UN Global Compact unveils strategy to help business reach sustainability goals

The UN Global Compact on Wednesday unveiled a multi-year strategy to drive business awareness and activity that supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) by 2030.

Key elements of the new Making Global Goals Local Business strategy include an annual Leaders Summit, the SDG Pioneers program, Local Network SDG Action Plans, UN-business partnerships, and impact reporting. The announcement was made at the 2016 UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, a two-day gathering of more than 1,000 leaders from business, finance, civil society, labor, academia, the UN and government.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN Global Compact is uniquely prepared and positioned to lead business in the SDG era.

"Achieving the SDGs will require unprecedented cooperation, radical innovation and extraordinary leadership. And it will require us each to be a pioneer, forging ahead into new territory," Ban said. "That means taking personal and corporate responsibility for how we do business and who we choose as our staff and partners. It means taking stock of our decisions as consumers and investors. It means raising our voices and taking a stand when it matters. The United Nations Global Compact is the forum to make all this happen."

This year's Leaders Summit marks the first official business forum since the launch of the SDGs, ushering in a new era and expectation for business to contribute to global goals. While the SDGs provide a blueprint for creating a sustainable world by 2030, they also point the way to the business activities and markets of the future. Through the Leaders Summit, the UN Global Compact aims to jump-start the responsible business practices, breakthrough innovation and transformative partnerships that will be needed to achieve the SDGs.

Lise Kingo, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, said the Leaders Summit is the first step on a long-term journey to engage business on the 2030 Agenda. "The expectations on business in the new SDG era are immense, but at the same time the opportunities are enormous," said Kingo. "We need to invent, develop and launch countless new ideas and solutions within a very short time."

On Wednesday, the UN Global Compact announced 10Local SDG Pioneers, including Xiaohui Liang, Chief Researcher of China National Textile & Apparel Council, from China. They are selected from more than 600 nominees in 100 countries.

"We need pioneering corporate leaders and entrepreneurs who can build the sustainable societies of tomorrow. Each of the 2016 Local SDG Pioneers exemplifies how business can be a force for good in addressing the challenges we face as a global society," Kingo said.