Swisscontact reaffirms its support to the United Nations Global Compact

In 2009, Swisscontact signed the UN Global Compact and has since been actively promoting its Ten Principles. With our recent Communication on Engagement, we would like to highlight some of our key activities of the last two years. These focus on labour (Principles 3-6) and environment (Principles 7-9).

Swisscontact is dedicated to equal rights and opportunities. In many of our projects, we are promoting the inclusion of vulnerable groups, especially women, youth, and migrants. For instance, the 'Nuevas Oportunidades' programme in El Salvador seeks to reintegrate returning migrants through certification of competencies. The 'Skills for Life' project in Kenya aims to strengthen income-generating capabilities of youth and enhance their access to technical skills development.

Another key area is environment: The aim is to promote environmentally and climatically sustainable economic growth that integrates the low-income population while protecting them from environmental and health damage als well as negative effects of climate change. 

With regard to environmental protection, Swisscontact supports the Climate and Clean Air Program in Latin American Cities (CALAC+) financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). This is a partnership of governments, organisations, businesses and scientific institutions committed to reduce harmful air pollutants in Latin American capitals through using soot-free engines in public transport and in the construction sector. The Program also aims to promote international knowledge exchange on cleaner transport.

In the last two years, Swisscontact formed an Environmental Committee within its head office and updated its Environmental Policy, an institutional framework that sets priorities to improve the organisation's footprint. Within the internal exchange platforms, Swisscontact has developed an Environmental Assessment Tool, which was updated in 2019. This toolbox helps projects to assess environmental risks and impacts and develop mitigation measures to integrate into project design and implementation.

Read our full Communication on Engagement with the UN Global Compact for the period 1st November 2018 to 1st November 2020. We welcome feedback on its contents.