By Ikenna Omeje
The United Nations Initiative, on Monday, confirmed Italian energy giant, Eni, as Global Compact LEAD participant for the third year, in a sign of the company’s ongoing commitment to the United Nations Principles for responsible business.
Eni was identified among the most engaged companies to lead a new era of sustainability, at the UN Global Compact special event to mark the opening of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly,
A release by the company on Monday said: “Eni was identified as being among the most highly-engaged participants of the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.”
LEAD is a platform for highly-engaged participants in the UN Global Compact, which is a global movement that supports companies in aligning their strategies and operations with ten universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and in taking strategic actions to achieve broader UN goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Speaking on the recognition, the release quoted Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi as saying: “This recognition confirms our efforts on sustainability and further reinforces our long-term vision, strongly oriented towards creating value for and in partnership with our stakeholders – from international organisations to the civil society, from investors to the communities where we operate – combining environment, social, and economic sustainability. Our commitment must be even stronger today, at a time of global transformation, as only through international and multilateral cooperation, can we build a sustainable future.”
The release explained: “Eni has demonstrated its commitment to the UN Global Compact this year by participating in Action Platforms on Reporting on the SDGs and Financial Innovation for the SDGs. Each UN Global Compact Action Platform convenes business, Global Compact Local Networks, leading experts, civil society, Governments and UN partners to solve complex and interconnected issues and innovate around the Sustainable Development Goals.
“In line with these commitments, Claudio Descalzi has also signed the UN Statement from Business Leaders for Renewed Global Cooperation, committing to invest in addressing systemic inequalities and injustices through inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels of the business, as well as to strengthen access to justice, ensure transparency and respect for human rights. The statement also calls on Governments to enhance multilateralism and global governance to fight corruption, build resilience and achieve the SDGs.
“Finally, Eni is among the signatories of the CFO Principles on Integrated SDG Investments and Finance. The principles, announced on the margins of the UN General Assembly and signed by Eni’s Chief Financial Officer Francesco Gattei, aim to emphasize the role that businesses and CFOs can play in contributing towards financing the SDGs.
The principles, developed in the framework of the CFO Taskforce for the SDGs created by the UN Global Compact, seek to guide companies in aligning their sustainability commitments with credible corporate finance strategies to create real-world impact on the SDGs. The goal is to work with the investment value chain, including investors, banks, development finance institutions, credit ratings agencies and sustainability assessment firms to create a broad, liquid and efficient market for SDG investments and capital flows.”
