As described in my blog entry February 3rd, I am referring, on a weekly basis, to each of the SDGs: facts, targets, and how could companies be engaged. This week is about SDG#17 - Partnerships for the Goals.
This SDG is not a goal in itself but it is the harsh reality that all the previous 16 SDGs can only be achieved if governments, businesses and civil society work together. The nature of the challenges is far too big to be solved by just one sector of society.
Facts:
Official development assistance stood at $146.6 billion in 2017. This represents a decrease of 0.6 per cent in real terms over 2016.
79% of imports from developing countries enter developed countries duty-free.
The debt burden on developing countries remains stable at about 3% of export revenue.
The number of Internet users in Africa almost doubled in the past four years.
30% of the world’s youth are digital natives, active online for at least five years.
But more four billion people do not use the Internet, and 90 per cent of them are from the developing world.
Targets:
There are 19 targets in five different areas (finance, technology, capability building, trade, systemic issues) which details can be found here:
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/globalpartnerships/
Companies engagement:
Most of the actions mentioned for each of the SDGs in previous posts will only have effect if they are pursued via partnerships. There is a lot companies can do on their own, but approaching any SDG on a decisive and sustainable way can only be achieved building strong relationships.
Fortunately aa lot is already going on, the fight against plastic being a great example of it. The World Economic Forum is mobilizing a new partnership to avert the growth in global plastic pollution by 2025. The initiative is called the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) and will collaborate with government and stakeholders in coastal economies who are battling waste.
Another great example, on the same topic, is the partnership Veolia/Nestle, recently announced, on the fight against plastics: https://www.nestle.com/media/pressreleases/allpressreleases/nestle-veolia-tackle-plastics-leakage-develop-recycling-schemes
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