Human rights and responsible business

United Nations Global Compact

Allens was a foundation signatory to the United Nations Global Compact in 2001, and our continuing goal is to promote and uphold the Compact's 10 principles including those relating to human rights, labour standards and environmental sustainability.

What is the United Nations Global Compact?

The United Nations Global Compact supports companies to conduct business responsibly, by aligning their strategies and operations with Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and to take action to advance wider societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, emphasising collaboration and innovation.

The United Nations Global Compact's Ten Principles are based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

10 guiding principles

Businesses should:

1. Support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights
2. Make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses
3. Uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
4. Uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour
5. Uphold the effective abolition of child labour
6. Uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
7. Support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges
8. Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility
9. Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
10. Work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery

How we participate 

Best practice in corporate responsibility is critical and Allens will continue to work alongside businesses across the world to support and promote the Compact’s 10 principles. We publish regular Communication on Progress reports, and the latest version, along with our summary of actions, can be found on the UN Global Compact website.

These report on how we, for example:

• demonstrate our support of human rights through our commitment to compliance with Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), the ongoing implementation of our First Nations Engagement Plan, and our philanthropic support for community organisations;
• are actively working to eliminate all forms of discrimination in the workplace, as indicated by, in 2022, the WGEA having recognised Allens as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality for the 19th consecutive year;
• assist LGBTQ+ asylum seekers with their claims, and supported not-for-profit organisations' advocacy of transgender rights; and
• encourage the use of environmentally friendly technologies, and provide pro bono legal assistance to organisations including, WWF Australia, Chris Darwin's Darwin Challenge, Landcare Australia, the Sea Turtle Foundation, the Equator Principles Association, the Sydney Institute of Marine Science Limited.

Addressing Modern Slavery risks

We are also committed to taking action to assess and address modern slavery risks in our operations and supply chain. We publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement in accordance with the requirements of Australia's Modern Slavery Act 2018. Our most recent Statement outlines the actions we have taken during the FY22 reporting period, and steps we plan to take to continually improve our approach.