Social dimension
United Nations Global Compact
The United Nations Global Compact (www.pactomundial.org) is an initiative for ethical commitment which companies in all countries receive as an integral part of their strategy and their operations. It contains 10 principles of conduct and action in Human Rights material, Work, the environment and the fight against Corruption.
Its aim is to promote the creation of a global corporative citizenship which allows the conciliation of interests and processes of the company activity with the values and obligations of civil society, as in UN projects, international sectorial organisations, syndicates and NGOs.
On March 6th 2002 Grupo Cortefiel joined the United Nations Global Compact with the most firm interntion of incorporating the 10 principles, and those which will be approved in the future, in strategic vision and the working practices of the company throughout the world.
The UNGC is an instrument of free adscripción on the part of civil and working companies and organisations, which rests on the commitment to introduce the 10 current principles of the UNGC in their strategy and operations. In this sense, the pact is neither a regulating instrument which suggests legal codes of conduct for all companies, nor is it an instrument which admits certification to companies which fulfil determined requirements. The company which adheres to the pact takes on the commitment to introduce the principles of the pact into its daily activity. In that way it takes on the commitment to be accountable to society, publicity and transparency, and in the progress realised in the process of introducing the ten principles.
In the last year platforms or local networks have been consolidating in many countries which work with the introduction of the ten pinciples within the company community they are part of.
These ten principles are the following:
1- The companies must support and respect the protection of human rights proclaimed in the international ambit.
2- Avoid becoming involved in human rights abuses.
3- Companies must respection the freedom to assóciate and the effective recognition of the right to collective negotiation.
3- The elimination of all forms of forced labour.
4- The effective abolition of child labour.
5- The elimination of discrimination towards the employer or occupation.
6- Companies should support the application of criteria of precaution towards environmental problems.
7- Adopt initiatives to promote more environmental responsibility.
8- Encourage the development and circulation of environmentally friendly technology.
9- Work against corruption in all its forms, including bribery and extortion.
In Spain the United Nations Worlwide Pact has been taken on successfully in companies, syndicates, educational organisations and NGOs, creating an important movement in favour of its ten principles.
In 2004 the Grupo Cortefiel subscribed to the constitucional agreement as a founding member of ASEPAM (Asociación Española del Pacto Mundial de Naciones Unidas) to which the group intends to contribute not only economically but also very actively in the achievement of its aims and principles.
This movement in support for the Worldwide Pact has lead to the creation, among adhering companies, of a Coordination Committee and an original instrument of work, the Square Table, from which activities for learning, dialogue and joint activities and the extension of the network to other regions and countries have begun to develop.
Fundación Lealtad
Fundación Lealtad is an independent non lucrative organisation, founded in 2001. Its mission is to built society´s confidence in foundations and associations which do social and environmental work in order to generate an increase in donations and volunteering by individuals and companies.
The founders Salvador Atance and Ignacio Garralda work on the hypothesis that there is a lack of trust in the Third Sector due to a lack of knowledge about the true functions of NGOs, the estination of funds and the work that is done by them. Fundación Lealtad believes that in order to boost the collaboration between society and NGOs more emphasis should be put on the quality and quantity of information available on NGOs.
Apart from the information provided by the NGO, Fundación Lealtad makes an analysis based on ten Principles of Transparency and Good Practice. This analysis is reflected in a report in which the fulfilment of the principles on the part of the NGO is detailed, along with an overview of the organisation and other data of interest so that potential collaborators may decide which they want to help. There are currently one hundred NGOs which represents 41% of the sector´s budget. Fundación Lealtad also publishes the results of the analysis once a year in a guide which it will distribute free of charge to those who order it.
On the Fundación Lealtad web site www.fundacionlealtad.org, the donor can freely consult the whole report of each organisation and identify the NGOs which fit with their philanthropic interests. It alo provides an access a map of emergencies in which the NGOs are working and information on how to collaborate with them. Through the web page the user can learn about the voluntary work opportunities in each organisation. Fundación Lealtad has incorporated a search engine into the website to help the search for each individual´s personal area of interest. And lastly it is possible to donate money online through the web.
Fundación Lealtad also works with companies to promote the collaboration of Spanish textile companies with the NGOs in the guide, facilitating dialogue between parties.
Grupo Cortefiel is one of the contributing companies which use the reports on the NGOs analysed for the development of their social action plans. Since the first signatures were taken over 100 actions have been realised with the NGOs from the Guide donations in kind, intergration of people with disabilities and people at risk of social exclusion into the workplace, project financing, buying of fair trade products, employee voluntary work, of which 30 have been seen through with the direct collaboration of Fundación Lealtad.
The collaborating companies have available on the web page a section in which they can send their solidatory proposals. There are 200 social projects and initiatives for NGOs open to collaboration with companies. Through the charts of collaborating companies, the companies can benchmark and inform themselves on good practice in material on social action in other companies.
In 2003 the Grupo Cortefiel signed a collaboration agreement with Fundación Lealtad in which a mutual accord was made to collaborate at least once a year with one of the NGOs in the Guide.