USCIB Launches Initiative During UNGA: “Moving the Needle: Advancing Our Common Agenda with Business”  

L-R: HE Ambassador Chris Lu and Peter Robinson

On the opening week of the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th session, USCIB launched its new initiative called “Moving the Needle (MTN): Advancing our Common Agenda with Business” with a first roundtable focused on “Tracking Progress, Identifying Gaps.” The session 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.  

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.    

According to USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Global Strategy Norine Kennedy, the Presidents of the General Assembly and ECOSOC both emphasized the importance of next year’s SDG Summit, which will mark the halfway point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Private sector and all stakeholders are encouraged to actively engage in the lead up process, as it presents an opportunity for a reality check on what the world has collectively achieved since the SDGs were first launched in 2015 and how to maximize the time left.  

Daniel Altman, Public Policy, Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Tech, Google

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. 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.  

USCIB’s MTN initiative will be a series of 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: Solutions for Sustainability, Science and Solidarity. 

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, and business leaders to identify hands-on solutions to deliver on OCA proposals and advance the SDGs.  Based on the learnings outlined in the “Moving the Needle Roadmaps for Results,” USCIB will develop a white paper on “Business and the UN 2.0,” that will offer proposals on how to enhance private sector interfaces with the UN as integral to practical, networked and inclusive multilateralism.   

Staff Contact:   Kira Yevtukhova

Deputy Director, Marketing and Communications
Tel: 202.617.3160

Kira Yevtukhova manages USCIB’s print and online publications, including the website, e-newsletter and quarterly magazine, and serves as the organization’s digital media strategist. Prior to this role, Kira worked for over five years within USCIB’s Policy Department, focusing on climate change, environment, nutrition, health, and chemicals related policy issues. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and has an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
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