Its overarching mission is to help build a more sustainable and inclusive global economy by encouraging its signatory corporate members to develop, implement and disclose their sustainability commitments and practices. While the Global Compact Office (GCO) coordinates the initiative from New York, on the ground these are the tasks of Local Networks (LN), which are headed by a Focal Point and spread all over the world. Each Local Network manages and supports its own signatory companies, who pay the LN a fee: Local Networks are self-financed entities.

In addition to companies, Local Networks gather other stakeholders, such as civil society, NGOs and academics. Local Networks create synergies among their membership, and deepen the learning experience of all participants through their own activities and events, promote actions in support of broader UN goals, and attract new members to the initiative. In some areas, Local Networks are grouped under a Regional Center; the Global Compact’s multicentre governance framework aims at ensuring both the global scope and the local reach of the initiative.