MINSK, 29 March (BelTA) –The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) welcomes the efforts by the Belarusian companies to meet the commitments undertaken as part of the UN Global Compact, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Belarus Zachary Taylor said during the presentation “New stage of UN Global Compact Initiative in Belarus” held in the MTS central office, BelTA has learned.
“We welcome the efforts that Belarus major companies and corporations make to honor the commitments that they have undertaken under the UN Global Compact. I should underline that these efforts aim to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well. These goals are supported by the whole world community,” Zachary Taylor remarked. “The Sustainable Development Goals are truly very ambitious and cannot be achieved without cooperation with business.”
According to Zachary Taylor, the Belarusian companies successfully implement business models with focus on corporate social responsibility. “These trends are global. Private business should show that it can serve as a reliable partner for the state and civil society,” Zachary Taylor noted. In view of this, the UNDP will encourage new companies to join the UN Global Compact Local Network in Belarus.
The Global Compact was first proposed by the UN in 1999. Its main goal is to promote the principles of social responsibility in business and encourage business to comply with the ten fundamental principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The Global Compact's signatories are more than 12,000 participant organizations. They reaffirm their willingness to implement the principles of social responsibility in business.
An official presentation of the Global Compact in Belarus was held on 20 December 2006. During the ceremony the first Belarusian companies were presented the certificates on accession to the United Nations international initiative. Soon after the representatives of the socially responsible business held a meeting and decided to set up UN Global Compact Local Network in Belarus. The Belarusian mobile carrier MTS was one of the first companies to join it.
