PGA welcomes launch of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission’s Global Report, “Better Business, Better World”
17 January 2017
Geneva, 17 January 2017 – The President of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Peter Thomson, welcomed the launching of the “Better Business, Better World” Report by the Business & Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC), released today in Davos, Switzerland, during the celebration of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting.
The report by the BSDC -a group of over 35 CEOs and civil society leaders that first came together in January 2015- takes into account the business sector’s significant role in helping to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and attempts to answer a critical question, namely, “What will it take for business to be central to building a sustainable market economy—one that can help to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals?”
“Given the trillions of dollars that will be needed to finance the sustainable development agenda, I welcome the BSDC’s global report, which calls upon business leaders worldwide to shift mind-sets in corporations and embrace more sustainable and inclusive business and economic models. This report will help address a key global challenge over the next years: making sustainable behaviour the norm in business,” President Thomson said.
“Notwithstanding the critical importance of all forms of public investments for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is crucial to have the business sector work in close partnership with governments and civil society in this endeavour. This report offers a very helpful framework to link business solutions to the global development challenges we face. It also demonstrates that sustainable development is good business and offers a clear business case for the SDGs,” he added.
After highlighting the need for an inclusive economic model that takes into account the true cost of environmental and social factors, and ensures that no one is left behind, President Thomson recalled the future convening of the SDG Lab on sustainable finance: “As part of my efforts to raise the conversation on sustainable finance at the United Nations, I will be convening an SDG Lab in New York, this coming April, which will examine existing mechanisms available to finance the SDGs and consider how they can be best applied to different goals. Stakeholders from all sectors -including business- will be invited to and engage in meaningful dialogue to create momentum towards implementation of the SDGs.”