New York, United States of America, Sept. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed four new members to the United Nations Global Compact Board.
Douglas Peterson, CEO, S&P Global; Bolaji Balogun, CEO, Chapel Hill Denham; Ani Dasgupta, CEO, World Resources Institute and Zhao Dong, Chairman, Xiamen Airlines have been appointed to serve for a three-year term, effective immediately.
“With these new Board members we will continue our work to guide the strategic direction of the UN Global Compact as we look to strengthen advocacy towards the global business community, and its leaders, to scale up their contributions to the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. I look forward to working with all our Board Members to elevate expectations of how businesses will embed all Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact into their operations. These Ten Principles — covering human rights, labour rights, the environment and anti-corruption — are intrinsic to the sustainability of business, people and the planet,” said Sanda Ojiambo, CEO & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact.
As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, who serves as Board Chair, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
Bolaji Balogun, CEO of Chapel Hill Denham said: “I am honoured to join this Board and to help in advancing the impact of businesses and private capital towards the wider incorporation of the Ten Principles and the rapid attainment of the SDGs, particularly across Africa. Goldman Sachs estimates that, by 2075, 34% of the world’s population will be African. Over the next decade, less than 1% of the capital managed by global institutional asset managers can change the course of Africa’s economic and social history, support the planet’s route to zero carbon and lift more than a billion people out of poverty. Accordingly, placing this on the Board’s Agenda is of great importance, as a prosperous Africa can feed and resource the world and help to reverse migration.”
Ani Dasgupta, President & CEO, World Resources Institute, said: “The transformation the world needs will be impossible to achieve without all businesses recognizing their role and doing their part — for the planet and for the billions of people living on it. But this is no easy task: we need new ways of doing business and creating capital that are good for people, nature and climate. The UN Global Compact offers a critical nexus to help raise ambition in the private sector and develop solutions that will bring them to the forefront of sustainable development.”
Zhao Dong, Chairman of Xiamen Airlines said: “Embracing sustainability is our duty as global citizens and responsible corporate leaders. As a new board member representing business, I'm proud to announce my unwavering commitment to uphold the Ten Principles and implement the UN 2030 Agenda. By integrating these values into our operations and interactions with stakeholders, we are confident in building a more equitable and sustainable world together."
“I’m delighted to join the talented UN Global Compact Board,” said S&P Global President and CEO Douglas L. Peterson. “The UN Global Compact has a unique opportunity to bring together organizations of all sizes and from all markets to drive sustainable development, and I look forward to working with my fellow Board members to help the UNGC achieve its ambitions.”
The UN Global Compact Board plays an important role in shaping the strategy and policy of the initiative, which acts as the United Nations flagship for responsible business action. Designed as a multi-stakeholder body, the Board provides ongoing strategic and policy advice for the initiative. Board members are considered champions who are willing and able to advance the mission of the UN Global Compact. They act in a personal, honorary and unpaid capacity.
For the current list of board members please refer to: www.unglobalcompact.org/about/governance/board/members.
Notes to Editors
About the United Nations Global Compact
As a special initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General, the UN Global Compact is a call to companies worldwide to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 18,000 companies and 3,800 non-business signatories based in over 101 countries, and 62 Local Networks, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world. For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org
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