Facilitation
The Global Compact is not a regulatory instrument, but rather a forum for discussion and a network for communication including governments; companies and labour organisations, whose actions it seeks to influence; and civil society organizations, representing its stakeholders.
The Compact itself says that once companies declared their support for the Global Compact principles "This does not mean that the Global Compact recognizes or certifies that these companies have fulfilled the Compact’s principles."
The Compact's goals are intentionally flexible and vague, but it distinguishes the following channels through which it provides facilitation and encourages dialogue: policy dialogues, learning, local networks and projects.
The first Global Compact Leaders Summit, chaired by the then Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was held in UN Headquarters in New York on June 24, 2004. It aimed to bring "intensified international focus and increased momentum" to the Global Compact. On the eve of the conference, delegates were invited to attend the first Prix Ars Electronica Digital Communities award ceremony, which was co-hosted by a representative from the UN.
The second Global Compact Leaders Summit, chaired by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, was held on 5–6 July 2007 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. It adopted the Geneva Declaration on corporate responsibility.
Marking the 10th anniversary of the Global Compact's launch, the Global Compact Leaders Summit 2010 occurred on 24–25 June 2010 in New York. On the occasion, the Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership identifying leadership criteria linked to implementation of the ten principles, efforts to support development objectives, and engagement in the Global Compact was released. The document was supported by Fondation Guilé.
Read more about this topic: United Nations Global Compact