Annan appoints board of Global Compact for good corporate citizenship

Executives of financial giant Goldman Sachs and toymaker Lego are among the 20 business, labour and civil society leaders named today by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to serve on the Board of the Global Compact, a six-year-old initiative he launched to advance responsible globalization, fight corruption and promote human rights.

This first group of Board members, who will provide strategic advice to the initiative and its stakeholders, includes representatives of ten businesses, four business associations and labour groups, and four civil society organizations, with consideration of proven commitment to the Compact’s principals and support of a regional or constituency group.

The business leaders tapped range from Suzanne Nora Johnson, Vice-Chairman of Goldman Sachs of the United States, to B. Muthuraman, Managing Director of India’s Tata Steel, and Mads Oevlisen, the Chairman of Lego, a Danish company.

Other Board Members hail from businesses based in Brazil, Chile, China, France, South Africa and Japan.

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers is represented, along with the International Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations as well as an environmental group from the United Arab Emirates and business ethics organizations from Brazil, Canada and Ireland.

According to the Global Compact Office, participants in the initiative now comprise more than 2,500 companies in over 90 countries, with 50 regional networks promoting its principles of globalization of benefit to all.