Month: September 2019

Cementing 2020 as the emergency year of action, 17 global giants representing over $500 billion in revenue and 900,000 employees are joining forces under a new coalition called the “Business Avengers” to highlight the crucial role businesses play in hitting the targets of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) by 2030.

New York, 25th September 2019 –Today 17 global giants representing over $500 billion in revenue and 900,000 employees are joining forces under a new coalition called the “Business Avengers” to highlight the crucial role businesses play in hitting the targets of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) by 2030. The line-up of companies include: Arm, Avanti Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, Commvault, Diageo, Google.org, Mars Inc, Mastercard, Microsoft Corp., Nike, RB, SAP, Salesforce.com, Salesforce.org and Unilever.

The announcement comes as Project Everyone, Action for Sustainable Development (A4SD), Restless Development, SDG Action Campaign, the UN, and UN Foundation, invite citizens, organizations, and leaders to come together on Wednesday, 25th of September – on the anniversary of the Global Goals agreement – to make 2020 as a year of activism to help shift the world onto a path to deliver the Goals by 2030.

With 10 years left to deliver the Global Goals for Sustainable Development – agreed to by every UN nation in 2015 – today’s announcement is a step in the direction to accelerate progress before the Global Day of Action [25th September 2020], where global leaders are expected to return and report on the steps they have taken to advance sustainability, prosperity, equality and opportunity for all.

Richard Curtis, Co-Founder of Project Everyone said: “We’ve made some progress but nowhere near enough to deliver on the promises made by all nations in 2015. It is now mission critical to inspire and engage the world to set the path for a decade of delivery. That means campaigning for major global policy breakthroughs, sparking ever-greater local and regional activism, and creating cultural moments that break into the mainstream and re-energize action to fight poverty, inequality and the climate crisis. Above all it means joining forces, from young activists to global companies, and we hope that the launch of the “Business Avengers” shows this today, because together we can and must achieve the Goals.”

Marking a third of the way through the Global Goals and ten years to go – 2020 is a make or break year – full of key decision moments on gender, inequality, climate, ecosystems democracy and civic space.

Link – https://www.globalgoals.org/business

Media Contacts:

Goals2020@freuds.com

About Project Everyone
Project Everyone seeks to put the power of great communications behind The Global Goals for Sustainable Development, accelerating the creation of a fairer world by 2030, where extreme poverty has been eradicated, climate change is properly addressed, and injustice and inequality are unacceptable. Their mission is to ensure that everyone on the planet knows what The Global Goals for Sustainable Development are, so that they stand the greatest chance of being achieved. The assumption at the heart of this project is that if people know about the goals they can hold their governments, businesses, local and international institutions to account.

About the UN and SDGs
The 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted the bold, forward looking and ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015. The Agenda, which includes 17 transformative Sustainable Development Goals, calls on all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity and social well-being while protecting the planet. The Goals recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and threats to biodiversity. The Goals demand that everyone must benefit and that no one must be left behind. In an effort to create awareness and inspire action on the Goals, the UN Secretariat, UNDP and other parts of the UN system collaborate with a range of partners, including creative agencies, the entertainment industry, media organizations and businesses who are committed to advancing the agenda.

About the United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation acts as a strategic partner to help the United Nations mobilize the ideas, people, and resources it needs to drive global progress and tackle urgent challenges. We focus on issues at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals, build initiatives across sectors to solve problems at scale, and engage citizens who seek action. Founded in 1998 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner, the UN Foundation works with philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual partners. Learn more at: http://www.unfoundation.org.

About the United Nations Development Programme
Working in 170 countries, on all continents, regardless of conditions, UNDP is the largest global development organization in the world. We lead the United Nations’ mission to end poverty while preserving the environment. Partnering with communities, governments and the private sector, we are committed to eliminating inequality around the world, fighting climate change and achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Our mission is to protect our planet and its people to create a better tomorrow for generations to come. Learn more about UNDP at: http://www.undp.org.

Unprecedented effort seeks to bring together global leaders and activists to make 2020 a super year of activism to kickstart a decade of delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Today, global leaders and activists are issuing a joint call to mobilize businesses, faith communities, elected officials, civil society and citizens everywhere to commit to a decade of accelerated action for people and for planet to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Coming at the end of the UN’s SDG Summit – the first since the Global Goals were agreed – young leaders are driving demands for greater action, awareness and accountability from all sectors to drive much faster progress on the Goals that all nations signed up to at the United Nations in 2015.

“Our world and our future are under threat from persistent poverty, inequality, and the climate crisis,” said Trisha Shetty, Indian activist and Founder of SheSays “We are off track to meet the Goals by 2030. We, the young, demand more from all our leaders across governments, sectors and communities, and we will hold you to account.”

Shetty, Joannie Bewa, Physician and Women’s Rights Activist from Benin, and Burak Berk Doulay, Cypriot Activist and Co-Founder of Cyprusinno, will also address world leaders at the SDG Summit, calling on them to pledge support and drive a dramatic change of course in 2020.

UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J Mohammed, said: “Governments remain united behind the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. But they simply cannot do it alone. Given the challenges we face, we need to widen the tent and deepen the engagement. The Secretary-General is calling for an unstoppable global movement that is united for both people and planet. Today’s announcement of a super year of activism in 2020 holds the key to growing this movement and to delivering a decade of action for the SDGs.”

The announcement of the 2020 Super year initiative comes as two major scientific reports underline how far off track we are to achieve the SDGs by the 2030 deadline, and to tackle the climate crisis. The Global Sustainable Development Report warns that progress made over the last two decades is in danger of being reversed through worsening social inequalities and potentially irreversible declines in the natural environment. Meanwhile the latest IPCC report indicates a dramatic decline in the health of the world’s oceans.

Richard Curtis, SDG advocate and Co-founder of Project Everyone said: “We know when people come together progress is possible. 2020 is a moment to unite for a Decade of Action and make sure we get on track to achieve the Global Goals by 2030. That means campaigning for major global policy breakthroughs, major new finance for the Goals, sparking ever greater local and regional activism, and creating cultural moments that break into the mainstream. We will be a third of the way through the Goals – it is a crucial year for everyone who believes in them to join forces, from young activists to global companies, to take action and to fight together against poverty, inequality and the climate crisis.”

The event at the UN today is also expected to feature, among others, Nobel Laureates Kailash Satyarthi and Muhammad Yunus, UNICEF goodwill ambassador and Syrian youth activist Muzoon Almellehan, South African writer and activist Zoleka Mandela and Game of Thrones Star and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

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Link for images here.

Media Contacts:

Goals2020@freuds.com