The United Nations Global Compact is a voluntary corporate sustainability initiative based on industry CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles and to undertake partnerships in support of UN goals. One important thrust of the Compact activities is on seafood sustainability. Another is on Setting science-based targets in the sectors business, in support of SDGs. FEG Chair was invited to participate in the development of another thrust to develop a Practical Guidance for the UN Global Compact. Sustainable Ocean Principles: Fisheries. After A Number of webinars and exchanges in which FEG Chair participated as member of the Technical Review Group, the Global Compact Document has now been published, dealing with (1) Ocean health and productivity; (2) Governance and engagement (of the sector); and (3) Data and transparency.
The Sustainable Ocean Principles aim at promoting the well-being of the ocean for current and future generations, and to emphasize the shared responsibility of businesses to take necessary actions to secure a healthy and productive ocean. Companies signing on to the Sustainable Ocean Principles commit to assess their impact on the ocean and integrate them into their overall strategy. The principles provide a framework for responsible business practices in the ocean. They build upon and supplement the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
The guidances complement and operationalize the UN Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Principles for specific industry sectors. For each principle, the guidances provide a set of actions which can be implemented, exemplified by inspirational good practices. Each guidance includes an analysis of the sustainability challenges and opportunities of the sector. Practical Guidances for additional sectors are currently being developed.
