The United Nations Global Compact
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries — developed and developing — in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go together with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth — all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
The 17 SDGs define what we aim to accomplish as a global community. They cover a wide range of challenges, including environmental sustainability, clean water, and poverty. For any given company, contribution to the SDGs will vary based on the nature of their business, their industry, and where they can have a meaningful impact.
The UN Global Compact’s stated ambition relies on the adoption, integration, and implementation of the Ten Principles by the business sector as essential to positively contributing to achieving the SDGs, and global collective impact.
We see a clear need for greater ambition to embed the Ten Principles in our businesses and demonstrate an increased focus and commitment towards specific corporate goals and targets. Therefore, our new strategy calls on us to focus on collective corporate action, where our participants are not just representatives of the world, but they are accountable companies ahead of the world in demonstrating adherence to the Ten Principles and impact for the SDGs.
Human Rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labour
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery
The Quantum Foundation is actively working towards achieving the ten principles of the UN Global Compact concerning. We are working towards the UN Global Compact by advancing these principles and will make a clear statement of this commitment to our stakeholders and the general public. Currently, we are engaged with the UN Global Compact in the following way(s):
- Strong communities
- Drugs
- Terrorism
- Crime (gender-based violence, gang crime, etc)
- Human Trafficking
- The Venezuelan Migration Crisis
We recognize that a key requirement for participation in the Global Compact is the submission of a Communication on Engagement (COE) that describes our organization’s efforts to support the implementation of the ten principles and to engage with the Global Compact. We support public accountability and transparency and therefore commit to report on progress within two years of joining the Global Compact and every two years thereafter according to the Global Compact COE policy.
Technical Capacity Building – Be apart of the UN Global Compact
The Quantum Foundation will concentrate on developing a system for local and international groups to collaborate to support and promote the SDGs and the UN Global Compact to achieve a cohesive, global collective impact. The two main categories are accountable companies and supporting the ecosystems in which they operate. Accountable firms are corporations that have committed to speeding up their corporate development in sustaining the Ten Principles and contributing to the SDGs, hence increasing awareness and capability for the Ten Principles.
UN Global Compact Caribbean Network Launch in Barbados 2024
The Quantum Foundation, along with Quantum Medicinal and ESPY Technical Solutions founder Mr Criston J. Williams, received an honorary invitation to a closed-door peer-to-peer roundtable-style meeting, facilitated by Ms. Esther Corral, LAC Regional Hub Head, and Ms. Anna Mori, Senior Manager, Sustainable Supply Chains of the UN Global Compact, on May 22, 2024, at the United Nations House in Christ Church, Barbados.
The objectives of the CEO meeting were to discuss how the UN Global Compact, as the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, can better support Caribbean companies to advance their sustainability objectives and contributions to the second half of Agenda 2030 through the opportunities provided by the new Caribbean Network to access innovative business solutions and a global network of responsible business leaders.