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Global Financial Crisis: Why Corporate Sustainability Is More Important Than Ever

Global Financial Crisis: Why Corporate Sustainability Is More Important Than Ever

Published 10-17-08

Submitted by United Nations Global Compact

In today's interconnected global economy, the long-term value and success of business are inextricably linked to the integration of environmental, social and governance issues into corporate management and operations. This defines the modern corporate sustainability movement.

The global crisis in financial markets raises a range of important and urgent questions regarding corporate sustainability generally and the UN Global Compact specifically. Among the five most relevant:

    1. How can trust be restored in markets generally? Public trust in the private sector and "markets" has been seriously damaged. Amid this climate, many consumers and societal stakeholders may make little distinction between the "banking sector" and the corporate sector - that is, companies operating in non-financial industries.

    2. What will this mean for voluntary initiatives and their relationship with regulation? The bailout and rescue packages announced by governments mark a historic move by the public sector in asserting more control over financial and investment markets.

    3. Will companies still "invest" in corporate sustainability during an economic downturn? The financial crisis is clearly impacting the real economy and the prospect of a global recession is looming.

    4. Will 25 years of global growth and rising prosperity - driven by multilateralism and open, ruled-based economies - be replaced by barriers to trade and commerce? Growing distrust in markets is fanning populist reactions to global economic integration.

    5. Will governments re-order their priorities in ways that will place less importance on public-private partnerships? The public sector's unprecedented bailout of financial-sector institutions will put significant strain on government budgets, possibly leading to a re-ordering of priorities that could have implications in terms of public-sector investment in key sustainability and development issues.

Amid this context, it is our belief that the overriding objective and priority of all global actors and stakeholders must be: Restoring Confidence and Trust in Markets.

We believe that the UN Global Compact can play a constructive role. More specifically, we propose that: A commitment to sustainability can help the private sector and markets regain the confidence and trust of the public and other stakeholders.

The Role of the UN Global Compact and Corporate Sustainability

With respect to these five key questions, we believe that the UN Global Compact can make important contributions:

I. Restoring Trust

At the core of the current crisis is a collapse of trust in capital markets. While lack of proper regulatory controls, accountability and transparency are all cited as key factors in the build-up to the crisis, it is also clear that financial markets' obsession with short-termism over long-term considerations played an important role in destabilizing markets. At the same time, there has been a serious absence of universal "guiding" principles or values - values that encompass both commercial and ethical dimensions.

The UN Global Compact's principles, mission ("an inclusive and sustainable global economy") and emphasis on long-term considerations could play a pivotal role in helping to restore trust. In other words, by demonstrating a commitment to the tenets of corporate sustainability and the UN Global Compact, companies have an opportunity to help markets regain the trust of stakeholders.

With respect to financial-sector institutions specifically, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) - co-sponsored by the UN Global Compact and UNEP - provide a platform for asset owners and fund managers to demonstrate a commitment to long-term issues and values, while reinforcing positive actions by investee companies.

II. Emphasizing Continued Relevance of Voluntary Initiatives

The financial crisis is prompting numerous regulatory measures in order to establish greater safeguards and oversight. While it is clear that regulatory schemes need updating and there is arguably a much greater need for oversight, the space for voluntary initiatives must be protected and advanced. In financial and non-financial areas, lowest-common-denominator rules and policies will still leave space for innovation and action that go beyond the "common bar." The UN Global Compact has always sought to provide this space. Meaningful and inspiring corporate examples abound in areas such as climate change, human rights, water and anti-corruption, to name just a few material issues.

There will always be a need for complementary voluntary initiatives to reinforce regulatory structures and to fill voids. This is particularly true with respect to the issues and principles that the UN Global Compact advocates.

III. Advancing the Business Case in a New Era of Risk Management

Amid this climate and potential greater economic declines at the national, regional and international levels, there may be a fear that companies cannot "afford" to invest in corporate sustainability programs any longer. But as a CEO quoted in the Financial Times recently noted, "Sustainability will remain critical to our business even during an economic downturn."

Indeed, issues such as climate change, human rights and corruption will not vanish as a result of economic decline. The business case for managing these and other issues is today abundantly clear. In fact, one could argue that companies operating in a difficult economic environment have much to gain by improving their environmental and social performance through initiatives such as the UN Global Compact. This is based on the following key observations:

i. A commitment to corporate sustainability - as distinct from philanthropy - can mark a point of competitive and ethical differentiation vis-à-vis competitors. This can be especially relevant in economic downturns.
ii. The financial collapse demonstrates that due to economic integration a crisis in one part of the world can quickly spread to other regions. In the same way, many social and economic challenges (e.g., climate change) do not and will not respect national borders, placing a premium on an expanded view of risk management to include extra-financial issues.

Therefore, the UN Global Compact and its participants and stakeholders have a unique opportunity to make the case that a commitment to corporate sustainability is as important in tough economic times as in robust times - perhaps even more important.

IV. Making the Case for Open Markets

As noted above, the financial crisis has made clear that economic integration means that a contagion can quickly spread to other interdependent regions of the world. With this current unprecedented example, there will be the inevitable calls to turn back the clock on integration as countries may see protectionism as a potential safeguard.

Decades of experience demonstrate that a commitment to a level playing field in trade and investment, based on multilateral rules, offers the best hope vis-à-vis wealth creation, development and peaceful economic integration. However, markets on their own cannot deliver prosperity, let alone justice. The poor and workers do not have "golden parachutes" to break their falls. Therefore, to be legitimate and sustainable and to protect the most vulnerable, markets must be rooted in universal values.

V. Advancing Development and Public-Private Partnerships

The strain on public finances as a result of bailing out significant numbers of financial institutions will undoubtedly lead capitals to examine their priorities with respect to sustainable development. However, there is a strong case to be made that addressing these issues, such as poverty and climate change, can simultaneously spur growth and tackle long-term challenges. Development assistance and investments in public-private partnerships are crucially important in difficult economic times to safeguard against deterioration in vital environmental and social systems that could further exacerbate economic problems. Indeed, recent years have demonstrated the extent to which economic, environmental and social systems are connected.

Conclusion

The financial crisis and the subsequent economic downturn represent a significant upheaval in the evolution of markets and the private sector. Restoring this trust should therefore be viewed as the central imperative. To restore momentum towards sustainable and inclusive global integration, it is more important than ever to build market legitimacy and political support based on sound ethical frameworks such as the UN Global Compact.

The UN Global Compact Office wishes to stimulate public commentary and observations on this paper. Please send comments to the UN Global Compact at globalcompact@un.org. Thank you.

About the UN Global Compact

Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is a both a policy platform and a practical framework for companies that are committed to sustainability and responsible business practices. As a multi-stakeholder leadership initiative, it seeks to align business operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption and to catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals. It is the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative, with over 5,000 signatories based in more than 130 countries. For more information, please visit www.unglobalcompact.org.

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United Nations Global Compact

United Nations Global Compact

As the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With the UN Global Compact, committed companies achieve sustainable value by delivering measurable impact to the world’s most pressing challenges. 

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