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November 8, 2016
Businesses at the Heart of the Sustainable Development Goals
By Paloma Durán, Director of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals Fund.
September 2015 marked a key date in the relationship between businesses and sustainable development. The 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted one of the most ambitious documents in the organization’s history: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. New issues and new actors find themselves at the core of this agenda. This paradigm shift means that companies have gone from being at the sidelines of development cooperation processes, to being at the very heart of the agenda.
Traditionally, cooperation agencies have considered companies as potential partners or sources of investment, but up until now there have been few success stories of companies being actively integrated in cooperation projects from start to finish. However, companies, from large corporations to cooperatives and SMEs, can and must contribute to sustainable development through innovation in new technologies, products, services and business models. This can, for example, contribute decisively to improving affordable access to basic services, increasing internet access, developing new technologies for clean energy, increasing the productivity of small family farms or creating new market opportunities for other SMEs and small business owners. This vision of the private sector as a key development actor also stems from new ways of understanding the role companies play in modern society, especially through corporate social responsibility and sustainability initiatives championed by businesses themselves.
With the agenda in full swing since January of this year, we must focus on addressing the two-part challenge resulting from this paradigm shift: improving the private sector’s understanding and implementation of the SDGs, and identifying the methods and tools needed for businesses and development organizations to work together for development. This is one of our main areas of work at the Sustainable Development Goals Fund, aided by the collective expertise of our Private Sector Advisory Group. This group, made up of leading multi-national corporations from various industries, has been instrumental in helping to identify key current issues related to business and the SDGs.
Companies, from large corporations to cooperatives and SMEs, can and must contribute to sustainable development through innovation in new technologies, products, services and business models
The private sector has been very positive in its response to the SDGs. In our report Business and the United Nations: Working Together Towards the Sustainable Development Goals, published in late 2015, the companies that took part in the consultation process stated their interest in playing their part in sustainable development, as this is, after all, good business. In the last year, we have seen more and more companies integrating the SDGs into their business strategies. The process is, of course, not without its challenges. Many companies still find themselves at the early stage of trying to fully comprehend the goals. Others, further along in their involvement, are encountering difficulties when it comes to reconciling notions of universality and diversity: differences in customs, political systems, values and laws between countries and societies can, on occasion, create serious obstacles to the implementation of development practices. Defining metrics and indicators, creating social awareness and commitment, and establishing public-private partnerships with governments round out the list of key challenges companies must overcome.
Public-private partnerships
Encouraging public-private partnerships is one of the principal aims of the SDG Fund. To facilitate this typically sensitive task, we have concluded that there is a need to create real opportunities for meaningful collaboration. The co-creation, co-financing and co-implementation of projects must be our shared objective. This will allow us to incorporate new processes, improve efficiency, achieve results that are sustainable over time and guarantee that individuals are active agents in their own development.
In Peru, for example, we are implementing a pilot project to improve the lives of quinoa producers. Despite a five-fold increase in demand for quinoa in recent years, this has not translated into any substantial improvements for small producers, particularly women. In Honduras, we are working with international tour operators to promote sustainable tourism. In Mozambique, we are working with extractive industries to create greater and better employment opportunities in local communities.
In conclusion, cooperation between the United Nations and the private sector can have a level of impact that would be impossible to achieve by working in isolation. Global value chains have great potential to encourage inclusive economic growth and reduce poverty. The world we are left with in 2030 will largely be determined by our ability to work together as governments, civil society, companies and international organizations. It is a shared responsibility and we now have real opportunities to take decisive action. This will in turn lead to companies which are more successful, fairer societies and a more sustainable planet.
This article was originally published (in Spanish) in the 49th issue of 'Evolución' magazine. Read it here. English translation and edition by Nuria Diez del Corral.
