The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable
Development Goals:
Challenges and Opportunities for Business
Arthur Lyon Dahl Ph.D.
International Environment Forum (IEF)
https://iefworld.org
ebbf - Ethical Business Building the Future
http://ebbf.org
Presented at the
Vision Gulf Business Conference
Kuwait, 31 May 2016
The nations of the world agreed in 2015 to an ambitious agenda for the next 15 years to 2030. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities that this new agenda presents for business. The world is changing ever more rapidly, requiring adaptive management from business not to be left behind. The new agenda provides a useful vision of where society and the world economy need to go that businesses can use to innovate in response to societal needs.
The 2030 Agenda was negotiated through a very participatory process at the request of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. The preparatory process was summarized by the UN Secretary-General in his Synthesis Report On the Post-2015 Agenda "The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet (UN 2014).
He stated that a fundamental transformation is needed in society and the economy. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the heart of the new agenda define a paradigm shift for people and the planet that is inclusive and people-centred, leaving no one behind. The new agenda integrates the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development in a spirit of solidarity, cooperation, and mutual accountability, with the participation of governments and all stakeholders.
The agenda calls for transformative partnerships built upon:
ā¢ principles and values
ā¢ a shared vision
ā¢ shared goals
ā¢ the participation of all relevant stakeholders
ā¢ mobilizing the power of culture
ā¢ with mutual accountability at the center.
The Secretary-General said that "young people will be the torch bearers... the first truly globalized, interconnected, and highly mobilized civil society, ready and able to serve as a participant, joint steward, and powerful engine of change and transformation."
World leaders assembled at the UN General Assembly Summit for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda in New York, 25-27 September 2015. The outcome document was called "Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN 2015).
In it, world leaders said "This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognize that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development."
"All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan. We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind."
The 2030 Agenda can be summarized as focusing on people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships.
People
We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
Planet
We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.
Prosperity
We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
Peace
We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.
Partnership
We are determined to mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focussed in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.
"This is an Agenda of unprecedented scope and significance. It is accepted by all countries and is applicable to all, taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities. These are universal goals and targets which involve the entire world, developed and developing countries alike. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development.
"It is 'We the Peoples' who are embarking today on the road to 2030. Our journey will involve Governments as well as Parliaments, the UN system and other international institutions, local authorities, indigenous peoples, civil society, business and the private sector, the scientific and academic community ā and all people.... It is an Agenda of the people, by the people, and for the people ā and this, we believe, will ensure its success."
As indicated in this last paragraph, this agenda is addressed to business and the private sector, and this is a challenge for business. The United Nations seems far removed from the realities of business. Yet the 2030 Agenda is a call for transformation addressed to everyone. We should try looking at the global goals and aspirations as a call to business. What are the new opportunities that will open up?
The 2030 Agenda is more than just a declaration without substance. It
includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are action
oriented, global in nature and universally applicable. The goals can be
grouped by their orientation into four categories:
ā¢ goals that place humans at the centre, addressing poverty, human health
and well-being;
ā¢ goals for environmental resources, processes and boundaries defining
planetary health on which human well-being and development depend;
ā¢ goals about transitioning to a green economy that builds rather than
undermines planetary sustainability; and
ā¢ the final two goals on institutional and governance issues and the means
of implementation.
Supporting the 17 goals are 169 quantified targets to be achieved by 2030, and the UN Statistical Commission has defined 230 global indicators to measure progress towards the targets. Governments are now expected to adapt the goals and targets to their own national priorities and reality, to determine their share of responsibility for the global goals, and they will be reporting regularly on their progress.
What then is the role of business in meeting these goals? The intergovernmental committee of experts on sustainable development financing has calculated that the cost of a social safety net to eradicate extreme poverty would be US$66 billion a year. Annual investments in improving infrastructure for water, agriculture, transport and power will need to reach $7 trillion globally. Public finance and aid will be central to support the implementation of the SDGs, but insufficient. Money will also need to be generated from the private sector, and through tax reforms, as well as through a crackdown on illicit financial flows and corruption (Ford 2015).
A recent Brookings Institution paper on how to change the world
suggested:
ā¢ Use market forces to drive business towards scalable investments that
simultaneously generate sustainable solutions to development challenges;
ā¢ Create more data from more sources with more disaggregation, and make
these more easily transparent and accessible, to drive towards
evidence-based reforms and accountability;
ā¢ Encourage innovations (technical, organizational, and in
business-models) to drive the world away from business-as-usual (Kharas
2016).
There is also a new Business & Sustainable Development Commission (http://www.businesscommission.org/), launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on 21 January 2016. It is chaired by former UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch-Brown, and includes global leaders from business and civil society. It aims to explore disruptive models that can lead to new and expanding market opportunities while making communities more sustainable. It will conduct foundational research and engage in dialogue with a diverse cross-section of key stakeholders and experts. The Commission will be preparing a comprehensive report outlining market opportunities that could flow to companies that achieve sustainable development.
Business now needs to appropriate the SDGs for itself. The United Nations process is essentially top-down, building a global consensus among governments as a starting point. The SDGs provide a framework to identify new opportunities for investment and innovation. We should not wait for governments to act, as they always do too little, too late.
To help in this process, the following list gives the SDG targets with a business dimension, either an opportunity to be developed or a responsibility to be shouldered to control some damaging or unsustainable activity. It can be a useful check list for things businesses can take on in the years ahead as part of the transformation called for in the 2030 Agenda.
Sustainable Development Goals and targets relevant to business
Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere...
1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and
children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions...
1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the
vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources,... natural resources,
appropriate new technology and financial services, including micro finance
Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and
promote sustainable agriculture
2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the
poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe,
nutritious and sufficient food all year round
2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of
small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples,
family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and
equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge,
financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and
non-farm employment
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement
resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and
production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for
adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other
disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality
2.a Increase investment, including through enhanced international
cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension
services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks...
2.b Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world
agricultural markets...
2.c Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity
markets... and facilitate timely access to market information, including
on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility
Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all
ages
3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable
diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and
well-being
3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk
protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to
safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines
for all
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from
hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
3.b Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the
communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing
countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and
vaccines,... and... provide access to medicines for all
Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all
4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and
quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who
have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for
employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal
access to all levels of education and vocational training for the
vulnerable...
4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills
needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others,
through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles,
human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and
non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity
and of culture's contribution to sustainable development
Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.5 Ensure women's full and effective participation and equal
opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in
political, economic and public life
S.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and
communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and
sanitation for all
6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating
dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials,
halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially
increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all
sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to
address water scarcity...
6.a By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building
support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related
activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water
efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies
Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern
energy for all
7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern
energy services
7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the
global energy mix
7.3 By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
7.a By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to
clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy
efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote
investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology
Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth,
full and productive employment and decent work for all
8.2 Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through
diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through
a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive
activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and
innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small-
and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial
services
8.4 Improve progressively. through 2030, global resource efficiency in
consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from
environmental degradation...
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for
all women and men, including for young people and persons with
disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
8.6 By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in
employment, education or training
8.8 Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments
for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants,
and those in precarious employment 8.9 By 2030. devise and implement
policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes
local culture and products
8.10 Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to
encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services
for all
Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and
sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030,
significantly raise industry's share of employment and gross domestic
product...
9.3 Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises,
in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including
affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them
sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption
of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial
processes...
9.5 Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of
industrial sectors in all countries...
9.b Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in
developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment
for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to
commodities
9.c Significantly increase access to information and communications
technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the
Internet in least developed countries by 2020
Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the
bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national
average
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political
inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity,
origin, religion or economic or other status
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome...
10.5 Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and
institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations
10.7 Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and
mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and
well-managed migration policies
Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient
and sustainable
11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable
housing and basic services and upgrade slums
11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and
sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by
expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those
in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and
older persons
11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity
for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning
and management...
11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and
natural heritage
11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of
cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal
and other waste management
11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible,
green and public spaces...
Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
12.1 Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable
consumption and production...
12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of
natural resources
12.3 By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and
consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains,
including post-harvest losses
12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals
and all wastes throughout their life cycle..., and significantly reduce
their release to air, water and soil...
12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention,
reduction, recycling and reuse
12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to
adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information
into their reporting cycle
12.8 By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information
and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with
nature
12.b Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development
impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local
culture and products
12.c Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful
consumption by removing market distortions,... including by restructuring
taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist...
Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional
capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and
early warning
Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development
14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all
kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris
and nutrient pollution
14.4 By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing,
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing
practices...
14.6 By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which
contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that
contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from
introducing new such subsidies...
Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt
and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of
terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in
particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands...
15.2 By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all
types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and
substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally
15.3 By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil,
including land affected by desertification, drought and floods...
15.4 By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including
their biodiversity...
15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of
natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and
prevent the extinction of threatened species
15.6 Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the
utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such
resources...
Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable
development, provide access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all
levels
16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental
freedoms...
Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the
global partnership for sustainable development
Finance
17.3 Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from
multiple sources
17.5 Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed
countries
Technology
17.6 Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and
international cooperation on and access to science, technology and
innovation and enhance knowledge sharing...
17.7 Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of
environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable
terms, including on concessional and preferential terms...
Capacity-building
17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted
capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to
implement all the sustainable development goals, including through
North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
Trade
17.10 Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and
equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization
Systemic issues
Policy and institutional coherence
17.13 Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy
coordination and policy coherence
Multi-stakeholder partnerships
17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development,
complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share
knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources...
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil
society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies
of partnerships
Data, monitoring and accountability
17.18 By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing
countries... to increase significantly the availability of high-quality,
timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race,
ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other
characteristics relevant in national contexts
17.19 By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of
progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic
product...
Conclusions
The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are the new framework for a just and sustainable world. While governments have a leading role, business can do many things to implement the SDGs. This set of positive goals can drive innovation, and businesses can partner with governments and civil society in meeting the goals. The unity of purpose represented by the 2030 Agenda can help to build unity in the whole community.
REFERENCES
Ford, Liz. 2015. Sustainable development goals: all you need to know. The Guardian, 19 Jan 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/19/sustainable-dā¦
Kharas, Homi. 2016. Changing views of how to change the
world. Brookings Institution blog 10 March 2016.
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/future-development/posts/2016/03/10-how-ā¦
UN. 2014. "The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty,
Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet", Synthesis Report of the
Secretary-General on the Post-2015 Agenda. Document A/69/700, 4 December
2014. New York: United Nations.
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/69/700&Lang=E
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Sustainable Development. Outcome document of the Summit for the adoption
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http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/70/L.1&Lang=E
Last updated 12 June 2016