Business leaders including representatives from Ferrovial have gathered together with UN delegates, government officials and representatives from society to attend the launch of the new report from the Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG-F) new report, “Business and the United Nations: Working together towards the Sustainable Development Goals: A framework for Action” at the UN headquarters in New York.
The innovative report was co-produced by Harvard Kennedy’s School CSR Initiative and Business Fights Poverty. Building upon the lessons learnt from the Millennium Development Goals, it highlights the importance of involving the private sector in the development discourse. A press release from SDGF quotes Paloma Duran, Director of the Sustainable Development Goals Fund who states that “Companies want more transparency and a way to simplify the UN engagement process, and foster a two-way dialogue”.
With an anticipated cost of $3.3-4.5 trillion a year to achieve the SDGs, businesses are vital to its success. The report offers useful, targeted advice to these companies on how to approach the new 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and emphasizes the important of collaboration with other key players in the field such as the UN who can enable cross sector business engagement. Ferrovial has been chosen as one of the members of the advisory group who are working alongside the UN to help define the responsibilities of the private sector, and devise collaboration models for achieving the SDGs.
The SDG fund will draw upon the expertise of different UN agencies to target three areas for poverty eradication which include inclusive growth food security and nutrition and water and sanitation. In order to achieve these ambitious targets, greater collective action must be taken and events such as the launch of the report in New York are a step towards this.
