The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation Board of Directors met on July 1st and reviewed and approved the application for membership submitted to the Foundation by Salini Impregilo S.p.A. and OSRAM S.p.A. (for the acquisition of "Founding Members" status) and GDF SUEZ Energia S.p.A Italy (for the acquisition of "Participant" status). Also at the same meeting the Executive Council validated A2A S.p.A.’s application to formalize their status as a "Participant" (the company has in fact participated in the program activities of the Foundation since its establishment on June 10th, 2013). To see the list of the GCNI Foundation adhering organizations, click here

The XII Annual Local Networks Forum of the United Nations Global Compact was held from 10th to 12th June in Addis Ababa. The meeting aimed to lay the foundations for the start of a process of growth of the Global Compact in countries around the world, through enhancing UNGC governance measures  and the presentation of new tools and guidelines to strengthen the potential of local networks in their daily activities, and this has led to important results, including the adoption of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The new MoU includes measures to: (1) require annual activity and financial reporting from networks; (2) improve alignment with the Global Compact integrity measures, particularly concerning logo usage and dialogue facilitation; and (3) strengthen support to local networks by outlining 18 responsibilities of the Global Compact Office, including increased communication and disclosure about activities and finances, and support to local networks through recruitment and participant training. In addition, during the Forum, new tools and resources such as the Global Compact Local Network Report 2013were presented which accurately describe the initiatives implemented by the Local Networksand the results achieved by those on the path towards promoting global corporate sustainability.
For further information about ALNFs, click here

A Memorandum of Intent was signed on 8th May in Rome by Prof. Marco Frey, President of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation, and Prof. Giovanni Pitruzzella, Chairman of the Italian Antitrust Authority. It commits the two organizations to working together to spread the Legality Rating among Italian companies. The Legality Rating, the Regulation of which was approved by the Antitrust Authority by its own sanction in November 2012, is an instrument for the promotion of legal and ethical principles in order to maximize safety and competitiveness in business activities, creating a system of incentives for firms that abide by the law and align themselves with the highest standards of ethical/social and/or governance by adapting their organizations in an appropriate way. On the basis of the provisions in the Memorandum of Intent, the GCNI Foundation is committed to: promoting the use of the "Rating" among their members as a tool in the field of the autonomous activity of pre-qualification and/or ethical qualification for business partners (e.g. suppliers and customers); encouraging subscribing companies to submit their application to the Antitrust Authority to obtain the "Rating"; promoting joint activities with the Antitrust Authority regarding companies (and potentially also between them and their business partners) to facilitate a common understanding of the "Rating" and "Regulations ", explaining the basic requirements for its access and the relative benefits of that, also providing useful clarifications to facilitate and encourage the submission of the application for obtaining the "Rating"; conducting surveys to gather comments and/or suggestions about how to improve the effectiveness of the Legality Rating Regulations, aiming to highlight possible areas for improvement if necessary and as concerns the Authority. For further information, write to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The United Nations Global Compact has facilitated the development of voluntary Food and Agriculture Business Principles (FAB Principles), which offer a framework for principle-based partnerships between companies, the UN, Governments and other stakeholders on sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition. The FAB Principles are the outcome of a broad and inclusive multi-stakeholder process. Over 20 consultations have been conducted globally, including more than 1,000 businesses, UN agencies and civil society organizations involved in agriculture, nutrition and food systems. To learn more, click here

The Annual Meeting of the Members of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation was held in Rome on May 9th at the Headquarters of Acea S.p.A.. The representatives of organizations that subscribe to the Foundation as "Participants" also took part in this meeting as "observers". The meeting was chaired by Marco Frey, President of the Foundation. After a comprehensive update on the activities completed and those being implemented, the Founding Members were invited to give an evaluation on the draft final balance of the Foundation 31.12.2013 which was presented during the meeting. The vote concluded with the approval of the document.

The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation is pleased to present its first Activities Report, which refers to the period dating from the establishment of the Foundation on 10th June 2013 until 31st December 2013. The Report is set up as an important information-giving and communication tool concerning the Foundation's objectives, the state of the implementation of the initiatives that make up the Foundation's activity program and the results achieved in the year referred to. The Report is produced in both Italian and English.

A new meeting of the Working-Group "Reporting" of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation will be held on April 29th, from 10.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.. The meeting will take place by video-conference link between the two venues of FEEM – Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei in Milan and Eni in Rome. In accordance with the planning of activities commonly defined by the organizations involved, in occasion of the meeting a process of comparison between the participants, focused on processes, methodologies and experiences related to the principle of materiality, will start in order to facilitate the companies in the analysis and declination of the same.

For several years, the Global Compact Network Italy (since June 2013, Global Compact Network Italy Foundation) and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) have collaborated on the themes of corporate responsibility and sustainability. As part of this partnership, the MAE invited Prof. Marco Frey to take part, as President of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation, in the multi-stakeholder Steering Committee involved in defining “A Foreign Policy for Sustainability”. The Steering Committee was established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - DG Globalization and Global Issues and is composed of representatives of: the most relevant Italian Ministries (Agriculture, Economic Development, Environment, Research and Universities, Welfare), the Inter-ministerial Committee for Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises Italian National Contact Point (based within the Ministry for Economic Development), Academia (e.g., the GOLDEN Network for Sustainability; the United Nations Center for Mediterranean Sustainable Solutions Network, the Bocconi University in Milan, the Tor Vergata University in Rome), the business world (the CSR Managers Network), big corporations like Enel, Eni, Ferrero, Pirelli, Telecom Italia and Terna. During the first meeting of the Steering Committee, held in Rome on February 25th, Fulvio Rossi, Sustainability Manager of Terna and member of the Board of Directors of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation, participated on behalf of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation. The main objectives of the meeting were to discuss the cornerstones of the “Foreign Policy for Sustainability”, organizing thematic panels to prepare an international event to be held during the current year. The four fields of interest proposed were: a) foreign policy for sustainability: an overarching agenda; b) sustainable development goals: a governance challenge shared by everyone; c) charting the course forward: cross-sector initiatives (government, business, academia); d) new business models for a sustainable (also human rights responsive) enterprise: the road ahead. The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation will be particularly involved in the last topic mentioned. The decision about the event date has been postponed, while the Steering Committee’s function as permanent forum has been underlined. The Committee will be in charge of the coordination on the one hand between different associations, academic institutions and businesses, and on the other between different public entities.

A meeting between the organizations involved in the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation’s "Environment" Working Group and several representatives of the Ministry of Environment, also including the Director General of the Protection of Nature from the Ministry who attended the last part of the meeting, was held on February 26th in Rome. The meeting, proposed by the above Ministry, was aimed at launching a joint reflection on the theme of "Measuring investment in biodiversity". This in-depth study, which took place in Aichi, is part of the global Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that established a series of objectives on the topic. The Ministry has additionally decided to begin to reflect and gear up at national level, also in view of the of UE Italian Presidency Term, when our country will coordinate the EU presence at the next CBD Conference of the Parties (Korea, October 2014 ). As well as Mark Frey, who took part in the meeting on behalf of the Foundation GCNI, it was attended by representatives of ACEA, Enel, Eni, Italcementi, KPMG, UniCredit. They presented an overview of the resources (financial and otherwise) of their respective companies invested in projects and initiatives to protect biodiversity and with which specific purposes. The meeting was also attended by the Foundation for Sustainable Development as an observer of the work. In view of the synergetic interaction between the two initiatives, the path of study with the Ministry of Environment will develop in parallel alongside the work of the Foundation’s "Environment" Group, committed to the theme of "The ecosystem services in business management".

The last web-meeting of the “Anti-Corruption” Working-Group of the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation was held on the 27th of February. The organizations belonging to the Group met with the twofold aim of: taking stock of the situation on the production of the single version of "Matrix of corporate risk areas of corruption" and proposing the latest changes and additions to the document with a view to finalizing the activity in progress; activating the path of sharing on business policies and practices on anti-corruption with regard to the areas of risk identified by the Matrix and considered most relevant by the Group by the presentation of the first three case-studies. With regard to this second point, Eni, Italcementi and Siemens Italia (three companies active in the Group) opened an avenue of in depth-analysis presenting a case-study focusing on the topic chosen during the last meeting, namely that of "corporate policies and procedures for the management of agents, advisers and intermediaries”. During the next meeting, to be held in April, the Group will share their knowledge and business practices centered on another topic highlighted by the Matrix. For further information on the activities of the “Anti-Corruption” Working-Group, click here

The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation Board of Directors met on January 29th 2014 and approved the applications for the subscriptions to the Foundation with the “Founders” status presented by Waste Italia S.p.A. (business participant) and AIAS - Associazione Italiana Ambiente e Sicurezza (this Italian association for safety and the environment is a non-business participant). In addition, the Board validated the request for change of status from "Participant" to that of "Founding Member" for the year 2014 presented by GSE - Gestore Servizi Energetici. The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on March 18th and the evaluation of new applications for subscribing to the Foundation is on the agenda for the meeting.

The Global Compact released its 2014-2016 Strategy which lays out how the initiative will work to make corporate sustainability a transformative force in achieving a shared, secure and sustainable future. Over the next three years, the initiative aims to achieve scale and transformation, while maintaining quality and impact, by focusing on four priorities: participant engagement; Local Networks, a global portfolio of issues, and responsible business in support of UN goals and issues. Developed by the management and staff of the Global Compact with support from Deloitte, the strategy is released after 18 months of consultation with a range of key stakeholders including the Global Compact Board, Government Group and Local Networks. To learn more on the Strategy, click here 

In November 2013, the Global Compact Network Italy Foundation accepted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ invitation to participate in an extended public consultation on the Italian Action Plan for the Public Administration to put into action "the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights" to be carried out by the Communication from the European Commission COM (2011) 681. To such end, it involved Working Group members in the consultation, handing out the Action Plan to them and asking for their observations. The document containing the entire contribution from the Foundation on the Action Plan was sent, in coordination with the Sodalitas Foundation, on 4 December 2013 to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the beginning of February, the next web-meeting of the Global Network Italy Foundation’s “Environment” Working Group will be held. The firms participating in the Working Group will meet with the aim of the tracking the latest progress on the topic of the eco-system services which is the Working Group’s chosen focus. The ecosystem services play a vital role in society. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment estimates that the loss of ecosystem services contributes to food and energy insecurity, increases vulnerability towards natural disasters, such as floods or tropical storms, worsens health, reduces the availability and quality of water resources and undermines cultural heritage. The ecosystem services also represent a significant portion of the total economic value of the planet. The organizations involved in the activities will follow recent developments on the subject on the basis of the results of the seminar "Eco-system services in business management", which was held in Rome on July 8 2013, and organized by Global Compact Network Italy Foundation, with the collaboration of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa and Consorzio Universitario per la Ricerca Socioeconomica e per l' Ambiente – CURSA. In addition, the next meeting will provide the opportunity to define the 2014 first semester agenda.

On 31 October 2013 the Global Compact introduced a Communication on Engagement (COE) for non-business participants. This reporting mechanism aims to provide non-business participants with an opportunity to engage more actively in the initiative and to better connect with business participants. The COE is a tool for non-business participants express their commitment through transparency and communicate the ways they advance the Global Compact. In the spirit of continuous improvement and engagement, non-business participants will be required to disclose specific activities in support of the initiative to stakeholders every two years, as well as results.

To read the Policy on Communication on Engagement, click here
To learn more, click here

The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation accepted the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in the public enlarged consultation on the Italian Plan of Action for the implementation by Public Administration of the "UN Guiding Principles on Enterprises and Human Rights" in implementation of the European Commission Communication COM (2011) 681. With this objective, the Foundation involved its Members and Participants in the consultation, giving them the Action Plan and requesting comments. The document containing the overall contribution of the Foundation on the Action Plan was posted on December 4th at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, the Foundation in collaboration with the Italian Committee for UNICEF and Save the Children Italy has provided a contribution to the predicted Ministry on the specific issue of Children's Rights and Business Principles.

The annual meeting of the European Networks of the United Nations Global Compact was held in Madrid on 20th to 22nd of November. Mainly aimed at identifying common solutions to the challenges posed by the development of the Global Compact on a regional and global scale and by the definition and operationalization of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the meeting also represented an important opportunity for the exchange of knowledge, experiences and information among representatives of the European Local Networks. For further information on the annual meetings of the European Local Networks, click here

On October 28th 2013, UNICEF Italy, Global Compact Network Italy Foundation and Save the Children Italy introduced in Italy the “Children's Rights and Business Principles”, a call on business to step up their efforts to respect and support children’s rights in the workplace, marketplace and community. To learn more, read the Press release

The last meeting of the "Anti-corruption" Working Group was held on October 22nd in Milan at the venue of Intesa Sanpaolo. As the main outcome of the meeting, a semi-final draft of the "Matrix on the business areas of risk to corruption" was produced. The final version of Matrix will be presented during the next meeting scheduled for 29th of January 2014. Over the next few months, in line with the objectives which the Working Group has adopted for the year 2014, a series of meetings devoted to the comparison of practices and best practice implemented by the companies in the Group in managing areas of risk to corruption identified in a systematic way thanks to the construction of the Matrix will be organized. For more information on the activities of the Working Group, please send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In September, four new companies joined the Foundation with the status of "Participant". They are: Auchan S.p.A., Barilla G. and R. Fratelli, K.P.M.G. S.p.A. and Sma S.p.A.. On October 30th, the Board of Directors of the Foundation finally approved the membership request of ABI - Italian Banking Association and UniCredit as "Founders". The Global Compact Network Italy Foundation would like to welcome its new founders and participants!