Here's our key takeaways from the recent United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit, held as a virtual event with over 10,000 companies in attendance. Overall, it was a positive event, with a strong sense that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic we have all faced this year, the world must keep moving forward on its sustainability journey.
On the 15th and 16th of June the United Nations held a virtual Leaders Summit to celebrate 20 years of uniting business. Over 10,000 companies and 3,000+ non-business participants joined to exchange ideas about how we can recover better, recover stronger and recover together. As a UN Global Compact signatory, ASL Global was there.
This summit felt like a big discussion where everybody was welcome to share their ideas and views. Rebuilding our societies and economies in a more inclusive way was one of the frameworks within conversations on social justice, low-carbon transition and climate resilience. Of course COVID-19 was also part of the discussions. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called COVID-19 “the greatest test that we have faced together since the formation of the United Nations”.
‘Recover better, Recover stronger, Recover together’ was the motto of this summit and it was definitely a good way to describe the vibe of the two days. Back in 2015, all members of the UN adopted the 17 SDGs and set the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. This 15 year plan to achieve the SDGS encompassed a variety of actions. Now, 5 years into the plan, world leaders believe that it is necessary to increase the speed and the scale of our operations. The Decade for Action and delivery for Sustainable Development calls for a refocusing on SDGs. At the core of the 2020-2030 decade is the need for action to tackle growing poverty, empower women and girls, and address the climate emergency.
Business, irrespectively of their size, play an important role in all societies. It is important both for businesses themselves, and for individuals, to understand the key role of all industries in recovery and actions. Strong leadership is the key to move through the crisis. Building resilient businesses and investing in public & private collaborations were identified as steps of paramount importance. It is vital for all business, private, public, multinational, SMEs, to form a united front and use their resources to advance sustainable development and support inclusive societies. Stakeholder engagement has always been a crucial link in the sustainability chain, and now, more than ever, there is a need for open dialogue and cooperation.
We have been going through a climate emergency for far too long now. A lot of sessions in the summit offered insights on the importance of clean energy, water resilience and ocean sustainability. Climate change and its impacts have been a significant chapter of Sustainable Development. Now is the time for businesses and individuals to come together and revaluate their views and actions. There is no doubt that a lot of progress has been made when it comes to the inclusion of climate change actions in corporate strategy but the world is at a critical point. Climate change is moving at a faster pace and half a degree can have adverse impacts on various groups of people, companies, products and supply chains. Water resilience and ocean sustainability are two of the urgent issues that climate change has brought forward. All panels agreed that climate change challenges require all sectors of society to take an active role using leadership and innovation to navigate through these.
Human rights and equality sit at the heart of UN and of SDG's. Various panels and breakout sessions discussed the issues surrounding this side of Sustainable Development. The conversations revealed that although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was drafted in 1948 it remains as relevant today as ever before. Due diligence, anti-corruption and supply chain governance were some of the main issues brought forward in different panels, and business were urged to continue taking action and become more transparent. Gender equality is considered essential to a wide range of 2030 Agenda objectives yet progress on Goal 5: Gender Equality remains alarmingly slow. It has emerged as a top corporate sustainability issue since most companies have not sufficiently translated this commitment into action. Through various discussions in the summit it becomes evident that companies are putting this issue in the main stage looking for the way forward.
The Covid-19 pandemic was included in a lot of the discussions. These are precedent times and our reaction to these challenges will shape our future. Business are asked to take the lead and guide societies through this crisis. Furthermore, it is clear that although we are going through a crisis we should not take our eyes off the goal of Sustainable development but rather find new ways of reaching our goals.
It was an interesting and very informative event that gave various voices the opportunity to be heard. It brought different stakeholders together and promoted dialogue through various channels. There is always room for improvement and listening to different stories and opinions is key to understanding the challenges that the world is facing. We gathered our key takeaways from this positive event:
There has been a lot of work in the various areas of Sustainable Development that has led to small and big improvements and very encouraging results. Now we need to refocus and intensify our efforts both as businesses and as individuals.
Business are an important pillar of the community and have been given privileges and responsibilities. They need to come together, build strong partnerships, and provide leadership through the various challenges.
All aspects of sustainable development are important but these two require urgent attention. Collaboration and inclusivity are needed to move forward and act. The world is past the point of identifying critical issues and building plans. Now is the time to act and business have the power to help by truly incorporating the Sustainable Development goals into their strategy and operations, and translating them into actions.
Although we are currently facing the COVID-19 pandemic that caught the world somewhat off guard and has disrupted all parts of society, we have to keep moving forward and not stop working on sustainability.
It was an excellent event that provided a lot of insight on the various issues that our world is currently facing. The conference clearly demonstrated the pivotal role of businesses in the future of sustainability. Furthermore it highlighted that Sustainable Development does also include financial development and, as we are going through various crises, keeping in mind all three pillars is essential. Collaboration and inclusivity will pave a path to move forward if we understand that environment, society and economy are intertwined.
ASL Global understand its role as a global citizen and recognizes the urgency of the issues our world is facing. We believe that through innovation and strong leadership we can aid the global effort for a better, stronger and more inclusive society. The year 2020 has been challenging but we are looking ahead and aspiring to make a difference through our ongoing ONE WORLD initiative. We are committed to working with our customers and suppliers to take tangible action which helps build a more sustainable for everyone.
ASL Global is committed to conducting our business in a responsible & sustainable way. Acting with passion and integrity, our people work with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to make a positive contribution to social responsibility and environmental sustainability in communities around the world.
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