UN Global Compact Leaders Summit mobilizes business action as the initiative marks 25 years

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Nations Global Compact wrapped its 2025 Leaders Summit today, convening business, Government and civil society to accelerate credible action on the Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a pivotal 25-year milestone for the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative. The Summit took place during High-level Week of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA80) with programming centered on practical tools, networking and peer learning as part of the activities of UN Global Compact Hub, a dedicated space for participant-only events and networking.

This year's Summit featured opening reflections on "25 Years of the UN Global Compact," followed by plenaries and hands-on breakout sessions spanning sustainable finance, next-generation sustainability reporting and the business case for resilience and growth in uncertain markets. The day closed with remarks from UN Global Compact CEO and Executive Director Sanda Ojiambo and a keynote from actor and author Rainn Wilson.

Among highlighted speakers were leaders from IKEA (Ingka Group), the Global Reporting Initiative, L'Oréal Group, Fujitsu, City Developments, Acciona, Novonesis, Schneider Electric, Neoenergia, Tesco, Singaland Asetama, Hermes and others — underscoring the breadth of sectors engaged in translating principles into performance.

Highlights of Leaders Summit 2025 included a dedicated session examining how companies can use converging standards and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to turn sustainability reporting into decision-useful insights; dialogues exploring innovations in sustainable finance to crowd in private capital at scale; sessions on "selling sustainability" focused on credible KPIs and an SDG Innovation pitch showcasing solutions from companies across regions and sectors.

Commenting on the day, Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, said: "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."

The Leaders Summit 2025 was held following a board meeting of the UN Global Compact, chaired by the UN Secretary-General, in which its 2026-2030 strategy was approved, charting the next phase of the initiative's evolution — prioritizing three shifts: equipping companies with a tailored, digitally enabled learning journey (including a modernized Communication on Progress); catalyzing collective action across four impact areas (climate & nature, decent work & living wages, gender equality and sustainable finance); and 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 to convert the Ten Principles into comparable, credible results by 2030.

Notes to Editors

About the UN Global Compact
The ambition of the UN Global Compact is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the SDGs through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 20,000 participating companies, 5 Regional Hubs, 64 Country Networks covering 85 countries and 9 Country Managers establishing Networks in 16 other countries, the UN Global Compact is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world. For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org.

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