The Application for the 2023 SDG Pioneer program closed May 3, 2023!
As part of the 2023 UN Global Compact SDG Pioneers program, UN Global Compact Network USA is searching for professionals to recognize who are committed to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Each year the UN Global Compact recognizes a class of SDG Pioneers — business leaders working at any level of their company who are using business as a force for good to advance the 17 SDGs. Through their own company or by mobilizing other businesses, they are helping to reach one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while also contributing to business success.
The UN Global Compact Network USA will award two SDG Pioneers this year. One to represent Small & Medium-sized enterprises (<250 employees), and one to represent Large National & Multi-National Companies. Please note that companies must have submitted at least 1 CoP and be a signatory since 1 October 2022 to be eligible for this opportunity.
The UN Global Compact Network USA will award the two 2023 Global Compact Network USA SDG Pioneers at the local level, announced on June 30, 2023. The selected individuals will then have the opportunity to participate in the final search of global SDG Pioneers to be recognized during the 2023 UN General Assembly in September in New York.
Professionals who are working at any level of a UN Global Compact Participant or Signatory company are eligible to apply or be nominated. To check whether an organization is a UN Global Compact Participant or Signatory company, please search the participant list online.
For the 2023 SDG Pioneers, we only consider companies who were participants of the UN Global Compact on 1 October 2022 and have submitted at least 1 Communication on Progress (CoP). If your company joined after the date, please consider applying for the 2024 SDG Pioneers programme.
The UN Global Compact reserves the right to remove the SDG Pioneer recognition if the company and/or individual is later deemed to be a reputational risk to the SDG Pioneer campaign and/or the UN Global Compact initiative.
Applications will be accepted from April 3 - May 3, 2023. A multi-stakeholder SDG Pioneers Selection Group will vote on the candidates. The SDG Pioneers Selection Group will be comprised of representatives from: Global Compact Network Board Members, UN, Government Representatives, Academia, and civil society. Once the selections have been made, the applications will be sent to the UN Global Compact Headquarters for a final screening and review. Once confirmed, the SDG Pioneer will be notified and made public on June 30, 2023.
The USA SDG Pioneer will then be submitted to the Global SDG Pioneer round, where the Global SDG Pioneer will be announced at the 2023 Leaders Summit in New York City.
For the 2023 SDG Pioneers, we only consider companies who were participants of the UN Global Compact on 1 October 2022 and have submitted at least 1 Communication on Progress (CoP). If your company joined after the date, please consider applying for the 2024 SDG Pioneers programme.
The UN Global Compact reserves the right to remove the SDG Pioneer recognition if the company and/or individual is later deemed to be a reputational risk to the SDG Pioneer campaign and/or the UN Global Compact initiative.
Are you a business leader advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a principles-based approach, or do you know someone who is?
Please use the following forms to nominate yourself or someone else.
Each year the UN Global Compact recognizes a class of SDG Pioneers — business leaders working at any level of their company who are using business as a force for good to advance the 17 SDGs.
Through their own company or by mobilizing other businesses, they are helping to reach one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while also contributing to business success.
In 2023 Local Networks spanning all continents will be hosting country-level SDG Pioneers campaigns to identify Local Pioneers who will then be contenders for the Global Round to be recognized at the 2023 UN Global Compact Leaders Summit.
In September 2015, all 193 Member states of the United Nations adopted a plan for achieving a better future for all – laying out a path over the next 15 years to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and protect our planet. At the heart of the “Agenda 2030” are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 related targets that address the most important economic, social, environmental and governance challenges of our time. To learn more about how companies are taking steps to contribute to achieving the SDGs visit the UN Global Compact website.
Professionals who are working at any level of a UN Global Compact participating company are eligible to apply or be nominated.
To check whether an organization is a UN Global Compact participating company, please search the participant list online.
For the 2023 SDG Pioneers, we only consider companies who were participants of the UN Global Compact 1 October 2022 and have submitted at least 1 Communication on Progress (CoP).
The UN Global Compact reserves the right to remove the SDG Pioneer recognition if the company and/or individual is later deemed to be a reputational risk to the SDG Pioneer campaign and/or the UN Global Compact initiative.
You are only eligible to apply or be nominated if you are either employed by the company (or its subsidiary).
Only individuals from a UN Global Compact Participant or Signatory company will be eligible to apply or be nominated. If your company is not yet participating in the UN Global Compact please visit the UN Global Compact website to learn more about how to join.
No, the SDG Pioneers campaign highlights the work of individuals, not organizations.
Nationality does not matter as long as the nominee or applicant works for a U.S. company with headquarters in U.S. or a U.S. subsidiary of a global company.
Please complete the online application form, which will be made available on April 3. The online application link will be emailed to them as they must still fill out an application to be considered.
You can nominate yourself or a colleague at your company, or someone you know from another UN Global Compact participating company. That individual will then be contacted to ensure their willingness to be considered and the accuracy of the submitted information.
The Local SDG Pioneer will be informed of his/her selection before June 30, 2023. This individual will then advance to the Global Round to compete. 2023 SDG Pioneers will then be selected and then recognized at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in September 2023. Due to the volume of nominations received, we may be unable to contact nominees who are not selected.
Local Networks will recognize Local Pioneers for the great work that they have done to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. 2023 Global SDG Pioneers will be recognized at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in September 2023.
Please email jessi@globalcompactusa.org with any questions and/or comments.
The Communication on Progress introduced in 2004, is the annual public disclosure by participating companies of the United Nations Global Compact on how they are upholding and implementing the Ten Principles. A CoP is a direct communication from participating companies to their stakeholders, and each disclosure is made public in the UN Global Compact website. Submitting an annual CoP is a requirement for being a participating company of the UN Global Compact.
- Strengthen accountability regarding the performance of UN Global Compact participating companies on both the Ten Principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
- Promote continued learning by embedding examples of best practices in each question and providing access to additional guidance and reference materials,
- Improve stakeholder access to relevant and comparable corporate data on the Ten Principles and SDGs.
Since the last revision of the CoP in 2010, the reporting landscape has substantially evolved with a growing number of reporting frameworks and initiatives, including the Action Platform ‘Reporting on the SDGs’ co-led by the UN Global Compact. The demand for consistent and reliable corporate ESG data by stakeholders has also significantly increased over the past decade. In parallel, a review of the UN system commissioned by the Secretary-General revealed the need to hold companies accountable and recommended making change sin the CoP requirement to better recognize corporate sustainability leadership and impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2021-2023 strategy of the UN Global Compact also calls for more accountable companies.
The current features of the CoP are not commensurate with this evolving landscape and do not fully account for a comprehensive integration of the UN sustainability agenda, particularly the SDGs. Additionally, the CoP does not provide a systematic way to mine, aggregate or compare data nor track the progress of companies against the Ten Principles, which poses a key challenge and reputational risk for the organization and does not provide added value to participants.
The UN Global Compact has undertaken a comprehensive review of the CoP to update this integrity and accountability mechanism, and adapt it to new trends in the market. Starting in 2023, all participating companies will be required to disclose using the new CoP
The new CoP, a requirement for all participating companies starting in 2023,constitutes a significant revision from the CoP currently in place. The new CoP will consist of the submission of two elements: a) a statement by the Chief Executive Officer expressing continued support for the UN Global Compact, and b) an online questionnaire (CoP Questionnaire). More specifically, changes to the CoP policy include:
The new CoP is not a new reporting standard, but a platform designed to provide value to participants and support the strategy of the UN Global Compact. Many questions in the new CoP questionnaire are based on existing standards and frameworks and have been adjusted to a multiple-choice format to allow for comparability and to make it easier and faster for companies to answer. For questions that are linked to specific reporting standards (e.g., GRI),companies disclosing using those standards will already have the needed information to answer those specific questions in the CoP questionnaire.
All participating companies will be required to disclose using the new CoP starting in 2023.
In 2023, the new CoP will become mandatory for all participants. Participating companies will need to submit their CoP between 1 March and 30 June every year. If participants fail to submit their CoP during this time period, they will enter a 6-month ‘non-communication’ status period, which lasts from July through December. The company will be delisted if it fails to submit its CoP by 31 December.
Yes, all participating companies will fill out the same CoP questionnaire, which contains questions that are relevant/material to businesses across sectors, geographies, and size. Most questions come with answer options that provide flexibility to businesses that have no data on certain topics.
The time to complete the questionnaire will vary from company to company and depend, among other things, on a company’s internal data collection process as well as on the range of its activities in connection with the Ten Principles the company is implementing. The estimated duration can vary from two hours(e.g., for a small company operating at the local level only) to two days (for larger multinationals). After submitting their first new CoP, business participants will need less time to respond to each new questionnaire in subsequent years, as certain questions are designed to auto-populate in future CoPs.
The questionnaire will be revised on an annual basis. While many questions are expected to remain unchanged over a longer period of time to allow for data comparability over years, some questions may be edited, for example, to reflect developments in the corporate sustainability reporting landscape or based on user-experience feedback. Also, new (mandatory and/or optional) questions on topics relevant to the UN Global Compact and its strategy (e.g., on gender or climate change) are expected to be developed over the coming years.
The CoP is a tool for public disclosure, while data from the SDG Action Manager is not meant for public disclosure. Both the CoP and the SDG Action Manager support internal management and decision-making processes. While there is an overlap among the topics each of these tools addresses, the structure of the CoP questionnaire is focused on the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, while the SDG Action Manager questionnaire is focused on the SDGs