The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with Maala-Business for Social Responsibility will for the first time hold in Israel a conference in conjunction with the United Nations Global Compact, which accords prestigious international recognition to businesses throughout the world that meet criteria of social and environmental commitment.

The Global Compact is a framework that establishes a partnership between the world business sector and the United Nations that facilitates the promotion of international trade in such as way as to advance world economy and civil society today and for generations to come. The convention presents ten universally accepted principles which businesses must adopt and implement, in return for which they receive UN "approval". These principles are in the areas of human rights, labor rights, environmental protection and anti-corruption.

To date, over 3,000 businesses in 116 countries around the world are registered in the Global Compact. The Israel Foreign Ministry has now decided to bring the Global Compact to Israel and to present it to Israeli businesses. Maala-Business for Social Responsibility will oversee the project in Israel. The Foreign Ministry attaches great importance to the establishment of such a working relationship between Israeli civil society and private enterprises and the United Nations in this context.

Maala foresees in this potential advantages for Israeli businesses: creating opportunities for dialogue, networking and cooperation with the business world on subjects relevant to business strategies, exchange of knowhow and best practices that will provide ideas for applicable solutions and strategies to cope with a variety of problems and challenges, access to the UN information databases relating to sustainable development, and corporate brand management for markets abroad.

For further information and registration (Hebrew).