NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, September 14, 2015

This September, the United Nations is promoting a new sustainable development agenda by encouraging countries to adopt a set of global goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all.

With 17 significant goals in all – including ending gender inequality and empowering all women and girls; ensuring access to water and sanitation for all; and sustainably managing forests, combatting desertification, halting and reversing land degradation and halting biodiversity loss –   the UN’s agenda covers just about every ambitious improvement any human could want for the Earth. It can be read as inspiring … or intimidating.

I mean, what can an ordinary person do to make a dent in goals this lofty? The exhaustive agenda is meant for entire countries, after all. It’s easy enough to skim through these aspirations, nod, and hope that NGO and policy experts are making headway with this titanic to-do list.

But that’s where the private sector can really help – by making it feasible and inviting for every individual to contribute to the collective welfare of the world.