Global Compact Network Colombia Continues Public-Private Dialogue on National Implementation of the Post-2015 Agenda and Role of the Private Sector

The following is an article submitted by a Global Compact Local Network. Please contact the network representative listed below with any questions regarding its contents. 

(Bogotá, 21 May 2015) – Global Compact Network Colombia held its Annual Congress on 20-21 May in Bogotá. The event, which included a dialogue with Colombia Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Department for Planning, focused on social and market drivers for business to support sustainable development. These public organizations stressed the importance of multi-stakeholder dialogue and articulation for implementing the National Development Plan, which included 17 proposed SDGs as its strategic priority work streams. 

Government representatives insisted on the importance for all sectors to work collaboratively in order to fully achieve the ambitious post-2015 agenda. They envision business as supporters of the global development agenda, by including in their corporate policies and corporate social inclusion plans, a cross-cutting economic, social and environmental perspective, aligned with the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Global Compacts Ten Principles. 

The event was convened following a visit to Colombia earlier in the year by the Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General for the Post-2015 Global Development Agenda, Amina Mohammed, during which  she showed her support for the alignment of the NDP with the Sustainable Development Goals. On 18 February, the Colombia Local Network was invited to discuss the private sector´s support of the implementation of the SDGs in the country. Mauricio López, Executive Director of Global Compact Network Colombia participated in a meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Mrs. Mohammed, and Mónica de Greiff, Bogota Chamber of Commerce President and a member of the Global Compact Board of Directors, as well as various UN representatives. 

The group held discussions around the role of the private sector in building a more sustainable society. All parties agreed sustainable development and the SDGs could not be attained without business support and engagement with the global development agenda. Global Compact Network Colombia was identified as a key actor to mobilize the country’s private sector participation and engagement with the Ten Principles and wider UN goals.

• Learn more about Global Compact Network Colombia
• Read The Bottom-Up Approach: An Integrated Global-Local Strategic Planning Process

Contact

Anamaría Vargas R.
Global Compact Network Colombia
anamaria.vargas@pactoglobal-colombia.org