Goal 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focuses on revitalising global partnerships for sustainable development. Two key stakeholders already working on issues relating to the SDGs are PRME and the United Nations Global Compact. Both groups operate as a network of networks, with local offices focusing on rooting both the Principles of PRME and of the Global Compact within different national, regional, cultural and linguistic contexts. Together they can have a significant influence at the local level.
In fact, business schools and companies are increasingly working together to further sustainability goals within different national contexts as well as facilitating outreach learning, policy dialogue and collective action. Partnerships between Global Compact Local Networks and PRME signatories have been, and increasingly will be, an important tool in moving the sustainable development agenda forward.
For the next couple of weeks we will feature a very small selection of some of the many ways that both works can work together.
Business Schools Working with Global Compact Offices Locally
Business schools are increasingly connecting with their Global Compact Local Network offices in a range of ways. The first is in assisting the Global Compact locally to be as effective as possible. For example, schools are involved in the following ways:
- Strengthening the operations of the Global Compact Local Network: A cross-disciplinary team of students from Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley (USA) engaged with the UN Global Compact Local Network in the US to refine the organization’s value proposition and expand its membership and partnership engagement levels. They also proposed a new funding mechanism, which was taken into consideration.
- Assisting in preparing Communication on Progress Reports (Global Compact’s SIPs): The American University of Cairo provides a full day training session for students to qualify to assist the Global Compact’s participants in generating their Communication on Progress reports. In Canada, students at Ivey Business School worked with UN Global Compact LEAD companies to document their sustainability goals and progress in real time.
- Maintaining an advisory role: ISAE/FGV plays an active role in the UN Global Compact Local Network in Brazil. The President of ISAE, Norman Arruda Filho, is also the Vice President of the Global Compact Brazilian Steering Committee. They coordinate the Education Group of the Global Compact Brazilian Committee and held a series of lectures to promote PRME and the Global Compact. ISAE was also involved in reviewing and redesigning the organizational structure and governance model of the UN Global Compact Local Network in Brazil, including researching Brazilian members’ perceptions of UN Global Compact Principles and how to improve the performance of the local committee. The American University of Cairo also sits on the UN Global Compact Egypt Board.
- Hosting: Several PRME signatories host local UN Global Compact offices, such as the Kyiv-Mohya Business School in Ukraine. Others, such as IEDC-Bled School of Management in Slovenia, initiated the establishment of their country’s local chapter.
- Actively participating: Business schools are encouraged to engage with their Global Compact Local Networks. For example, Sabanci University in Turkey is a member of the Global Compact Local Network Turkey Task Force on Women’s Empowerment Principles, which ties in well with their extensive programmes in this area. Universidad EAFIT, a leading member of the Global Compact Local Network Colombia, participated in a national working group on the UN Global Compact’s Anti Corruption Principle in collaboration with some of the largest companies in the country.
- Becoming a signatory to the UN Global Compact: Several business schools are also signatories to the Global Compact, including Griffith Business School in Australia, Alba Graduate Business School in Greece and the University of Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law in Sweden.
PRiMEtime 