"The realities of achieving effective SDG partnerships"

For this round of global goal setting [of the Sustainable Development Goals], the business community’s role has received much greater attention.  “If you want to achieve anything of a systemic and global nature, you have to bring in..., above all, industry,” Kazuki Kitaoka...[of] the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, told Devex.  “Industry is driving a lot of the labor and human rights issues, negatively and positively. And industry can be a real solution...,” he added.

...But some in the private sector say their voices do not stand out among all the stakeholders... “Given what business has at its disposal from the standpoint of experience and resources, can you build something into the architecture that would give business a little bit more of a recognized channel to weigh in?” asked Norine Kennedy...at the U.S. Council for International Business.  Other stakeholders need to be heard, Kennedy acknowledged, but she noted the people she represents deserve a forum that is proportionate to what they bring to development.

Business groups say they, too, have a responsibility to foster better working relationships...“If you go a little bit deeper, and it doesn’t take you long to do that, you will find every single company, every single private sector entity, every single NGO, you will find that there are areas in there, and just a few, where you can make a valuable impact,” Walter van Kuijen, [of] ...Philips, told Devex.