German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and
others discuss role of business
in achieving sustainable development goals
(New York, 25
September 2015) – More than 300 CEOs, Heads of
State, UN and civil society leaders attended the United Nations Private
Sector Forum (PSF) to discuss the role of business in implementing the world's
17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Addressing the meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reflected
on the success of the past 15 years, noting her optimism for the implementation
of the SDGs. She called for the world to build on this momentum and continue to
work together to achieve these global goals for 2030.
On 25 September, Heads of State and Government engaged in a
General Assembly plenary that gave final adoption to the SDGs, which will
replace the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) in January 2016. The
result of extensive inter-governmental negotiation and input from the private
sector and civil society, the overarching purpose of the SDGs is to eradicate poverty
and combine elements of economic, social and environmental action, including
climate change.
“First, companies need to do business responsibly and then
pursue new opportunities, “said UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon. “We would be closer to the world we want if companies
everywhere took baseline actions like respecting employee rights … not
polluting land, sea and air … and punishing corruption.”
Since 2008, the UN Private
Sector Forum has annually gathered CEOs and Heads of State to the United
Nations to discuss pressing issues such as climate change, global development,
and human rights. Against the backdrop of the UN Sustainable Development Summit
2015, this year’s Private Sector Forum – organized by the UN Global Compact, in
close collaboration with UNICEF, UN Women, UN Volunteers, UN Office on Drugs
and Crime, UN Office for South South Cooperation, the UN Foundation – focused
on the role of the private sector in implementing SDGs.
As a keynote speaker, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
highlighted the critical role of business – in collaboration with other stakeholders
-- in advancing the new United Nations global agenda adopted yesterday. He announced Facebook’s commitment, together
with a number other organizations, to make universal internet access a reality
in the next decade. “Connecting the
world is one of the fundamental challenges of our generation,” said Zuckerberg.
“For every ten people that get connected to the internet, one gets lifted out
of poverty.”
Emerging today from the PSF were announcements of more than 35
corporate commitments to benchmark sustainable development actions, including investment
in low-carbon infrastructure, combatting corruption, gender equality in the
workplace, access to and strengthening of healthcare services in the Least
Developed Countries, and more.
The urgent refugee crisis was a major topic of concern among
participants. Responding to the Business Action
Pledge in Response to the Refugees Crisis launched last week by the UN
Global Compact and UNHCR (High Commission for Refugees) to mobilize business on
this issue, several new commitments and partnerships were announced, including
educational opportunities, job training, and healthcare for refugees as well as
funding for refugee aid organizations in war-torn countries.
The event also saw the launch of the SDG Compass – developed jointly by GRI,
the UN Global Compact and the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD) – which is a guide for companies on how to take a strategic
approach to the SDGs and enhance their contribution to sustainable development
through core business activities.
Several other SDG-related resources were
launched in the context of the PSF including the SDG Industry Matrix and
the Poverty Footprint.
- See compendium of corporate commitment
- See full remarks by UN Secretary-General
- Learn more about the SDG Compass
- Learn more about the UN Private Sector Forum
- Learn more about UN Private Sector Partners
