"Three things we learned about how business can help achieve SDGs", 30 Oct 2015

At the end of this year the millennium development goals will be replaced by 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). Focused on tackling poverty, education, health, hunger and environmental issues around the world, the private sector has been involved in devising the framework for the SDGs. In a recent live chat we learned three key lessons about its role in their delivery.

1. Business has a bigger role than just philanthropy
...Without utilising the resources of the private sector, the goals will still be worked on “but the pace of change will likely be much slower,” says Elaine Weidman, head of sustainability, Ericsson. 

2. To have impact, business must identify goals to focus on
...a survey recently published by PricewaterhouseCoopersshowed that 92% of the business community is aware of the SDGs, but only 13% understand the impact on them. To address this, the newly launched SDG Compass helps connect companies with the tools to manage and measure their contribution

3. Business needs supportive policies from government
“In many cases the business solutions exist, but they cannot reach the scale required yet without stronger supporting policies,” adds Didden [of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development]...

[Also refers to GlaxoSmithKline, Royal Philips Electronics]