Sustainable Development Goals Fail to Recognize Role of Business

Thursday, September 17, 2015

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 associated targets fail to recognise the importance of business as a force for social change concludes a new report by the British Council and Social Enterprise UK (SEUK). 

The Think Global, Trade Social report, which was created with support from theWorld Bank, is being launched in Washington D.C. today and states “it may not be too late" for the SDGs to consider the role social enterprises can play in global development. 

Backing the report is Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, who said: “Putting social and environmental purposes in the driving seat of business is the only way to ensure an equitable and sustainable economy for the 21st century.”

The report reviews the considerable achievements and also the substantial failures in the global effort to meet the previous set of global targets, the Millennium Development Goals. As economies grow, inequality remains entrenched. In Indonesia between 2002 and 2011 the economy grew by an average of 5.62% per year, while income inequality worsened by an average of 3.14% per year over the same period. 

It argues that in order to meet the new set of goals, which are being launched in New York at the end of the month, there needs to be more market-led models which focus on the poorest on the planet, protect the environment and ensure that the benefits of economic growth are more equitable. 

Linda McAvan, MEP and chair of the international development committee of the European Parliament said: “2015 is a pivotal year for our planet and people. Whilst we have made some progress in achieving our development goals for the new millennium, the challenge is growing.

 

Source: Pioneers Post (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Environment, Health Care
Tags
social enterprise