Governments have dedicated a pivotal role to the private sector in the implementation and financing of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. This has pushed a turn towards the private sector, the promotion of multi-stakeholder partnerships between public and private actors. However, far too often there is a considerable gap between the social and environmental commitments companies make publicly in political fora like the UN and the actual effects of their production patterns and investment strategies on people and the environment. A new working paper, published by Brot für die Welt, Global Policy Forum and MISEREOR provides an overview of the ways and means by which the UN involves business actors in the debates around the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It describes new initiatives and alliances of business actors around SDG implementation at the international level, and their main messages and policy proposals. With a few selected examples it contrasts the sustainability rhetoric of corporations with their business reality. And finally, the working paper draws conclusions and formulates recommendations for policymakers on how to increase the benefits of UN-business interactions in implementing the 2030 Agenda - and how to reduce associated risks and negative side effects.
March 21, 2019 | Brot für die Welt, Global Policy Forum, MISEREOR
A Fatal Attraction?
Business engagement with the 2030 Agenda
Working Paper
Governments have dedicated a pivotal role to the private sector in the implementation and financing of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. This has pushed a turn towards the private sector, the promotion of multi-stakeholder partnerships between public and private actors. By bringing the private sector into the policy process around SDG implementation, governments not only expect to close the financing gap but also to encourage companies to better incorporate social and environmental concerns in their business strategies and practices. However, far too often there is a considerable gap between the social and environmental commitments companies make publicly in political fora like the UN and the actual effects of their production patterns and investment strategies on people and the environment.
Some pioneering companies are already on the path towards sustainable development solutions and are already making a positive difference. But, are these the firms who are shaping the discourse about the “transformation of our world” as proclaimed in the title of the 2030 Agenda? Or are the debates still being dominated by the business-as-usual actors and their lobby groups – that is, the very actors who are responsible for creating and exacerbating many of the problems that the 2030 Agenda is supposed to tackle?
Does the further strengthening of private sector involvement in the 2030 Agenda implementation process bear the risk of continuing or even reinforcing those harmful policies that primarily serve the vested interests of powerful corporations and ultra-rich individuals instead of policies in the public interest that truly lead to sustainable development?
A new working paper, published by Brot für die Welt, Global Policy Forum and MISERERO provides an overview of the ways and means by which the UN involves business actors in the debates about the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It describes new initiatives and alliances of business actors around SDG implementation at the international level, and their main messages and policy proposals. With a few selected examples it contrasts the sustainability rhetoric of corporations with their business reality. And finally, the working paper draws conclusions and formulates recommendations for policymakers on how to increase the benefits of UN-business interactions in implementing the 2030 Agenda - and how to reduce associated risks and negative side effects.
Download the full working paper here (pdf, 653KB).
A Fatal Attraction?
Business engagement with the 2030 Agenda
Working Paper
Authors: Karolin Seitz, with substantial contributions from Barbara Adams, Laraine Mills and Jens Martens
Published by Bischöfliches Hilfswerk MISEREOR, Brot für die Welt-Evangelisches Werk für Diakonie und Entwicklung e.V., Global Policy Forum
Aachen/Berlin/Bonn/New York, February 2019
ISBN 978-3-943126-45-7
Download the working paper here (pdf, 652KB).
