The global business landscape has grown increasingly complex and turbulent in recent years. Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are navigating interconnected challenges, from geopolitical instability and supply chain vulnerabilities to climate change and technological disruptions. Progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been inadequate, prompting an urgent call for companies to increase their ambition and actions. In this context, more and more business leaders are stepping into broader leadership capacities, propelled by necessity and evolving societal expectations of their role.
Business leaders have a powerful role to play in driving sustainability internally within their own organizations and externally as individual and collective advocates for positive change.
The UN Global Compact is driving a new business leadership platform that will address gaps in learning, insight and action to better enable 21st century business leaders, identify and amplify CEO voices on solutions for systems-level issues, accelerate SDG action and strengthen public-private policy dialogue.
Advancing the CEO Agenda: Engaging the C-Suite
The role of the corporate C-suite is shifting to embed sustainability to address economic, social and political risk, including building resilient supply chains. As ESG expectations and regulations evolve, roles are adapting, particularly within the legal function, to manage risks that extend beyond traditional corporate compliance into broader social and political issues.
The Legal Council convenes legal leaders to play an advisory role in policy advocacy and support Forward Faster. The Legal Council will play a critical role in analyzing global regulatory environments, offering strategic guidance, and removing barriers to sustainability to ensure that businesses can effectively contribute to accelerating action on the SDGs.
Bringing Business to the Table
Private Sector Forum
Hosted by the UN Global Compact on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, the Private Sector Forum brings the voice of business to the UN by inviting over 100 leading CEOs and investors to sit down for lunch with Heads of State and Government, senior UN leadership and civil society representatives for an interactive luncheon, featuring roundtable discussions and high-level networking opportunities.
The 2024 Forum, held as the luncheon of the UN Summit of the Future, explores pressing issues and policy barriers impacting sustainability today—and opportunities for tomorrow—including SDG acceleration; sustainable finance; and digital transformation, drawing from the following new resources:
Emphasizes the crucial role of public policy in enabling the private sector to drive progress on the SDGs. Drawing on insights from five countries—Angola, Brazil, Egypt, India, and South Africa—it highlights the need for cross-sector collaboration, public-private partnerships, and tailored policy solutions to accelerate key transitions in digital access, clean energy, and fair working conditions.
The rise of Generative AI represents a transformative shift in business, with 97 per cent of leaders identifying it as a critical factor in their reinvention over the next few years. The UN Global Compact, in collaboration with Accenture, has released a landmark report: GenAI for the Global Goals: The Private Sector’s Guide to Accelerating Sustainable Development with Technology. This report provides a roadmap for businesses on how to responsibly leverage GenAI to advance the SDGs – including improving operational efficiency, innovation, and sustainability reporting.
Accelerating Innovation in Sustainable Finance: Removing Roadblocks and Unlocking Value
The report highlights the urgent need for increased private investment, particularly in emerging markets, where the financing gap is most pronounced. With global private financial assets totaling $200 trillion, the report calls for innovative mechanisms to unlock this capital and direct it towards sustainable development. It also emphasizes the UN’s leadership role in convening global stakeholders to standardize sustainability practices, promote transparency, and create de-risking mechanisms that will drive the integration of sustainability into corporate and financial decision-making.
The 2024 Private Sector Forum marks one-year since the launch of the UN Global Compact Forward Faster initiative, which has gathered momentum as a global platform for corporate action on the SDGs. The 2024 Forward Faster progress report reveals that over 1,700 companies have committed to accelerating their contributions to the SDGs through more than 4,360 individual targets across key action areas including Gender Equality, Climate Action, Living Wage, Water Resilience, and SDG Finance & Investment, aligned with the 2030 agenda.
