The United Nations Global Compact concluded its 2025 Leaders Summit last week in New York, convening business leaders, governments, and civil society at a pivotal moment for the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Taking place during High-Level Week of the 80th UN General Assembly, the gathering marked the Compact’s 25th anniversary and focused on turning principles into performance.
25 Years on: From Commitments to Results
The 2025 Leaders Summit opened with reflections on the Compact’s origins and impact since its creation in 2000. Over the course of the day, plenary sessions and breakout discussions explored how companies can accelerate credible action on the Ten Principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) amid mounting geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Programming centered on practical tools, peer learning, and networking through the UN Global Compact Hub, a dedicated space for participants. Discussions ranged from innovations in sustainable finance and next-generation sustainability reporting to the business case for resilience and growth.
The summit closed with remarks from UN Global Compact CEO and Executive Director Sanda Ojiambo, followed by a keynote from actor and author Rainn Wilson.
Business Leaders Engage Across Sectors
Executives from companies spanning sectors and geographies—among them IKEA (Ingka Group), the Global Reporting Initiative, L’Oréal Group, Fujitsu, City Developments, Acciona, Novonesis, Schneider Electric, Neoenergia, Tesco, Singaland Asetama, and Hermes—shared experiences of embedding sustainability into core operations.
One highlight was a dedicated session on leveraging the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) framework to transform sustainability reporting into decision-useful insights. Other sessions tackled “selling sustainability” through credible KPIs and featured an SDG Innovation Pitch, spotlighting solutions from businesses across regions.
“Sustainability is no longer about promises but performance,” one corporate delegate reflected, pointing to the growing alignment between investor expectations, regulatory standards, and consumer trust.
Strategy Beyond the Anniversary
The Summit followed a board meeting of the UN Global Compact, chaired by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, where its 2026–2030 strategy was formally adopted. The plan sets three clear shifts for the next phase:
- Equipping companies with tailored, digitally enabled learning journeys, including a modernized Communication on Progress.
- Catalyzing collective action in four impact areas: climate and nature, decent work and living wages, gender equality, and sustainable finance.
- Strengthening the evidence base through platforms such as the Forward Faster Initiative and the CFO Coalition for the SDGs, delivered through Regional Hubs and Country Networks.
In her closing remarks, Sanda Ojiambo emphasized the Compact’s enduring role:
“Twenty-five years on, the UN Global Compact remains a trusted bridge between business and the United Nations. This year’s Leaders Summit was designed to help companies move from commitment to concrete results—faster. At the UN Global Compact we equip our participants with clearer pathways, mobilize coalitions to remove system-level barriers, and show—through data and real-world examples—how responsible business delivers value for people, the planet, and performance.”
What It Means for Policymakers
For governments and international organizations, the Summit’s outcomes reinforce the Compact’s evolution into a delivery mechanism for SDG-aligned business action. The approved strategy points to a sharper focus on accountability, collective impact, and evidence-based results by 2030.
As the global sustainability agenda enters its final stretch before the 2030 deadline, the Compact’s role as convener and catalyst of corporate action remains central. For leaders in government and multilateral institutions, the message from New York was clear: the private sector is ready to scale solutions, but requires enabling policy frameworks, standardized reporting, and robust global cooperation to deliver on shared goals.
Related Content: UN Global Compact Launches Coalition to Embed Sustainability in Global Procurement Systems
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