The UN, Business and the Sustainable Development Goals

On 25 September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. This provides an unprecedented opportunity to shift the world onto a path of inclusive, sustainable and […]

Business and the SDGs – Building Blocks for Success

With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) now adopted, attention is shifting to how they will be delivered. While responsibility will ultimately fall to government, leaders across sectors now recognise that the challenges are too great and too systemic for any one of them to tackle alone, and that business’ contribution will be pivotal. There is […]

Partnerships for 21st Century Development in Africa

This year, the United Nations (UN) officially adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rory More O’Ferrall FRSA describes how governments, civil society and industry are working together to address a complex social and development challenge. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs come into effect on January 1, 2016 and run through to the end of […]

Business Supporting Development: Then and Now

The international aid charity CARE was founded 70 years ago to send ‘CARE packages’ of food and other essentials to people in Europe recovering from World War 2. And in putting together and delivering the aid packages, CARE got a lot of help from businesses… Tea was included in CARE packages sent to Britain (the […]

SDGs: How to Translate Words into Action?

As we all know, a few weeks ago the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by UN member states. The question asked by many companies is: “What are the linkages between business and the SDGs?” Clearly, the SDGs cannot succeed without support from business to design and scale up sustainable solutions. In turn, the SDGs […]

Learning in Sustainable Development Partnerships

There’s no doubt that the development journey that led to the announcement of the Sustainable Development Goals last month in New York was more inclusive and as a result a good number of companies are seeing the opportunities for engagement – in business development terms as much as to meet public relations, CSR or Shared […]

The New Era of Inclusive Business to Achieve the SDGs

The Business Call to Action (BCtA) held this year’s Sixth Annual Forum on September 24th in New York City in conjunction with the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and the Sustainable Development Summit 2015. With community support from Business Fights Poverty, the event convened over 150 people from BCtA member companies, development […]

How Successful Partnerships Will Fuel Agenda 2030

(SHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images) By Fiona Koch, Communications Manager, Ashoka Ireland All eyes were on New York last week as the UN launched its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); a new package of economic, social and environmental objectives designed to replace the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With 17 overarching aims broken down into 169 targets, the […]

Collaborating on the SDGs: Start Here

With the jetlag from New York just starting to subside, I’d love to share my thoughts on some of the exciting things to emerge from the recent UN General Assembly at which the world’s leaders signed up to a new global development agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals. Getting to this stage has been a long […]

Turbo Charging Development: Making the SDGs a Reality

By Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever and Mark Gunton, CEO, Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership In New York last week global leaders adopted a set of ambitious goals and targets to set the world on a new course. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have committed us to eradicating extreme poverty, fighting injustice and inequality, and taking urgent […]

Hygiene as a Frontier for Good Health

It seems we are often on the brink of something historic or being given the opportunity of a lifetime but in the case of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in New York this weekend it may actually be true. If the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are fully implemented by their deadline of 2030 […]

Business and the SDGs – Building Blocks for Success

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) map out a global vision for a better world. They set out ambitious goals and targets for people, prosperity, planet and peace. Getting there will require us to work together—no matter where we live or work, this is a universal call to action. Leaders in government, business and civil society—all […]

A Global Plan for People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace

Over the past 15 years, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have provided a vital framework and focal point for driving progress against poverty and other development challenges faced by the world’s most vulnerable. World leaders are now coming together again to formally adopt the 2030 Agenda, including a new set of Sustainable Development […]

Moving Beyond Aid to Eradicate Extreme Poverty

With the agreement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world has a unique opportunity to set future development policy for a generation. These goals will stimulate action over the next fifteen years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet, and ensure that no one is left behind. This is no longer […]

Business is Ready to Play its Part to Achieve the SDGs

As world leaders come together at the United Nations for the SDG Summit, they will announce their commitment to the new Global Goals for Sustainable Development and set out their ambition for a more peaceful and prosperous world. This is a defining moment for the world community, as we transition from the Millennium Development Goals […]

A Seat at the Table: Pharmaceuticals and the SDGs

By Mario Ottiglio, Director of Public Affairs, Communications & Global Health Policy at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) After more than two years of intense negotiations, the United Nations’ 193 member states have unanimously agreed on a new Sustainable Development Agenda with 17 goals. Together with the UN Post 2020 Climate […]

SDGs Demand Fundamental Shift in Business-NGO Relations

The great and the good of the international development community has descended on New York for the United Nations General Assembly. You might ask, what’s new? It’s an annual pilgrimage after all. Same time. Same place. And mostly the same people. This year is a little different, however. It’s time to say farewell to the […]

Financing to Support New UN Global Development Agenda

As global leaders gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July for the Third Financing for Development Conference (FfD3) to discuss a new financing framework for sustainable development, it was natural for Citi to have a seat at the table. As a leading global financial institution, Citi has provided capital to governments, corporations and development organizations […]

Hidden Hunger is a Global Killer

As we celebrate the achievements under the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals and look to accelerate progress with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, a silent epidemic is afflicting more than a quarter of humanity — 2 billion people — around the world. It accounts for 11 percent of the global burden of disease. This epidemic disproportionately […]