It is a forum of UN cooperation with entrepreneurs and civil society for the sake of sustainable development.

The United Nations Global Compact is a platform for cooperation between governments, civil society, employers and the UN. The UN Global Compact's activities were initiated by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2000. It is not a formal UN agency, participation in the organisation is voluntary, but it enjoys the support of the UN General Assembly and the Secretary-General.



The platform brings together companies that want to work for responsible development, and it enables them to influence the direction of UN activities in this field. The platform’s participants implement corporate social responsibility programmes, for example, as well as programmes aimed at counteracting corruption and protecting employees' rights.



Over 13,000 companies from 170 countries are already participating in the work of the Global Compact, but the organisation also includes the so-called Government Group - a forum of countries that coordinate their objectives among themselves. Currently the UN Global Compact Group is made of Denmark, France, Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Italy, China and Colombia. In 2018, the Council's work is chaired by France, and in 2019 it will be headed by Sweden. Members of the Governmental Group meet twice a year, and together with the authorities of the UN Global Compact they discuss the programme and budget strategies. The Government Group advises on the formulation of United Nations Global Compact strategy, and monitors the implementation of the annual work plan developed on the basis of the UN Global Compact multi-annual strategy. It also proposes topics for discussion at meetings of the UN Global Compact Board, chaired by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.



However, Poland has not been represented thus far in this forum. That is why, on November 29, the Council of Ministers adopted a resolution in which it expressed its consent to enter the Government Group. This task was assigned to the Ministry of Investment and Development. Formally, our country is to become a member of the UN Global Compact Government Group after signing the memorandum of understanding. This will take place in the first quarter of 2019.



- We will be the first Central European country involved in the work of the Government Group. This is a chance for us, first of all, to achieve greater effectiveness of actions, and secondly to show on the international arena that the ideas of sustainable development are close to us - said Minister of Investment and Development, Jerzy Kwieciński.



Poland's participation in the work of the United Nations Global Compact Government Group may indirectly contribute to the greater involvement of Polish companies in the UN procurement system. The value of the UN procurement system market amounts to over USD 18 billion per year and is steadily growing. More than 30 different UN agencies purchase goods and services from 194 countries.