United Nations Global Compact

On March 3, 2006, Symantec Chairman of the Board John W. Thompson announced Symantec’s commitment to support the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and signed the UNGC in the presence of Gavin Power, Senior Advisor of the UNGC, and more than 200 Silicon Valley business leaders.

Symantec encourages all companies to adopt the UNGC’s ten principles to protect human rights, uphold ethical labor conditions, preserve the environment, and combat corruption. In the three years since we became a member, we have worked diligently to strengthen our own performance and share best practices and thought leadership with others.

UNGC Communication on Progress

Signatories to the UNGC are required to publish a Communication on Progress (COP) every year. The COP describes activities undertaken by each company to promote the UNGC’s ten principles.

• Symantec issued an interim COP in March 2008
• Symantec’s 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report (issued in September 2008) serves as a comprehensive COP for FY08
• Symantec’s 2009 Corporate Responsibility Update summary includes a COP directory for activities undertaken by Symantec in FY09

United States Global Compact Network

Symantec serves as a focal point for the U.S. Global Compact Network. We helped plan and organize a human rights-oriented event in April 2008 at the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts. Approximately 100 executives, civil society representatives, academics, and human rights experts attended the meeting, which marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We participated in two additional Network meetings in FY09. The first, titled “Water in the 21st Century”, was held in November 2008 in New York City. The meeting highlighted the need for companies across all sectors to take a comprehensive approach to "water sustainability" through initiatives such as the UNGC’s CEO Water Mandate. The conference also emphasized the importance of working with civil society organizations.

Most recently, Symantec attended a Network meeting in Washington, D.C. in May 2009 to discuss “CSR and Public Policy”. The meeting focused on the ongoing intersection of business with policy spheres at all levels: local, state, federal, and international. Attendees discussed how a new architecture of engagement that features multi-stakeholder learning and dialogue is emerging in corporations to help them learn about and influence both regulatory and non-regulatory public policy-making.

Finally, in June 2009 Symantec joined delegates of UNGC Local Networks from nearly 80 countries at the 7th Global Compact Annual Local Network Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. Forum participants reiterated the need to further engage business in supporting the principles of the UNGC.