This book provides a business-oriented analysis of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In order to assess their impact on businesses and corporations, the book addresses all 17 goals and a broad range of industries. Gathering contributions from Africa, Europe and Asia, it presents both critical reviews and case studies. In turn, the book seeks to predict likely developments during the next decade. To do so, it examines evidence from today’s business world and how companies and corporations have been adopting the SDGs since their release. In this regard, it discusses the changes that will be required and how the agenda will affect the continent’s development path. An underlying theme throughout the book is the role of monetary value and investment for sustainable development: whether through financing, enhanced turnaround resulting from a more educated population, or more socially innovative entrepreneurs.

The aim of this report is to present an overview of the 17 Goals using data currently available to highlight the most significant gaps and challenges.

This book explores the record of the UN development system (UNDS) over more than 70 years as a fount of ideas and concepts in development; as a contributor to development thinking and strategy; and as the principal source of global development goals from the first UN Development Decade to the SDGs. It also examines the more mixed record of the UNDS in its operational role and asks how the ideational and operational functions can be more successfully aligned, and what changes such an alignment would imply. The chapters consider: The logic of global governance through international organizations The origins, functions, structure of the UN development system UN contributions to development thinking The UN’s development agendas, 1960s to 2015 Reforming the UN development system The future of the UN and multilateralism The book will be of great use for students and scholars studying political science, international organizations, the UN, and development, as well as for practitioners associated with the UN, including member-state missions, UN staff, and development cooperation professionals.

A positive agenda for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 All 193 member nations of the United Nations agreed in September 2015 to adopt a set of seventeen "Sustainable Development Goals," to be achieved by 2030. Each of the goals—in such areas as education and health care —is laudable in and of itself, and governments and organizations are working hard on them. But so far there is no overall, positive agenda of what new things need to be done to ensure the goals are achieved across all nations. In a search of fresh approaches to the longstanding problems targeted by the Sustainable Development Goals, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings mounted a collaborative research effort to advance implementation of Agenda 2030. This edited volume is the product of that effort. The book approaches the UN's goals through three broad lenses. The first considers new approaches to capturing value. Examples include Nigeria's first green bonds, practical methods to expand women's economic opportunities, benchmarking to reflect business contributions to achieving the goals, new incentives for investment in infrastructure, and educational systems that promote cross-sector problem solving. The second lens entails new approaches to targeting places, including oceans, rural areas, fast-growing developing cities, and the interlocking challenge of data systems, including geospatial information generated by satellites. The third lens focuses on updating governance, broadly defined. Issues include how civil society can align with the SDG challenge; how an advanced economy like Canada can approach the goals at home and abroad; what needs to be done to foster new approaches for managing the global commons; and how can multilateral institutions for health and development finance evolve.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal set of seventeen goals and 169 targets, with accompanying indicators, which were agreed by UN member states to frame their policy agendas for the fifteen-year period from 2015 to 2030. Written by three authors who have been engaged in the development of the SDGs from the beginning, this book offers an insider view of the process and a unique entry into what will be seen as one of the most significant negotiations and global policy agendas of the twenty-first century. The book reviews how the SDGs were developed, what happened in key meetings and how this transformational agenda, which took more than three years to negotiate, came together in September 2015. It dissects and analyzes the meetings, organizations and individuals that played key roles in their development. It provides fascinating insights into the subtleties and challenges of high-level negotiation processes of governments and stakeholders, and into how the SDGs were debated, formulated and agreed. It is essential reading for all interested in the UN, sustainable development and the future of the planet and humankind.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Finance, Technology and Law Reform Achieving the SDGs requires a fundamental rethink from businesses and governments across the globe. To make the ambitious goals a reality, trillions of dollars need to be harnessed to mobilise finance and accelerate progress towards the SDGs. Bringing together leaders from the World Bank, the financial and business sectors, the startup community and academia, this important, topically relevant volume explains what the SDGs are, how they came about and how they can be accelerated. Real-world case studies and authoritative insights address how to direct investment of existing financial resources and re-align the global financial system to reflect the SDGs. In depth chapters discuss how financial institutions, such as UBS Wealth Management, Manulife Asset Management and Moody’s Rating Agency are supporting the SDGs. The opportunities arising from Blockchain, Big Data, Digital Identity and cutting-edge FinTech and RegTech applications are explored, whilst the relevance of sustainable and transparent global supply chains is underscored. Significant attention is paid to law reform which can accelerate progress of the SDGs through SME Financing, Crowdfunding, Peer-to-Peer Lending and tax restructuring. To achieve the ‘World We Want’, much needs to be done. The recommendations contained within this book are critical for supporting a fundamental shift in thinking from business and governments around the world, and for building a more just and prosperous future for all.

This report assesses progress in implementing the commitments and actions in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. The global economic recession and financial turmoil from COVID-19 (coronavirus) are derailing implementation of the Agenda and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Even before the pandemic, the 2020 Financing for Sustainable Development Report (FSDR) of the Inter-agency Task Force noted that there was backsliding in many areas. Due to the crisis, global financial markets have witnessed heavy losses and intense volatility. Particularly worrisome is the prospect of a new debt crisis. The FSDR highlights both immediate and longer-term actions, including arresting the backslide, to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Recommendations are included in the report.

The setbacks caused by COVID-19 (coronavirus) need not be permanent, and it is possible to regain the momentum and move ahead towards the SDGs. It is even possible to convert the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity for recovering better, by directing much of the resources earmarked for recovery toward investment in promoting the SDGs. While the impact of COVID-19 for many prosperity-related SDGs was negative, its impact for many planet-related SDGs has been positive: greenhouse gas emissions declined; air and water quality improved; and nature's regeneration was witnessed in many areas. These opposite impacts revealed that current ways of achieving prosperity conflict with the health of the planet.