The UN Global Compact Is Knocking on Trinidad and Tobago's Door

More than 90 business leaders, government officials and UN representatives gathered at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago’s auditorium on March 3 for the inaugural Private Sector Forum on Accelerating Growth Through Sustainable Business. 

The event was organized by the UN Global Compact Network Caribbean with Guardian Group, M.D. Medical Consultancy Ltd.  and the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TTCIC), and sponsored by Guardian Group, EY Caribbean, UNIPET, M.D. Medical Consultancy Ltd., TTCIC and ANSA McAL Limited. It marked an important milestone for the private sector: Guardian Group’s formal entry into the UN Global Compact. This homegrown company is now the first major regional financial institution to join the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.

The UN Global Compact — a UN initiative with more than 25,000 member companies across 160 countries — asks businesses to align with ten principles covering human rights, labor standards, environmental stewardship, and anti-corruption. In return, companies gain a recognized governance framework, access to a global network and practical tools to translate sustainability commitments into measurable targets.

Joanna Kazana, the UN Resident Coordinator in Trinidad and Tobago, opened the forum by challenging what she called a persistent false choice: the belief that companies must choose between serving shareholders and protecting the systems on which their businesses depend. Noting that flooding near industrial areas already disrupts supply chains, heavy reliance on imported food exposes businesses to volatility in global markets, and the degradation of Tobago’s coral reefs threatens the island’s tourism economy, she told the audience, 

“Development — including economic development — without sustainability is not development at all. It is deferred cost that eventually arrives with interest.” 

She also pointed to UNIPET — the first Trinidad-and-Tobago-born company to join the Compact — as evidence that its standards are not an external burden but a competitive advantage for firms seeking credibility in international markets.

Vashti Guyadeen, CEO of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, pressed the commercial case.

 “If sustainability does not translate into productivity gains, reduced risk, or access to capital, companies are approaching it incorrectly,” she said. 

Guyadeen called for the enabling conditions private investment requires — predictable regulation, transparent procurement, and long-term policy signals — and was direct about their absence. 

“Public–private partnership must move beyond announcements," Guyadeen said. "Without that structure, ambition remains rhetoric.”

Keynote speaker Ian Chinapoo, CEO of Guardian Group, placed governance at the center of the discussion. Referencing the collapses of Enron and Lehman Brothers, he argued that “growth that isn’t resilient is temporary,” and that sustained expansion depends on disciplined governance, strong balance sheets, and institutions that investors trust with long-term capital. Guardian Group’s own record — dedicated ESG leadership, parametric insurance products and solar installations at the company’s Dutch-Caribbean facilities saving approximately US$75,000 annually — was presented as evidence that sustainability strategies can deliver measurable financial returns. Announcing the company’s entry into the UN Global Compact, Chinapoo framed the step as an accountability structure rather than a symbolic gesture.

 “The decisions we make in our boardrooms today determine whether future generations — like our children and grandchildren — inherit strong institutions or fragile ones,” he said.

Aarti Bedassie-Maharaj, Permanent Secretary representing Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development, Senator The Honourable Dr. Kennedy Swaratsingh, announced Cabinet’s approval of the Strategic National Development Plan 2026–2030, which places sustainable development at the center of national policy — an approach she described as “Prosperity with Purpose.” Supporting measures include a World Bank engagement to support export sectors, the DevelopTT fast-track permitting portal for major construction projects and a 129-project infrastructure program projected to generate 72,000 jobs.

A panel discussion moderated by Ermath Harrington of HARCON Harrington Consultants focused on practical implementation. Shinelle Grant-Sealey of Guardian Group advised firms to begin with a materiality assessment — identifying the ESG issues most directly affecting their operations. Wendell Ramoutar of PwC noted that “credibility is currency,” and that investors increasingly demand ESG data because it correlates with stronger risk management. Ria Sooknarine of UNIPET shared lessons from her company’s experience as the first Trinidad-and-Tobago-born signatory to the Compact. “We started small, but we started with conviction,” she said, “and the discipline of reporting against the ten principles changed how we ran the business and the conversations we were invited into internationally.” Natalie Bibby of ANSA McAL Group also shared on their sustainability reporting process. Underpinning private sector operations are the national policy regulations that foster resilience, as explained by panelist Aisha Donaldson of the Town and Country Planning Division.

Kyana Bowen, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network Caribbean, closed the proceedings by distilling the Compact’s offer as accountability rather than symbolism: the framework, the network, and the tools to turn intention into measurable action.

Mark Thomas, Partnerships Officer at the UN Resident Coordinator Office, framed the strategic choice plainly. Citing the experience of Unilever under former CEO Paul Polman — whose sustainability-driven strategy doubled the company’s market capitalization over a decade — Thomas argued that purpose and profitability reinforce each other when businesses invest in credible measurement. 

“The question facing companies,” he said, “is no longer whether sustainability shapes competitiveness, but whether they choose to engage now — or react later at higher cost.”

For companies in Trinidad and Tobago weighing that decision, the message of the afternoon was consistent: the standards represented by the UN Global Compact already shape the conditions under which international capital, supply chains and trade operate. The real question, as each speaker affirmed, is simply one of timing.