Chief Executives and UN Officials Meet in Davos to Scale-Up Public-Private Partnerships

(Davos, 20 January 2016) – Global business leaders and UN heads met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to explore opportunities for the United Nations to scale up public-private partnerships that will advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Co-chaired by Dr. David Nabarro, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and Lise Kingo, Executive Director of UN Global Compact, the roundtable discussion – Making Public-Private Partnerships Work for the Sustainable Development Goals: The United Nations as a Catalyst for Innovation – built  on the work of the UN Global Compact to mobilize business knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources that can deliver sustainable solutions at scale.

Calling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development “our declaration of interdependence”, the UN Secretary-General called for combining collective strengths to tackle global challenges, warning that “a crash in one market can drive a crisis around the world”.

He called on business leaders to work across sectors and industries and highlighted the need to engage more responsible businesses to take action on the SDGs, arguing that “doing business responsibly is the first step for any company that wants to contribute to sustainability.”

Chief executives and UN officials met during the World Economic Forum to explore ways of scaling up public-private partnerships to advance sustainable development. (Photo Credit: UN Global Compact)

UN Global Compact Executive Director Lise Kingo emphasized that involvement of all stakeholders is a “prerequisite for success”. “We are all committed to making 2016 a year of implementation, of cooperation and of putting Agenda 2030 into action,” said Kingo.  

She outlined how the UN Global Compact will be mobilizing its 13,000 participants and 85 Local Networks in 2016 to translate the SDGs into local business action and opportunity, including through identifying entrepreneurs, innovators and thought leaders from around the world who exemplify business as a force for good.

Helping to roll out the SDGs to business globally, the UN Global Compact and KPMG announced the launch of a new SDG Industry Matrix for the Food, Beverage & Consumer Goods, and Transportation sectors. These practical guides for companies – showcasing industry-specific examples and ideas for corporate action related to each SDG – are the latest installments in a series, which currently includes the Financial Services industry and a special Climate Opportunities extract. Future installments of the SDG Industry Matrix will include the Industrial Manufacturing; Healthcare & Life Sciences; Energy, Natural Resources, Chemicals; and Infrastructure sectors.

The event, which included 40 Global Compact LEAD chief executives and Heads of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes explored channels for achieving the SDGs through new and more effective multi-stakeholder partnership models.

• See UN Secretary-General’s Remarks
• Download “The Next Opportunity for Sustainable Business: Making Global Goals Local Business”
• Learn more about the SDG Industry Matrix
• See List of Participants