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GM Signs UN Global Compact, Promises Adherence to Its Ten Principles

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It was announced this week that General Motors is a signatory of the new United Nations Global Compact. The Global Compact is the world’s most significant corporate responsibility initiative, and GM pledges by signing that it will uphold its Ten Principles that address subjects including human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.

Per the UN Global Compact’s website, its Ten Principles are derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and UN Convention Against Corruption. They are as follows:

  • Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
  • Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
  • Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
  • Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
  • Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
  • Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
  • Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
  • Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
  • Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
  • Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

In signing the Compact, GM promises that it will disclose its endeavors in these principles in its May 2016 sustainability report. The UN Global Compact was launched in 2000, and to date claims 8,000 companies and 4,000 non-business signatories in 160 countries around the world.

News Source: UN Global Compact