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Article

20 Jun 2016

Author:
Advisory Council on International Affairs

Netherlands: Businesses, govts., civil society, & financers must work together to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, says Advisory Council on Intl. Affairs

"The Dutch Diamond Dynamic: Doing Business in the Context of the New Sustainable Development Goals," 29 Jan 2016

…[T]he government asked the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) for advice on how the private sector could optimise its contribution towards achieving international sustainability goals…The AIV acknowledges that a number of large Dutch companies are international pioneers in their contribution to sustainable development…However, [for] these pioneering companies…it is an ongoing challenge to reconcile their internal business interests with sustainable development…Especially in respect of human rights, companies fail to fulfil their responsibilities in important areas. They may be showing a greater interest…but that attention seems to be driven mainly by…[f]ear of reputation damage...[A]nother point that merits attention is the financial sector’s…attitude regarding the financing of initiatives promoting sustainable development…[T]he sector is still giving little priority to sustainable development. Particularly undesirable is the large-scale tax avoidance by multinational companies…Now that the…SDGs have been laid down, Dutch policy needs to be aligned to the agenda in terms of what the Netherlands is to achieve…Devoting attention to the expected contribution of Dutch businesses will encourage them to mirror their corporate sustainability strategies to the sustainable development agenda…[Also refers to ABN Amro, Ahold, Akzo Nobel, ASN Bank, DSM, FMO, H&M, Heineken, Inditex, Pfizer, Royal BAM, Royal Philips Electronics, Triodos Bank, Unilever, and Volkswagen.]