SIOP United Nations Committee Attends the 2025 Global Compact Leaders Summit

Submitted by SIOP United Nations Committee Chair Sara P. Weiner, SIOP United Nations Committee Incoming Chair Mark Poteet, and SIOP United Nations Committee Student member Serena Zhou

In 2025, the SIOP United Nations Committee Chair Sara Weiner and Incoming Chair Mark Poteet represented SIOP at the Global Compact Leaders Summit (September 23, New York City). The Summit brought together leaders from 69 countries to connect, review trends and updates, share expertise, and discuss ideas for the future.

The Global Compact, with about 25,500 participants from 167 countries, supports companies to:

• Do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with Ten Principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption; and
• Take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with an emphasis on collaboration and innovation.

Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group (IKEA), shared that IKEA is down 30% on their carbon footprint with “massive” financial savings while still growing as a company. Brodin also shared data from a recent CEO survey:

• 68% of customers report climate change as the most pressing global issue.
• 88% of CEOs believe the business case for sustainability has strengthened in the past five years.
• Only about 50% of CEOs feel comfortable speaking publicly about sustainability due to perceived backlash.

Brodin’s central message was that organizations that invest in sustainability, measure it rigorously, and communicate transparently are being rewarded for their authenticity by investors and consumers. Decades of research supports this message (see for example Aguinis & Glavas, 2019; Berg, Fabisik, & Sautner, 2021; Elkington, 1997; Friede, Busch, & Bassen, 2015; Orlitzky, Schmidt, & Ryneset, 2003).

The future of work was discussed by Alexandra Legend Siegel, Chief Equality & Engagement Officer at Salesforce, who described how the company is using AI to “automate the mundane,” freeing employees to focus on creativity, problem solving, and meaningful customer impact. I-O psychology professionals have a critical role to play in the design of skill-transition pathways aligning worker expertise with emerging roles.

Roundtable discussions and breakout sessions highlighted organizations’ current practices, recommendations, and/or ongoing needs in areas such as aligning sustainability and marketing functions, grounding messaging in verified and transparent data with measurable impact, investment in women advancement, healthy work environments, living wages, and adaptive leadership development and practices.

Why This Matters for I-O Psychology

Themes that surfaced repeatedly—gender equality, decent work, healthy workplaces, ethical AI, workforce transitions, organizational effectiveness, risk mitigation, and talent strategy—map directly onto core competencies of industrial and organizational psychology. Organizations and nations are looking for applied science to guide their efforts and we are well positioned to contribute that expertise in designing the systems, structures, and leadership practices that enable progress.

The SIOP United Nations Committee highly recommends that organizations and academic institutions explore joining the Global Compact.

References

Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. (2019). On corporate social responsibility, sensemaking, and the search for meaningfulness through work. Journal of Management, 45(3), 1057–1086.

Berg, F., Fabisik, K., & Sautner, Z. (2021). Is history repeating itself? The (un) predictable past of ESG ratings (European Corporate Governance Institute–Finance Working Paper 708/2020).

Elkington, J. (1997). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone.

Friede, G., Busch, T., & Bassen, A. (2015). ESG and financial performance: aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies. Journal of sustainable finance & investment, 5(4), 210-233.

Orlitzky, M., Schmidt, F. L., & Rynes, S. L. (2003). Corporate social and financial performance: A meta‐analysis. Organization Studies, 24(3), 403–441. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840603024003910