Communication
on Progress (CoP)
Reporting to stakeholders in a transparent and public manner is fundamental for companies committed to sustainability. Your company’s annual Communication on Progress (CoP) is a key component of your commitment to the UN Global Compact.
In case of questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to tabea.boeglin@globalcompact.ch or cop-support@unglobalcompact.org. More general information on the CoP as well as further guidance and on-demand courses can be accessed below.
Communication on Progress
The Communication on Progress (CoP) is the accountability mechanism of the UN Global Compact. It is an annual and mandatory requirement for all business participants of the UN Global Compact.
The submission period for the mandatory 2026 Communication on Progress (CoP) opens on 1 April 2026 and closes on 31 July 2026.
For additional information, please refer to the 2026 CoP Policy, visit our CoP Readiness Hub or consult the resources at the bottom of this page.
Benefits of the Communication on Progress
Requirements
List Title
The Communication on Progress (CoP) consists of two elements that must be submitted through the CoP digital platform:
CEO Statement of Continued Support
Publicly expressing your company’s ongoing commitment to the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact at the highest level. The statement is a standardized template that is signed electronically.
CoP Questionnaire and/or Sustainability Report
Reporting on corporate action and performance related to the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and the Sustainable Development Goals.
*For the 2026 reporting year, a sustainability report uploaded through the digital platform can still be submitted in lieu of the CoP Questionnaire. Please reference the 2026 CoP Policy for more information.
Deadlines
The 2026 CoP submission period is from 1 April 2026 at 15:00 CEST to 31 July 2026 at 23:00 CEST.
The CoP is an annual, mandatory requirement for all business participants of the UN Global Compact. New joiners do not need to submit a CoP until the year after joining. For example, participants joining the Global Compact in 2026 do not need to submit a CoP until 2027.
Participants, excluding new joiners, that fail to submit a 2026 CoP within the submission period will be listed as ‘non-communicating’ on their participant profile after the deadline has passed.
‘Non-communicating’ participants that do not submit a CoP by 31 December 2026 will be delisted from the UN Global Compact on 1 January 2027.
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Preparing your Communication on Progress
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Review the CoP Questionnaire to understand which data needs to be collected.
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Use the CoP Guidebook (coming soon) for support in answering the questionnaire, such as calculation guidance and a glossary of key terms.
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Optional: complete the CoP Questionnaire as a draft using the Excel or PDF version.
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Begin your data collection process on time using supporting CoP materials on the CoP Academy page and the CoP Data Checklist (coming soon).
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Ensure that you have access to the UN Global Compact dashboard. Refer to the User's Guide to learn how to request credentials.
Submitting your Communication on Progress
Complete the CoP Questionnaire on our platform, accessible via your UN Global Compact Dashboard. Note that the Excel file and PDF cannot be uploaded and that the CEO Statement of Continued Support is integrated into the platform and does not require a separate file.
Participants are welcome to include supplementary materials in their CoP submission. Please note that such materials, along with the rest of the CoP, will be publicly available upon submission.
Once submitted, the CoP will be available to be downloaded as a PDF file by the participant via the digital platform. Additionally, all CoPs will be publicly available to view on each respective participant profile.
Please note that all data, including supplemental documentation that was submitted by a participating company through the CoP digital platform, will be made publicly available on the UN Global Compact website. This data may be used by the UN Global Compact in aggregate form to present trends or included in reports about the status of corporate sustainability. The UN Global Compact does not have any responsibility on the accuracy of the data submitted by its participating companies nor on how this public data will be used by other stakeholders.
Visualize aggregated CoP Data
Launched in 2024, the CoP Data Visualisation Tool offers insights into progress being made in advancing the Ten Principles. Composed of CoP Questionnaire submissions since 2023, these publicly available dashboards offer insights into the progress of UN Global Compact business participants in advancing the Ten Principles. View the instructional video here.
Overview of Resources
For further information visit the CoP Readiness Hub on the Academy or find further details below.
Upcoming Events
Contact person
Tabea Böglin
Programmes Manager Social Sustainability, ESG Reporting and Regulations