The United Nations Global Compact is a voluntary pact among companies, organisations and the UN under the auspices of which the participating enterprises and organisations undertake to show commitment to human rights, fair labour conditions, environmental protection and anti-corruption measures. The compact sets out ten principles to which the participating companies pledge and which are established and continually refined through initiatives, projects, guidelines and education. The Global Compact pursues two complementary objectives: firstly the ten principles should be integrated into corporate practices on a global scale, and secondly they promote actions that support the UN's overall goals (e.g. Sustainable Development Goals).
Commerzbank joined the UN Global Compact in 2006. Since then, as part of our sustainability reporting, we have issued annual reports on the progress we have made in implementing and integrating the objectives of the Compact in the processes and structures of the bank. Commerzbank fully supports the objectives and principles of the UN Global Compact by initiating a wide range of initiatives and projects. We are continuously developing our activities so that we can continue to meet our obligations under the UN Global Compact in future.
The ten principles:
Human rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
Principle 2: Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labour standards
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
Principle 4: Businesses should support the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour.
Principle 5: Businesses should support the effective abolition of child labour.
Principle 6: Businesses should support the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environmental protection
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.
Principle 8: Businesses should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
Principle 9: Businesses should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
