SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable development. On November 4, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said public funds are not sufficient to achieve the 2030 Agenda Goals and that, as a result, the participation of the private sector is needed. He called on companies to develop long-term investment programs that “are at the service of society and not only of its stakeholders (…) to obtain the trillions of dollars necessary to enable us to meet the global objectives”. It is hoped that, within the framework of the UN Global Investor Alliance for Sustainable Development, more companies will publicly commit to acting as agents of change, and that incentives for long-term investment will also be created.

According to the General Secretary, “the public resources of governments are not enough to pay for the eradication of poverty, improve girls’ education and mitigate the impact of climate change”, so it will be necessary that, in order to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, private investment compensates for these deficiencies. As such, the UN is working on new proposals for the private sector to invest in growth and sustainable development, including clean energy projects, sustainable infrastructures, renewable energies and financing in support of nutritional security. On this point, the Global Investors Alliance for Sustainable Development was created in October, made up of 30 leaders from various multinationals who pledged to invest in favour of these proposals. 

Guterres, according to whom, “the world of business and finance and their relationship with the public sector are at a critical phase,” called on business leaders to follow the Alliance’s example and invest in an economy of the future “that offers decent jobs and improves people’s lives in the long term”. Investing in sustainable and equitable development is not only an ethical imperative but also good business,” he added. 

Next steps

The UN warns of slow progress in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals due to lack of investment from governments. The General Secretary Antonio Guterres calls on the private sector to cooperate with the Organization to fulfill the 2030 agenda. While Guterres’ words are addressed to business representatives, governments are expected to formulate plans of incentive to promote private sector investment and leverage business influence in contributing to economic and social growth.