Moving the Needle: Advancing Our Common Agenda with Business

USCIB launched an initiative during the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly that focuses on three priorities identified by the UN President of the General Assembly: Solutions for Sustainability, Science, and Solidarity. The initiative is titled “Moving the Needle (MTN): Advancing our Common Agenda with Business”

About USCIB’s MTN Campaign

MTN Roadmap Report

MTN White Paper: Business & the UN 2.0

MTN Roundtables Series

MTN Roundtable 1: “Tracking Progress, Identifying Gaps”

MTN Roundtable 2: “Creating a Safe Space for Collaboration”

MTN Roundtable 3: “SDG Partnerships in LDCs for Inclusive Sustainable Economic Development”

MTN Roundtable 4: “I for Implementation: SDG 9 In Action”

About MTN

In spite of the challenges, the imperative is here, the momentum is here and the private sector has the tools and partnerships to move the needle.

USCIB’s “Moving the Needle (MTN): Advancing our Common Agenda (OCA) with Business” initiative will be a series of three roundtables, all of which will contribute to a final “Moving the Needle Roadmaps for Results” report that will provide the foundation for elaborating options towards a more systematic engagement with business in targeted practical areas aligned with the theme of the 77th session of the UN General assembly.

MTN will explore how business expertise, action, and resources can be brought to the table, actively participating in accelerating SDG implementation, working with and through the multilateral system.

 

About MTN Roadmap Report

The “Moving the Needle Roadmaps for Results” report draws from the roundtables and provides the foundation for elaborating options towards a more systematic engagement with business in targeted practical areas aligned with the theme of the 77th session of the UN General assembly: Solutions for Sustainability, Science and Solidarity. The report includes:

  • a foreword by our esteemed USCIB Board of Trustees Sustainability Champion, Novozymes President & CEO Ester Baiget
  • proposals for private-public partnerships to allow sustainable economic development
  • recommendations to the SDG Summit on 2023 Agenda implementation
  • extensive business examples featuring Novozymes, RELX, AB InBev, Bayer, Ferrero, Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Husk Power Systems, Mastercard, Salesforce, Meta, Diageo, LinkedIn, and more. These examples demonstrate how companies are able to approach the 2030Agenda and promote sustainable development through real-world applications.

Click here to read the report.

About MTN White Paper: Business & the UN 2.0

Based on the learnings outlined in the “Moving the Needle Roadmaps for Results,” USCIB developed a white paper on “Business and the UN 2.0,” that offers proposals on how to enhance private sector interfaces with the UN as integral to practical, networked and inclusive multilateralism. The report includes:

  • a foreword by our esteemed USCIB Board of Trustees Sustainability Champion, Novozymes President & CEO Ester Baiget
  • MTN recommendations for the SDG Summit & Summit of the Future
  • the case for representative business engagement at the UN
  • and much more!

Click here to read the report.

Check back soon for more updates and announcements about upcoming Roundtables.

 

First MTN Roundtable on September 15, 2022
About MTN Roundtables

Looking to the SDG Summit taking place in 2023 and the Summit of the Future in 2024, MTN will leverage upcoming opportunities to bring together representatives of UN Missions and Agencies, as well as business leaders in a series of Roundtables to identify hands-on solutions. These solutions will deliver on the UN’s OCA proposals and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Business sees the OCA as absolutely necessary in its holistic vision. It can animate systems thinking and doing on priority issues and opens the door to new avenues to bring private sector capability to the UN and the multisectoral system as a whole.

Further information about MTN Roundtable 1:


Further information about MTN Roundtable 2:

    • Click here to read a summary report of the second MTN Roundtable, titled “Creating a Safe Space for Collaboration: Enhancing Business-Science-Policy Interface to Accelerate Implementation of the SDGs and OCA targets.”

Further information about MTN Roundtable 3:

Further information about MTN Roundtable 4:

 

MTN Roundtable 3: “SDG Partnerships in LDCs for Inclusive Sustainable Economic Development”

The LDC5 Private Sector Forum, co-organized by the United Nations with Microsoft and a business advisory group, emphasized actions and partnerships for LDCs to support the delivery of the new Doha Program of Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Forum highlighted important sectors for LDCs, such as agriculture, energy, connectivity and finance and the need to create enabling environments for LDCs to benefit from trade, investment and capacity building. 

USCIB Board Member Chris Sharrock, Microsoft vice president for UN Affairs and International Organizations, opened the MTN Roundtable, stating that “Business plays a key role in delivering inclusive growth, creating opportunities and sustainable development around the world, especially for the 880 million people living across the LDCs.”  He went on to emphasize the necessity of partnerships that are effective, tailored to local needs and goals and that mobilize private sector knowledge and tools.   

The MTN Roundtable featured speakers from USAID, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and UNIDO, as well as leading IOE employers federation representatives from the DRC, Mali and Zambia.  

Click here to read the full news story.

MTN Roundtable 1: “Tracking Progress, Identifying Gaps”
Dalai Fazio, Deloitte

MTN was launched on September 15 with an inaugural Roundtable focused on “Tracking Progress, Identifying Gaps.”

 

This first MTN Roundtable highlighted business innovation, initiatives and partnerships related to information, data and metrics relevant to accelerate the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and delivering on proposals laid out in the UN Secretary-General’s report, Our Common Agenda (OCA). USCIB member Microsoft generously hosted the event at Microsoft UN Affairs Offices located at One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in New York.

The main panel featured speakers from Deloitte, LinkedIn, Google and RELX who shared their perspective on practical private sector approaches that can fast track the SDGs to accomplish key OCA proposals.

L-R: President of the UN General Assembly H.E. Ambassador Csaba Korosi, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) H.E. Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva

USCIB and its members also reiterated its commitment to the UN by bringing business solutions into the multilateral system that can contribute to a better understanding of a stronger, more resilient, and effective United Nations for all.

High-level speakers included the new President of the UN General Assembly (PGA) H.E. Ambassador Csaba Korosi, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) H.E. Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva, as well as U.S. Representative for UN Management and Reform H.E. Ambassador Chris Lu.

A summary report is now available! The report outlines some key takeaways from the first MTN Roundtable, focusing on UN leadership, opportunities for business engagement, and SDG related initiatives by USCIB members Deloitte, LinkedIn, Google, and RELX. We know we are off track in achieving the SDGs but combining private sector capabilities, building trust, and speaking out to a broader audience can make an impactful difference.