NEW YORK, NY - September 25, 2007 - Dalberg Global Development Advisors, the UN Global Compact, the Financial Times, and Edelman today co-sponsored, "When Partnerships Mean Business: NGOs and Companies Tackling Real World Issues Together," a panel discussion with senior executives from leading businesses, NGOs and the United Nations about key components of successful public-private partnerships and future opportunities for effective engagements.

The panelists included Andy Ruben, vice president corporate strategy and sustainability, Wal-Mart; Georg Kell, executive director, UN Global Compact; Sonila Cook, partner, Dalberg Global Development Advisors; David Yarnold, executive vice president, Environmental Defense; and Sarah Murray, contributing writer, Financial Times. Chris Deri, general manager and global leader for corporate social responsibility and sustainability at Edelman, moderated the discussion.

"Global Compact corporate participants located in over 100 countries are engaging in partnerships with NGOs and the UN," said Georg Kell, executive director of the UN Global Compact. "Public-private partnerships are necessary in today's global world where business interests increasingly overlap with development objectives. We feel that undertaking partnerships is a practical manifestation of good corporate citizenship and underscores a company's commitment to societal change."

"Public-private partnerships are seen as the most promising strategy to combat some of society's largest and most complex environmental, social and economic problems," said Sonila Cook, a partner at Dalberg Global Development Advisors. "Yet, there remains a need for sound guidance and easily accessible information to help companies identify and build successful partnerships with NGOs."

"There is so much talk these days about public-private partnerships, but if these activities are to move beyond just window dressing to become valuable business drivers, there needs to be the sort of frank, detailed and practical examination that we heard from today's panelists," said Chris Deri, general manager and global corporate social responsibility and sustainability leader at Edelman.

"Partnerships between companies and NGOs provide valuable business skills, concepts and expertise to the non-profit sector and help achieve social or environmental goals that neither party would be able to tackle successfully on their own," said Sarah Murray, a contributing writer for the Financial Times.

The event builds on a groundbreaking guide, The Business Guide to Partnering with NGOs and the United Nations, developed by Dalberg Global Development Advisors, the Financial Times and the UN Global Compact to assist businesses in the partner selection process and identify leading non-profit social actors from around the world that have demonstrated skill and excellence in working with companies. The full report - including the profiles of these notable NGOs, UN agencies and other social actors - can be ordered on http://www.csrwire.com/guide and www.dalberg.com/guide

About Dalberg Global Development Advisors

Dalberg Global Development Advisors is an international consulting firm serving clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors all over the world. Established in 2001 and located in New York, Copenhagen, Geneva, Johannesburg, Santiago, Washington, D.C., its mission is to provide outstanding advice to clients in the areas of globalization and sustainable international development in order to help them achieve breakthroughs in performance and innovation. Dalberg has conducted more than 150 engagements for over 40 leading organizations in the field of international development.

About the UN Global Compact

The UN Global Compact brings business together with UN agencies, labour, civil society and governments to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Through the power of collective action, the Global Compact seeks to mainstream these ten principles in business activities around the world and to catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals. With over 4,000 stakeholders from more than 100 countries, it is the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. For more information, please visit www.unglobalcompact.org.

About the Financial Times

The Financial Times, one of the world's leading business newspapers, is recognized internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, the newspaper is printed in 23 cities across the globe, has a daily circulation of 426,451 (ABC figures, July 2007) and a readership of more than 1.3 million people worldwide. FT.com is one of the world's leading business information websites, and the internet partner of the FT newspaper. Since its re-launch in May 2002, the website has continued to be the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community. FT.com attracts 5.29 million unique monthly users (ABC electronic figures, January 2007) generating 40.4 million page views and has 95,000 subscribers.

About Edelman

Edelman is the world's largest independent public relations firm, with 2,700 employees in 48 offices worldwide. The firm was named PRWeek's Large Agency of the Year for 2006. Advertising Age named Edelman as the best PR firm in its 2005 "Best Agencies" issue, while PRWeek awarded the firm its "Editor's Choice" distinction at the start of 2006. Edelman was also named 2006 Large Agency of the Year and 2005 International Agency of the Year by The Holmes Group.

Dalberg Global Development Advisors

Dalberg Global Development Advisors

Our mission is to provide outstanding advice to clients in the areas of globalization and sustainable international development in order to help them achieve breakthroughs in performance and innovation.

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