Abstract
The United Nations Global Compact is a new initiative intended to increase and to diffuse the benefits of global economic development through voluntary corporate policies and actions. Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, addressing the Davos World Economic Forum in January 1999, challenged business leaders to join a “global compact of shared values and principles” and to provide globalization a human face. Annan argued that shared values provide a stable environment for a world market and that without these explicit values business could expect backlashes from protectionism, populism, fanaticism and terrorism.’ Following the 1999 Davos meeting, Annan and a group of business leaders formulated nine principles, which have come to be known as the UN Global Compact. After lengthy consultation, a tenth principle against corruption was added in June 2004.
Published in: Oliver F. Williams, „The UN Global Compact: The Challenge and the Promise“ in Business Ethics Quarterly, Volume 14, Number 4 (October 2004), pp. 755–774. © 2004. Business Ethics Quarterly. Reprinted by permission of George Leaman, Director Business Ethics Quaterly.
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Williams, O.F. (2007). The UN Global Compact: The Challenge and the Promise. In: Zimmerli, W.C., Holzinger, M., Richter, K. (eds) Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70818-6_20
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