Economic Growth

What role can business play in the SDGs?

Megan Rowling
Journalist, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Share:
Our Impact
What's the World Economic Forum doing to accelerate action on Economic Growth?
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Future of the Environment is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:

Future of the Environment

Business will have a much bigger role to play in achieving new global development targets than it did in meeting previous U.N. goals, but private companies need a stronger case for getting involved, a sustainable business leader said.

Peter Bakker, head of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), said corporations have helped shape the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which range from ending hunger to providing water and sanitation for all.

But most businesses have yet to think through how they can contribute to meeting the 169 targets set out in the SDGs, due to be adopted at a U.N. summit this month.

While the majority of forward-thinking companies know climate change is happening and have drawn up strategies for tackling it, “I don’t think we’re at the same level of engagement yet when it comes to the SDGs,” Bakker said.

In contrast to climate change, “the business case for getting engaged” with the SDGs has still not been made clear, he added.

That is partly because the SDGs, to be met by 2030, cover such a wide range of issues, from good governance to gender equality and sustainable consumption.

To coincide with the Sept. 25-27 summit, the WBCSD and partners will launch a guide to help companies work out which new goals apply to them, where they could have an impact, and how to measure their progress.

When it comes to providing affordable, sustainable and modern energy for all, as the SDGs will promise, solutions such as solar microgrids are already available, said Bakker, the former CEO of Dutch delivery giant TNT NV.

“Too little is being done to implement what the world needs,” he said.

Climate Solutions

In the coming weeks, the WBCSD also plans to bring together global and local companies to hammer out action plans for combating climate change, ahead of December talks in Paris tasked with agreeing a new U.N. deal to limit global warming.

Company executives will attend a series of meetings in South Africa, India, China, Brazil, Australia and the United States.

They will decide how best their businesses could advance solutions such as reducing the carbon footprint of the fossil fuel sector, making industries more energy efficient, helping forests store more carbon and boosting renewable energy.

For example, in Johannesburg on Sept. 4, the WBCSD launched a programme to develop and implement microgrids in Africa, bringing together leading energy companies including ABB, Alstom, EDF, Engie, Eskom, First Solar and Schneider Electric.

Some 1.1 billion people lack access to electricity worldwide. The programme’s backers believe low-carbon microgrids can supply power where centralised grids are failing or do not reach, forcing people to rely on high-emission alternatives, the WBCSD said.

Its aim is to have workable, low-carbon corporate action plans in place by the Paris climate conference, Bakker said.

A new U.N. climate agreement should provide commitments to reach net zero carbon emissions by a certain date, use market mechanisms like carbon pricing, and set up a system to ratchet up targets for emissions reductions every five years, he added.

“That’s the environment a business person needs, because then not changing no longer becomes an option – economic incentives to change are being put in place,” he said.

This article is published in collaboration with The Thomson Reuters Foundation. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

To keep up with the Agenda subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Author: Megan Rowling is a journalist at The Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Image: A boy catches fish in a dried-up pond. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash. 

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Related topics:
Economic GrowthGlobal CooperationNature and Biodiversity
Share:
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Europeans are clinging to their savings. What does it mean for growth in the EU?

Spencer Feingold

October 10, 2024

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum