The United Nations Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Roy Trivedy today called on Papua New Guinea’s business community to play its vital role in helping to achieve 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seeks to eliminate poverty, hunger and address other pressing issues within the next 15 years.
“There are big opportunities for businesses to make a bigger contribution to global and local development by helping to find effective solutions to some of the greatest challenges that we face – from climate and water crises, to inequality and poverty. For companies ready to take on the agenda, the SDGs provide a platform to demonstrate this and – most importantly - pursue opportunity and innovation,” Mr Trivedy said. ‘In Papua New Guinea many schools and health posts do not have access to clean water supplies. Almost half of all schools only have one toilet for girls and one for boys. There are opportunities for businesses to help in addressing these challenges that are holding back people from achieving their full potential.” “Rather than just focusing on overcoming immediate short-term challenges, companies can also use the SDGs to explore opportunities to grow and “future-proof” their enterprises which can also help the country to ‘leap-frog’ some types of development challenges posed by climate change, resource scarcity and food security.” The SDGs present a framework for business to grow and gain competitive advantage. Leading organizations are starting to view the global goals as a framework to differentiate themselves by expanding their customer bases, developing core innovations and new services, developing more resilient supply chains, engaging in policy advocacy. “It is not enough to build infrastructure which is state-of-the-art for today. We need to look at the future and develop products and services now that will help to tackle future challenges that we already know are coming – and that’s where the SDGs can help and provide valuable guidance.” There are examples from global enterprises that are already creating value through alignment with the SDGs. Michelin (tyre company) has created an innovative business model to recycle tyres – which allowed the company create additional revenues and facilitate better resource use. SAB Miller (Brewers) in South Africa engaged with local communities through a ‘beyond the breweries’ approach that helped the company to reduce its water usage by 23 billion litres over a few years. TNT (courier delivery services company) is partnering with the UN in Pakistan and other countries to help reduce hunger through transport, logistics and warehousing support after earthquakes. Mr Roy Trivedy urged business community to look at the 17 SDGs and see where their business can tap in. “There are opportunities in every sector for all businesses – small or large. As the United Nations system in PNG, we are ready to offer our best knowledge and expertise and we invite the business community to partner with us.” Mr Trivedy noted that one of the biggest lessons that we learnt from the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is that Governments alone cannot achieve the Goals. Engagement from the public as well as private sector and communities is essential. We need to start early to achieve the SDGs and work together effectively and efficiently. “If we do it now, we can ensure that by 2030 we will have a much stronger ‘development scorecard’ for Papua New Guinea.” concluded Mr Trivedy. ### About the Sustainable Development Goals On 15 September 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were adopted by 193 member nations. The SDGs, also referred to as The Global Goals, are a set of 17 goals that are expected to set the world’s development agenda for 2015–2030. The 17 goals are augmented with 169 underlying targets, seeking to ensure the measurability of progress. The SDGs build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and aim to go further to end all forms of poverty. The new Goals are unique in that they call for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.
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