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September 15, 2016
Private industry focuses on world’s most pressing issues
Private industry leaders gathered at BBVA Compass Plaza in Houston for a workshop on how businesses can push progress on the most pressing issues of our time
The workshop hosted by BBVA Compass, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG-F) and the BBVA Microfinance Foundation had two goals: to help spread the word and build understanding of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which revolve around issues like education, health, poverty alleviation, clean water and climate; and to gather input from executives from many companies that are already focused on tackling some of these key issues.
The meeting was the fifth workshop initiated by the United Nations SDG Fund and will be the only one held in the U.S. with previous meetings held in Colombia, Nigeria and Spain. The SDG Fund will gather the findings from all the meetings and utilize the inputs into an upcoming report for the UN.
"We're here to talk about how to contribute to a sustainable development agenda that applies to every corner of the globe," BBVA Compass Chairman and CEO Manolo Sánchez reminded the audience during his opening remarks. "We might be in one of the most developed economies on earth, but the Sustainable Development Goals and what they mean for private sector companies are still very relevant and important."
Paloma Duran, Director of the SDG Fund, talked about her organization's role and why it’s working to collaborate with private industry into the process generate meaningful solutions to the complex issue of poverty. The SDG Fund is currently working in 22 countries to pilot innovative programs in sustainable development.
“This is the first time the UN has brought private industry into the process, especially in a process where they are at the table from the very beginning as we talk about how to move forward,” Duran said. "That’s a critical change from the past. We need the engagement of the private sector to work with the UN just as we need local governments to improve the lives of people living in vulnerable areas.”
Javier M. Flores, Director of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, talked about the critical role that financial inclusion has played in improving the livelihoods for some of the world’s most at risk populations. The BBVA foundation which is now an independent nonprofit created by BBVA in 2007 is the largest philanthropic microfinance institution in Latin America. It serves as a lifeline to 1.8 million entrepreneurs, 61 percent of whom are women working throughout Latin America.
"The BBVA Microfinance Foundation was set up as a tool for improving the future for vulnerable people,” Flores said. “Financial inclusion plays an important role in that, not only in alleviating poverty but also in ensuring broad-based, sustainable social development. And that’s why it’s central to the Sustainable Development Goals that we are talking about here.”
In addition to this program, the United Nations Economic and Social Council recently awarded the BBVA Microfinance Foundation consultative status so that it can serve in an advisory capacity to other UN bodies regarding sustainable development. The foundation has published an exhaustive report of its work across the world, which can be found here.
Executives from various companies in Houston discussed how their companies are approaching the various goals, either formally or informally. The SDG Fund plans to use this opportunity to learn from the varied inputs from the business community in order incorporate valuable feedback for a UN report later this year.
This article was originally published by Kimberly Tabor, on 14 September 2016. Read it here.
