Global Compact Leaders Summit 2010

Eni and the Earth Institute for the Millennium Development Goals

Eni and the Earth Institute announced a new strategic partnership on key projects promoting sustainable development in Africa. The collaboration is part of the Earth Institute’s Corporate Circle. There are different ways in which companies can adhere to the Corporate Circle: of these, Eni has chosen the Strategic Partnership, which foresees involvement in meetings and workshops and cooperation with experts from the Earth Institute and the best students from Columbia University in defining and implementing sustainable development plans and concrete projects, with a special focus on developing countries, especially in Africa.

The Earth Institute is a non-profit research institute founded by Jeffrey D. Sachs at Columbia University in 1995, focused on issues of sustainability.
Through the Corporate Circle, the institute attempts to involve companies engaged in sustainable development programmes in projects aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Eni was Italy’s first company to sign up to the Global Compact in 2001 and the company’s commitment can be seen from a number of initiatives:
 

Companies signing up to the Global Compact, currently almost 5000 in 120 countries, are required to make a commitment to the 10 Principles, in conformity with the main Conventions of the United Nations. This year, following the evolutions in the international scenario, Eni has drawn up an analysis, Communication on Progress (CoP), based on the principle "actions taken, future commitments and outcome measurability", which was shared with both internal and external stakeholders.  

Human Rights

• to promote and respect human rights in the context of the company’s sphere of influence;
• to avoid all complicity, even indirect, in human rights abuses.
  
  Labour
  
• to uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
• to eradicate all forms of forced labour;
• to eradicate all forms of child labour;
• to uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
  
  Environment
  
• to adopt and support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
• to undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility;
• to encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
  
  The fight against corruption
  
•  to challenge all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.