The United Nations Global Compact and the Encyclical Laudato Si: A special theme issue of The Journal of Corporate Citizenship (Issue 64)

In April 2016, the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Office convened a group of scholars and business leaders to discuss the Encyclical Laudato Si (LS) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The articles in this special issue are from that conference; the hope is that they will provoke your thinking and lead to new action to make the world a better place. How is it that the secular United Nations and the religious Vatican have a common vision for business? At root, this common vision for business flows from a common vision for society as a whole. For business, flowing from this common vision is a common understanding of the purpose of business. Catholic social thought has always taught that the single-minded focus on making money in business can never be acceptable. The purpose of business is to create sustainable value for stakeholders and that value is not exclusively monetary value.

Table of Contents:
Editorial David F. Murphy, Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS), University of Cumbria, UK Guest Editorial: Adapting to and Expanding the Social Expectations on Business: The Common Theme in Laudato Si and the UN Sustainable Development Goals Oliver F. Williams, University of Notre Dame, USA An Overview from the Point of View of Pope Francis Archbishop Bernardito Auza, United Nations, USA An Overview from the Point of View of the UN Global Compact Mark Moody-Stuart, Global Compact Foundation, USA Laudato Si: An Environmental Watershed? Jeffrey Ball, Stanford University, USA The 3M Company: Applying the Theory and Changing the World Jean Bennington Sweeney, 3M, USA Pope Francis and the United Nations: Planet Partners Gerald F. Cavanagh, University of Detroit Mercy, USA Corporate Social Responsibility in Light of Laudato Si Martijn Cremers, University of Notre Dame, USA How Pope Francis is Shaping the Environment of Business Mark R. Kennedy, University of North Dakota, USA Ricardo Calleja, IESE Business School (University of Navarra), Spain Corporate Support for the SDGs: A South African Perspective Daniel Malan, University of Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa Commitments and Appeals to Make a Better World: The Global Compact, Laudato Si and Our Future James P. Walsh, University of Michigan, USA Angelo M. Solarino, University of Leeds, UK