Chapter 03 · Reporting & strategyReporting, Disclosure & Frameworks
Communication on Progress (UNGC)
Definition
A Communication on Progress is the annual public disclosure required of all business participants in the UN Global Compact, describing actions taken to implement its Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption and to support the Sustainable Development Goals. The current format combines a CEO statement of continued support with a standardised questionnaire.
References
mandatory annual CoP; CEO statement plus questionnaire; delisting for non-communication
current policy cycle and objectives
Overview
What it means
It is the UNGC's principal accountability mechanism — participation without reporting leads first to 'non-communicating' status and ultimately to delisting.
How it is used
Companies submit the CoP through the UNGC platform; stakeholders use it to track corporate sustainability commitments over time.
Why it matters
It anchors the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative in transparent, comparable reporting rather than membership alone.