What Business Can Do to Make the SDGs Work

(New York, 17 September 2014) – Five new briefing papers on how the private sector can help implement a UN plan for a sustainable future have been issued by the UN Global Compact.

The “executive briefs” cover five areas considered to be key to the role of business and investors in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are under negotiation at the United Nations:  partnerships, accountability, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), private sustainability finance and public sector policies. They interlock with the Post-2015 Business Engagement Architecture, a UN Global Compact guide to corporate action on global priorities.

While the shape and status of the SDGs that are to replace the world’s Millennium Development Goals at their 2015 conclusion will not be determined by the General Assembly until September of next year, the United Nations Secretariat is already conducting wide-ranging consultations on how to carry out a post-2015 agenda. These include discussions with business and interested stakeholders from civil society and the public sector in all major regions, organized cooperatively by the UN Global Compact and the UN Industrial Organization (UNIDO).

The briefing papers follow the same themes outlined for the implementation consultations. They are to be used to raise awareness among Governments of the role that the private sector can play, and among businesses and investors of the upcoming SDGs.

Executive briefs on Implementing the Post-2015 Development Agenda include the following issues:

1. Partnerships – Sustainability partnerships are often thought of in global terms involving multilateral agencies and multinational corporations. Yet most of these partnerships play out nationally or locally, and generally involve dialogue between stakeholders at these levels. 
2. Business Building Trust through Transparency and Accountability – Building confidence in the private sector and among stakeholders is crucial for sustainability practice.  Accurate reporting procedures also help companies to evaluate their sustainability impacts and upgrade their performance.
3. Localizing the Post-2015 Business Engagement Architecture through SMEs – Ranging in nature from software start-ups to production centres located deep in multinational supply chains, SMEs account for 95 percent of all jobs and nearly half of global GDP. Their sustainability practices are vital to the success of the SDGs.
4. Private Sustainability Finance – The financing needs of an ambitious post-2015 agenda will be enormous. Fortunately, corporations, private investors, financial institutions and foundations are more often adopting sustainability considerations in their investment design and decision-making.
5. Government Policies that Drive Corporate Sustainability – Governments hold in their hands a unique opportunity to scale up the contribution of business to development by supporting and helping to shape corporate sustainability.

Learn more about business’ role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and download the executive briefs on Implementing the Post-2015 Development Agenda here.

Contact

Marie Wibe
Government Relations
UN Global Compact
wibe@un.org