FAMBB

14 FOREWORDfacilitate partnerships in the areas of anti-corruption,climate and energy, social enterprise, water andUN-business, with more than 250 projects and 300organisations connecting online.UN-led multi-stakeholder initiatives, in which theUN Secretary-General has taken the lead on engagingbusiness and investors with government, philanthropyand civil society in areas such as women’s and children’shealth, sustainable energy, and food and nutrition; andbusiness-sector initiatives, where companies in variousindustries jointly tackle sustainability challengesspecific to their sector, are also energising business andhelping to scale up engagement and investments fromall participants.A survivor of the RanaPlaza factory collapse.The disaster, which killedmore than 1,130 people,was one of a series tohit the Bangladeshigarment industry. Inresponse, the Accord onFire and Building Safetyin Bangladesh, a legallybinding agreement toprotect workers’ safety,was set up betweenlabour organisations,NGOs and textileretailers. More than1,600 factories arecovered by the accordon national implementation than the MillenniumDevelopment Goals did. Multi-sector, responsible,business-led councils like the Global CompactLocal Networks have the potential to applypost-2015 elements to a country-level analysis ofpolicies and tactics. As such, they can lend notableassistance to governmental decision-making. Thislocal implementation of global goals will also placeemphasis on engaging small and medium-sizedenterprises and upgrading their capacities.●●Technology-powered partnership hubs:Technology-based platforms can add scale topartnership efforts by facilitating more effectivematchmaking and sharing of information –thereby delivering significant multiplier effectsand accelerating the rate of change. Partnershipscan leverage technology and unite parties aroundspecific projects and solutions that can be rapidlyscaled up by sector, issue and/or geography. TheUN Global Compact Business Partnership Hubutilises digital technology and map-based analytics to© ReutersToward 2015 and beyondIn order to make continued progress, companieseverywhere must do more of what is sustainable andput an end to what is not. Corporate sustainabilityshould be firmly embedded in the DNA of businessculture and operations. And companies will need topush beyond first-mover approaches and embracepartnerships and collective action initiatives that unitepeers and other stakeholders. Co-investing will allowcompanies to share the risks in navigating systemicchallenges that no single company can overcome, suchas corruption or water scarcity.Decisions by business leaders to pursue sustainabilitycan make all of the difference. The good news is thatenlightened companies – which comprise major portionsof the global marketplace – have shown that they arewilling to be part of the solution and are moving aheadregardless. What is clear is that they will only get so farunless actions are taken by a range of actors.On a promising note for the future of the business–society union is that, of 1,000 Global CompactCEOs surveyed last year, 84 per cent believe thatbusiness should play a leading role in addressing globalpriority issues.Hopefully, business will have an enormousopportunity to ‘make good’ on this commitment, as theSDGs are likely to call for even greater transformationin how the world collaborates on shared priorities.The post-2015 agenda has the power to spur actionby all key actors, with the private sector having animportant role. These goals and targets could resultin a framework for businesses to measure theirown sustainability progress and help them establishcorporate goals aligned with global priorities. Toensure their success, we must work together to makeresponsible business a transformative force in achievinga shared, secure and sustainable future.GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2014