The United Nations Global Compact Office announced on Tuesday that a total of 630 companies have been removed from its list of participants for failure to communicate progress this year.
The delisting of companies is part of ongoing efforts by the Global Compact Office to enhance the accountability and credibility of the initiative. The so-called Integrity Measures were introduced in 2004 following a comprehensive review of the governance of the UN Global Compact. In accordance with the Integrity Measures, companies are required to communicate annually to their stakeholders on progress made in implementing the ten principles of the UN Global Compact. Failure to meet the Communication on Progress (COP) deadline results in a company being listed as “non-communicating” on the Global Compact website.
If a company misses two consecutive deadlines, it is listed as “inactive” on the website. Companies are removed from the list of participants if they have been “inactive” for one year.
The delisting policy was first implemented in January 2008, when 394 companies were removed from the participant list. Since then, an additional 236 companies have been delisted – bringing to 630 the total number of companies delisted since the policy was implemented. In addition, 317 companies are currently listed as “inactive” on the website, of which 184 are at risk of being delisted in 2008.
Inactive companies at risk of being delisted can regain their status as “active” participants by submitting a Communication on Progress.
“While the delisting of companies is regrettable, it is essential that the UNGC initiative stays true to its accountability policy”, said Georg Kell, Executive Director. “This helps protect the integrity of the initiative as a whole, while also protecting the engagement of seriously committed companies”.
Despite the large number of companies removed from the participant list, the overall number of participants continues to rise. During the first half of 2008, 701 new companies have joined the UN Global Compact, increasing the total number of business participants to 4619, and the total number of all participants – companies plus non-business stakeholders — to 5982.
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