousands of your peers and competitors in working towards this extremely important sustainability agenda. Collaboration and collective action are the only way we are going to achieve these goals in the timeframes set. It is important to acknowledge that governments and businesses need to be held accountable for their impact on the planet, and organisations such as the UNGC allow for this transparency and responsibility.
We joined the UNGC in February 2024. The 10 Principles can clearly be seen within the way we operate our business and conduct ourselves as a workforce. We found that our ESG strategy and company values most closely align with the following SDGs:
Education, wellbeing, and decent work are important aspects of our wider company strategy and can be seen in our core values of integrity and expertise. We value a supportive and productive workforce who are exceptionally knowledgeable in our packaging offerings and solutions. We acknowledge the part we need to play in working towards the SDGs, and we do this by aligning with the ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’ goal. Our packaging solutions identify ways our customers can reduce their packaging usage, and how they can make their materials and resources go further. We align with SDGs 13, 14, and 15 through our product offerings and promoting plastic-free, or FSC-certified products. This helps our customers make informed decisions around how their packaging can impact the environment and choose more environmentally friendly alternatives. We engage with suppliers as well as monitor our own Greenhouse Gas emissions to better understand and reduce our impact on global warming and climate change. This collaboration with our supply chain, partners, and various membership organisations means we all work towards common goals.
Our customers and other stakeholders value our clear and intentional alignment with the UNGC and SDGs. It gives credibility to our claims and the work we have already done as well as shows transparent focus on where we are heading next. It gives confidence to our customers and helps demonstrate our values of integrity and expertise.
Read more about our commitments, or get in touch to see how we can help you progress towards the SDGs that matter most to you.
