Executive Director | United Nations Global Compact Network India
Ms. Shabnam Siddiqui is Officiating Executive Director at the United Nations Global Compact Network India. An academic practitioner with twenty-four years of experience, Shabnam specializes in developing and executing strategic intervention through multi-stakeholder networks, is skilled at training and research and has several national and international publications to her credit.
Shabnam is a great believer and practitioner of Collective Action and believes that the private sector plays a critical role in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals. She has made significant contributions to creating an active community of changemakers committed to accelerating positive change and innovation to achieve SDGs. Shabnam has created a path for corporate leaders to align their core business with the strategic goals of the local and international communities and act as a bridge between business and governments. Her role in getting businesses to realize that the attainment of SDGs is inextricably linked with market growth is the Centrepiece of her work and the impact of this cannot be overstated. Shabnam exemplifies the spirit of innovation and excellence, core to any sustainable governance work. Academically Shabnam has a Masters in Sociology from India, a second Masters in International Peace Studies from USA and embarked on a PhD in Public Policy at Singapore. Additionally, every couple of years Shabnam is engaged in academic pursuit to be abreast of new knowledge and thought leadership. Her most recent foray was to the University of Oxfordas a Chevening Rolls Royce Innovation, Science, Policy and Leadership (CRISP) Fellow based at Said Business School, St. Cross College.
- Tell us about Global Compact Network India and your role in it?
As a local arm of United Nations Global Compact, Global Compact Network India (GCNI) has been acting as a country level platform of UNGC and provides for Indian businesses, academic institutions and civil society organizations to join hands for strengthening responsible business practices. We and our members remain fully committed to the ‘10 Principles of United Nations Global Compact’ in areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-corruption and the 17 ‘Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ adopted in September 2015, by all 193 Member States of the United Nations.
GCNI is working hand in hand with the Government of India to balance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – totake the Government’s agenda forward. At present, the Indian Network has apan-India membership of 500 Leading Business and Non-Business Partners and Signatories. Essentially, we are a platform that provides a structure for businesses to build better targets towards more ethical business practices, thus, propagating sustainable governance and making it an integral part of the Global Goals agenda.
I started my journey in GCNI as a Project Director in 2011. I have driven projects and activities around good governance in general, and the 10th principle of Global Compact i.e. Anti-Corruption in particular. I have been instrumental in the establishment of Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency (CEGET) in 2015, which I have led since its inceptionas its Director. It isa dedicated facility within GCNI which promotes pragmatic approaches to governance – corporate, urban and environmental – and facilitates systematic policy initiatives for strengthening transparency and ethics in business. Collective action is the mantra that I personally stand devoted to, and believe that all stakeholders, business and non-business actors, policy makers and civil society, innovators, academia and youth have to put our head and hearts together so that India achieves the Sustainable Developments Goals that it has committed to and is a beacon of progress in the region.
I am presently serving in the capacity of Officiating Executive Director of GCNI.
- What are the major global UNGC initiatives that your Network is driving to accelerate the impact of SDGs?
Currently Network India is running five major initiatives that includes Target Gender Equality (TGE), SDG Ambition, Young SDG Innovators, SDG Pioneers and CEO Water Mandate. These initiatives are focused on measuring actionable impact and progress by companies that are members of the UN Global Compact and also shine a spotlight on individuals, showcasing how impact can be made, measured, monitored and scaled with the right vision and support that Network Indiais in a position to provide.
- SDG Ambition is a six-month accelerator program that calls for concrete action within a short time span to accelerate the actions necessary to achieve the SDG goals by setting ambitious corporate targets. This is a holistic program that guides the companies from start to finish on the deliverables and goals of the program.
- Target Gender Equality program aims to allow corporations to set realistic, yet ambitious targets, to achieve gender equality. The program also provides an analytical tool that helps businesses determine their current standing and potential performance in a local context.
- The Young SDG Innovators accelerator program is focused on connecting young professionals with businesses that can allow driving innovation by leveraging the Sustainable Development Goals.
- SDG Pioneers programme is focused on welcoming the stories of innovation and contributions towards sustainable development goals by employees of companies that are members of the UN Global Compact.
- The CEO Water Mandate aims to mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Endorsers of the CEO Water Mandate commit to continuous progress against six core elements of stewardship and in so doing understand and manage their own water risks.
- What role does GCNI play in fostering innovative thinking and creating sustainable solutions platform?
As part of its Uniting Business initiative GCNI has taken up the endeavour of building sustainability as the hallmark of responsible business practices. GCNI organized a unique Case Study Contest on HR Sustainable Best Practices as a part of UNGC’s Uniting Business to fight against COVID 19. The contest served as a platform for responsible businesses to showcase their best practices in response to COVID-19 and to recognize and celebrate them.
Under Principles Responsible Management Education (PRME), an initiative of UNGC, GCNI is organizing Manthan 2020,’Responsible Management Education in a Post COVID World: Emerging Innovative Practices in Management Schools’,a unique competition to understand the COVID -19 impact on education sector with Atal Innovation Mission (a flagship initiative of NITI Aayog), AIU, AICTE, UGC & UNESCO as Strategic Partners.
Going forward GCNI shall be hosting 5th Innovative Practices Awards on SDGs, which shall be presented at the GCNI flagship annual event 15th National Convention (NC). It is a powerful platform to showcase leading examples from organizations on how to incorporate SDGs into their business agenda and unlock value in terms of revenue growth, cost efficiencies, brand building, compliance and risk management.
The current COVID-19 crisis has shown that it is only through Innovative Sustainable Business Practices aligned with SDGs and the 10 UN Global Principles that we would be able to respond, recover, rebuild, and restore the condition of our planet and its people.
- How is GCNI advancing Gender Equality for its stakeholders and member companies?
GCNI aims to develop a robust roadmap towards gender equality which would enable women’s participation in the workforce across various sectors, on an equal footing with their male counterparts through its flagship programme Gender Equality Summit (GES). The GES brings together industry captains, sustainability leaders, policy makers, CSR practitioners, academicians, representatives from civil society on one platform to deliberate on collective responsibilities and explore routes that lead to gender inclusive outcomes at workplaces. This year in March 2020, GCNI conducted the third edition of the Gender Equality Summit in New Delhi conjoined with the international theme to highlight the current generation as a key driver and catalyst for gender equality.
Recently, Network India had the opportunity to host the special Spotlight session on Target Gender Equality – India and Way Forward at ‘United Business LIVE’ during the 75th UN General Assembly Session, which brought together various stakeholders from governments, NGOs, and civil societies to discuss impacts, challenges, opportunities, and way forward for women. Emphasis was laid on how women empowerment could be incorporated and stimulated in digital jobs, the role of young women entrepreneurs in addressing socio-economic and cultural barriers preventing the exploration of unconventional roles and responsibilities in India.The discussions also included gaining an understanding of strategies adopted by leadership to promote a gender-neutral culture across hierarchies within the organizations and supply chains.
- What strategy GCNI adopted during the pandemic to sensitise the awareness on SDGs?
GCNI focused on leveraging virtual technology and social media for strengthening stakeholder engagement and creating shared value through its programs. GCNI is successfully running the campaign #UnitingBusinesss on the completion of 20 years of UN Global Compact, which is replicated across all the Network India programmatic interventions and other initiatives. In the past few months GCNI has reached out to various stakeholders through International webinar series, virtual knowledge sharing sessions and virtual workshops that address challenges and strategies for future, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year GCNI had the opportunity to host Special Plenary Session at the 20th Anniversary of UNGC Virtual Leaders’ Summit and hosted a side event at UN Virtual Forum on Responsible Business and Human Rights 2020.
- How does GCNI aim to maximise the impact of partnerships for achieving SDGs?
In the past one year, GCNI has meaningfully engaged with various stakeholders such as Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, NITI Aayog, and UN Agencies such as UN India, UNDP, UN Women, UNESCO, UNESCAP and UN Habitat on various programmatic interventions. To accelerate efforts towards partnership of the Goals, GCNI significantly increased a record number of partnerships with many of the private sector signatories including Accenture, KPMG, Grant Thornton, Diageo, SAP India, ReNew Power, Mahindra and Mahindra and BMW India.
Additionally, GCNI has established two centres of knowledge and excellence, to deep dive on specific issues and target groups, as well as expand our work and be a leader in the region.
Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency (CEGET)at GCNI has always promoted knowledge-sharing and capacity-building by having meaningful collaborations with organizations of similar mandates. It has signed an MoU with GIZ Alliance for Integrity (AfIn) to cooperate in mainstreaming the agenda of integrity and transparency in businesses.CEGET has signed a collaborative partnership with the World Bank for carrying out capacity-building of Smart-city practitioners through India-ICT enabled Integration for Green Growth initiative of the World Bank. The objective is to collaborate and pool in resources for research and dialogue on ICT-enabled best practices and developing Digital solutions and integrated platforms for Smart cities. A third key partnership is with the National Institute of Urban Affairs, a think tank of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs wherein a diverse group of practitioners have come together to work towards Climate Smart City, which is the need of the hour. These partnerships aim at deliberating and advocating the essence of SDGs in varying degrees.
The Asia Pacific Resource Centre (APRC) at GCNI became operational in early 2019 and supports the private sector to align their activities with the UN SDGs and 10 Universal Principles of UNGC. This is done through various initiatives like – cutting edge research, advisory, training&capacity building and information support. It focuses on creating integrated knowledge management through 1) Business Engagement and 2) Virtual Knowledge Sharing Platform – Driving Impact for SDGs. APRC conducted its 1st Quality Education Conclave, focusing on the New Education Policy Draft, supported by Government of India and Delhi Government; Implemented online certification courses on Sustainability and SDGs for – practitioners and scholars; Published a report on Challenges, Solutions and Sustainability Practices of the Indian Tea Sector; Held the India Sustainability Dialogue 4.0 with the support of BMW focusing on Building Sustainable Organizations; Conducted a Value Assessment of ONGC’s pan India CSR projects and Impact Assessment of OTPC’s CSR projects in Tripura. In response to Covid-19 APRC regularly conducts online Capacity Building programs, in partnership with various corporates, NGOs/UN and educational institutes, through webinars, workshops, round tables and contests.
- As the local network for one of the fastest-growing economies, where do you see GCNI stand in terms of its importance?
As one of the most populous countries in the world, India has the potential to drive the SDG goals forward in India and be a shining example globally.
By mobilizing the Indian private sector, we are expediting and normalizing the growth of sustainable and ethical business practices and creating widespread change in areas of governance, gender equality and public health, which cover several of the SDGs. We stand to lead by example for other Asian countries that have similar demographic challenges as India does and also globally.
- What is the road ahead for UN Global Compact?
The pandemic has brought on significant challenges in driving forward the Sustainable Development Goals. The importance of private sector cannot be emphasized more, especially during this public health crisis because of the types of resources they have access to and the magnitude of challenges they had to deal with. In that same vein, we need to realize the untapped potential that the private sector holds to drive progress in all realms of sustainable development. The UNGC has achieved significant successes in its 20 years of existence upon which it can now build. In recent years, the corporate world has truly woken up to the sustainability agenda generating momentum and we have had an opportunity to be bold and define a robust strategy to push forward into the ‘Decade of Action’ with the strength to catalyze action which is bolder, faster, and cuts across the business world globally.
For the year 2021-2023 UNGC aims to complete a broad stakeholder engagement and build a holistic roadmap together with Participants (business & civil society), Global Network Council, Foundations & Funding Partners, Government Partners, UN Leadership & Resident Coordinators.
