COE

Prepare and submit your COE

To assist you in developing your COE, below are key tools and guidance. Importantly, your COE must be submitted online before your deadline in order to fulfil your reporting commitment. More information about the online submission process and deadlines is below.

• How to Prepare a COE

  1. Know your deadline

  Your organization has your own unique deadline based on the date you joined the UN Global Compact or your previous COE submission. It is displayed on your organization’s public profile. Search for your profile.

  New participants must submit their first COE two years after joining the initiative. Existing participants are required to submit their COEs two years after the last submission. For example, if the last submission took place on 6 April 2016, the next COE will be due on 6 April 2018. Participants that joined before 31 October 2013 are required to submit their first COE on or before 31 October 2015. Please note that all COEs are due at 23:00 UTC on the designated date.

  2. Understand the COE requirements and Policy

  The COE requirements and policy is available in 10 languages in our library. View the COE Policy in our library.

  3. Define what type of report you will create and the reporting period

  The following formats are accepted:

  • A stand alone document
  • Part of an annual financial report
  • Part of another type of report

  Define the period covered by the report (starting and ending dates).

  4. Consult a list of suggested activities by type of organization

  A list of suggested activities are available in multiple languages.

  5. Prepare your report

  Consider:

  • How much time do you need to report?
  • What activities do you need to measure and/or collect on a regular basis during the year to report outcomes?
  • Do not wait until the last minute. This requires time and preparation.
  • Review your report using our checklist.
  • If your organization does not have an existing report, consider using our COE Template.

• How to Submit a COE

  For a COE to be considered an official submission, it must be directly uploaded to our system. To do so, you will need to log in to your participant profile and follow the instructions below. COEs will not be accepted if they are emailed or mailed to the UN Global Compact.

  For guidance on how to log in and submit your COE, see the following resource in our library:

  • Step-by-step submission guide.

• How to Request a Deadline Extension

  There are two options to request a deadline modification before the COE deadline expires. To request either option, you will need log in to your participant profile and follow the instructions that can be found at the links below.

  • Grace Period Letter: grants an additional 90 days. See the Guide to Submit a Grace Letter.
  • Adjustment Request: grants a one-time only deferral of up to 11 months to adjust the reporting cycle. See the Guide to Request an Adjustment.