Global Compact in Ukraine

Ukraine is now going through an important period of realizing its goal to elevate the social, economic and democratic life to a level set in the Ukrainian Millennium Development Goals and consistent with the European standards. This progress requires other actors' support and active involvement for its successful achievement. In this context, the private sector has a vital role to play in the achievements of these goals, through investment activity and implementation of socially responsible day-to-day business practices.

Results from a recently commissioned by UN survey of the business sector (2005) showed that there is significant awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Ukraine with companies undertaking a variety of CSR initiatives.

In response to growing interest in corporate social responsibility in Ukraine, the United Nations in Ukraine presented its Global Compact Initiative on 6 December 2005 with the Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Compact Forum which involved leading figures from Ukrainian Government, the business community, the United Nations, international and local NGOs, media and academia. The Forum was aimed to take further the dialogue between these different groups on CSR and to mobilize a core group of companies to sign the Global Compact (GC).

The launch of the Global Compact in Ukraine took place on 25th April 2006 in Kyiv with the support of leading local and multinational companies as well as senior representatives of Government. The first signatories of the initiative were 34 leading ukrainian and multinational private companies, associations and civil society organizations.

Signatories of the GC in Ukraine stated their continued commitment to setting up a Global Compact network in Ukraine in 2006 as the framework for promotion of corporate social responsibility and the Global Compact principles in Ukraine.

The full list of the Global Compact members in Ukraine is available here.