The United Nations Global Compact in México: Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
Date of Award
5-2018
Degree Type
Practitioner Report
Degree Name
Master of Arts in International Development and Social Change (IDSC)
Department
International Development, Community and Environment
Chief Instructor
Will O’Brien, J.D., M.B.A.
Second Reader
David Bell, Ed.D.
Keywords
Global Compact, México, Corporate Social Responsibility, Reporting, Communication On Progress.
Abstract
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is the world’s largest corporate responsibility platform. It is based on Ten Principles related to Human Rights, Labor Standards, Environment, and Anticorruption commitments that companies can voluntarily adhere to. The UNGC has been celebrated for bridging the Sustainable Development Goals to the private sector and for promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among businesses. It has also been criticized for its lack of supervision and enforcement mechanisms. The signatories of the Compact are required to submit an annual report to the UN (Communication on Progress) but this is not evaluated in any form.
In México, CSR is an evolving field, and there is a UNGC Local Network that provides contextualized support to the national signatories. This project proposed and tested an Evaluation Tool to assess the reports submitted by signatories, that could be potentially implemented by the UNGC Network in México. The testing results of the Evaluation Tool provided an inventory of CSR initiatives and reporting trends, and a selection of Best Practices and Improvement Opportunities of a sample of Mexican UNGC signatories. It also demonstrated the value of offering differentiated approaches and support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and to bigger companies (+250 employees) joining the UNGC.
The results are contrasted with Communication on Progress’ reporting trends from other Hispanic countries. It was found that the UNGC signatories reviewed exhibit common shortcomings in observing the Global Compact’s Ten Principles: they are passive compliers of Human Rights and Labor Standards national laws; they fall short on pushing for higher aspirations on the Environmental area; and their Anticorruption efforts are dependent on the corruption context of their regions.
Recommended Citation
Preciado, Magaly, "The United Nations Global Compact in México: Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting" (2018). Sustainability and Social Justice. 186.
https://commons.clarku.edu/idce_masters_papers/186
