The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is a UN initiative that encourages companies worldwide to align strategies and operations with ten universally accepted principles covering human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, and to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Established in 2000, it operates as a voluntary, non-binding platform that convenes business, civil society, and other stakeholders through a network of local chapters to promote responsible business practices and transparent reporting.
UNGC provides guidance, training, and peer-learning programs on topics central to industrial value chains, including climate action, water stewardship, decent work, and ethical governance. Participants disclose progress annually through the Communication on Progress framework. The initiative collaborates with partners across the sustainability ecosystem—such as through the Science Based Targets initiative (as a founding partner) and the CEO Water Mandate—to help companies set credible targets and improve performance. UNGC is not a regulator, certifier, or rating agency; rather, it offers principles-based frameworks and convening power that organizations, including those in the chemical sector, use to strengthen ESG management across operations and supply chains.
