The UN Global Compact Network, which was unveiled at a ceremony held in HCM City in which more than 100 businesses participated, calls on companies to embrace 10 universal principles in the spheres of human rights, labour standards, environment, and anti-corruption.

The Global Compact Network Vietnam will act locally to tackle challenges faced by companies committed to the health and well-being of Vietnamese people.

It will also address corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues and facilitate access to and sharing of best practices.

"It’s important to promote a transparent debate on CSR in Viet Nam, and it’s even more important to understand the implications and positive benefits it can bring to companies themselves and to Vietnamese society as a whole," Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Doan Duy Khuong said.

Launched by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the World Economic Forum in 1999, the compact is an attempt to make the private sector an integral part of the development process and to enhance ties between the private sector and UN organisations.

"With Viet Nam’s rapid economic growth and increasingly sophisticated business environment, it is indeed a fitting moment to launch [it] and to raise awareness of the role of CSR in the development process," UN Resident Co-ordinator John Dendra said at the launch.

The compact is also a platform for UN bodies, business associations, NGOs, and trade unions to learn about and promote CSR and ethical business standards.

It links companies to like-minded businesses to exchange best practices on how to translate the 10 principles into reality and to engage in policy dialogue.

The principles urge participating companies to support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights, eliminate all forms of forced labour, and undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility, among others.

Viet Nam has joined over 60 countries in the Global Compact Network, which is thought to be the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative with around 4,000 organisations from 116 countries.

Businesses, civil society organisations, government agencies, and other institutions seeking to join the network can inquire at partnership@undp.org.vn.

Source: Vietnam News