GENERAL

As part of the Making Global Goals Local Business campaign, each year the UN Global Compact recognizes a class of SDG Pioneers — business leaders working at any level of their company who are using business as a force for good to advance the 17 SDGs.

Through their own company or by mobilizing other businesses, they are helping to reach one or more of the Global Goals while also contributing to business success.

The 2020 cohort of UN Global Compact SDG Pioneers will be announced in September as part of UN General Assembly week in New York.

Professionals who are working at any level of a UN Global Compact Participant or Signatory company are eligible to apply or be nominated. To check whether an organization is a UN Global Compact Participant or Signatory company, please search the participant list online. If your company has yet to select its engagement tier, please see here for more information.

For the 2020 cohort of SDG Pioneers, only companies who were participants of the UN Global Compact on 30 September 2019 and have submitted at least one Communication on Progress (CoP) are eligible to apply. If your company joined after 30 September 2019 date, please consider applying for the 2021 SDG Pioneers programme.

The UN Global Compact reserves the right to remove the SDG Pioneer recognition if the company and/or individual is later deemed to be a reputational risk to the SDG Pioneer campaign and/or the UN Global Compact initiative.

Only individuals from a UN Global Compact Participant or Signatory company will be eligible to apply or be nominated. If your company is not yet participating in the UN Global Compact please visit the UN Global Compact website to learn more about how to join.

You can nominate yourself or a colleague at your company, or someone you know from another UN Global Compact participating company. That individual will then be contacted to ensure their willingness to be considered and the accuracy of the submitted information

Nominations for the global round open 21 May 2020. If a Global Compact Local Network is running a national-level round before the global round, you must apply directly through that national round first. A full list of Local Networks running national-level rounds can be found here. Global Compact Local Networks spanning all continents will launch the national-level round on 17 February 2020.

No, the SDG Pioneers campaign highlights the work of individuals, not organizations.

The deadline to submit a nomination is 21 July 2020.

SELECTION PROCESS

A multi-stakeholder SDG Pioneers selection group will vote on the nominees. This Selection Group is comprised of representatives of the UN Global Compact Board and Expert Network, alongside previous SDG Pioneers and representatives from the Global Compact Network Council, academia and UN agencies.

The 2020 cohort of UN Global Compact SDG Pioneers will be informed of their selection by late August. Due to the volume of nominations received, we may be unable to contact nominees who are not selected.

RECOGNITION

The 2020 cohort of UN Global Compact SDG Pioneers will be announced and celebrated in September 2020 during UN General Assembly week. The SDG Pioneers will receive visibility and be recognized for the outstanding work that they have done to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Until the opening of the global round on 21 May 2020, please address questions regarding national-level SDG Pioneer selections directly to the relevant Local Network. A full list of Local Networks running national-level rounds can be found here.