The arrival in the office of the grand envelope from the United Nations in New York heralds great things! Joking aside, and whilst there is a danger of the participation taking over the objectives, Torse has signed up to the UN Global Compact.

In simple terms Torse has committed to participating in a meaningful way to the Global Compact’s principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

Thank you for writing to the Secretary-General to express your company’s commitment to the Global Compact’s principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti- corruption. We applaud your leadership in making this decision and welcome your company’s participation in the Global Compact – the world’s largest corporate citizenship initiative, with thousands of business participants and other stakeholders from civil society, labour and government based in over 120 countries……

As an organisation working hard on behalf of clients, arguably, against the morally and even commercially corrupt practices of some businesses we encounter, both large and small, we hope that to some small degree if we can call to account some of the organisations flaunting/abusing their positions for their own ends we will have achieved something. The UN Global Compact talks of the symbiotic relationship between business and society, and we believe we can be a sensible, supportive, specialist and professional organisation with integrity and real interest in our clients and those around us. As ever with these things, there is a cost associated with it, but hopefully it will be worthwhile. We will begin to communicate our membership to the organisations in our marketplace and try and encourage real participation, whilst watching out for the PR participants!

Credibility and accountability are critical factors for advancing the responsible business agenda – and for protecting the legitimacy of the Global Compact. Therefore, a key requirement for participation in the initiative is the annual submission of a Communication on Progress (COP) that describes your company’s efforts to implement the ten principles. Your company’s first COP is due within one year of joining the Global Compact, and every year thereafter. We take this integrity measure seriously and companies that fail to meet consecutive COP deadlines will be deactivated.

Ten Principles mentioned in the Compact

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.

Read the full details of the United Nations Global Compact letter.