2015 Interagency CSR Round-table

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 2015 Interagency CSR Round-table is meeting to discuss the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), evaluate the role that the private sector can play, and look at how the UN can foster private sector contributions to SDGs.

With the recent launch of the SDGs setting the Post-15 development agenda, it has become clear that all sectors must play a role in achieving these goals. The United Nations and other International Organizations are increasingly looking to the private sector to contribute to international development, fight poverty and inequality, create decent employment, especially for youth, and promote environmentally sustainable growth. With the launch of the SDGs, businesses, international organizations and NGOs will have a newly relevant framework to guide their strategic priorities and efforts toward society - representing a significant opportunity to drive sustainable business.

The CSR Roundtable is an annual event organized jointly by ILO, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It brings together over 20 inter-governmental agencies to discuss issues concerning CSR with the aim of building a common understanding and facilitating greater collaboration. Participants also include governments and representatives of the International Organization of Employers’ (IOE) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

This year discussion will focus on three main issues:
• Inclusive growth and the Private sector: How can the private sector through its business operations contribute to the elimination of extreme poverty and provide decent work opportunities for the poorest? How do we reach women and men in the informal economy? How can we encourage inclusion of all in technological developments linked to the SDGs?
• Financing the SDGs: How can the UN system encourage more private sector investment in areas under the SDG? What becomes of traditional bilateral aid?
• Implications for how international organizations engage the private sector: What is/isn't working in engaging the private sector on these goals? How can we improve collaboration? How could we measure and assess partnerships? How do we ensure accountability of both enterprises and UN agencies

The meeting is chaired this year by the Honourable Marta Maurás Perez, Chilean Ambassador to the UN in Geneva.

For more information, visit the Roundtable's web site: www.csrroundtable.org