Reaffirmed 10 Principles at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit

As part of its ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility, Mission Essential Personnel, LLC, (MEP) participated in the recent UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, which every three years brings together more than 1,000 global CEOs to identify and plan solutions to societal ills by 1) setting a sustainable agenda, 2) leading the change, and 3) achieving development.

CEO Chris Taylor represented MEP at the event, held in New York City June 23 – 25. Taylor said, “In today’s hyper-connected worldwide village, there is an unprecedented onus on companies such as MEP – with employees, stakeholders, and interests across the globe – to affirm the four pillars of the UN Global Compact: human rights, environmental responsibility, labor standards, and anti-corruption.”

A signature requirement of the compact is a bi-annual Communication on Progress. This document allows companies to outline their priorities, commitment, and goals of 10 key principles, upholding virtues such as the abolition of child and compulsory labor and respect for the environment.

Taylor continued: “Good governance is not just in an international corporation’s moral interest; it is in its financial interest as well. No company that impinges upon others far from its corporate headquarters will thrive when compared to those companies that honor the individual and thereby unlock human potential. It is no coincidence that my own country, the United States, has experienced previously unimaginable growth every time it has chosen human rights over immediate gain, be it with suffrage, the abolition of slavery, fair labor standards, or civil rights.

“I am proud of MEP’s commitment to the Global Compact and urge my fellow CEOs who have yet to pledge to do so now.”

On the final day of the summit, participants released the New York Declaration by Business, where corporate leaders pledged themselves to continued global responsibility, ethical standards of business practice, and development goals. The Declaration calls on governments to “cultivate enabling environments for entrepreneurship and innovation” and to set regulatory standards, particularly on climate change.

Links:
MEP Communication on Progress
UNGC Leaders Summit
New York Declaration by Business
Photos of the event