On 11 January at IMO’s London headquarters, IMO and the United Nations System Staff College held a workshop for Member State delegations, aiming to help Member States gain a better understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the role IMO can play in achieving them.
In 2015, 193 countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), calling for action by all countries to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development on global scale by 2030.
Among the topics covered in the workshop were how to integrate different stakeholders and develop coherent policies with regard to sustainable development, and how to generate engagement and buy-in among potential partners.
As part of the United Nations family, IMO says it is actively committed to helping its Member States achieve the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, especially SDG 14 which refers to sustainable use of the oceans, improving safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution from ships.
Indeed, most of the elements of the 2030 Agenda will only be realized with a sustainable shipping sector supporting world trade and facilitating global economy.
September 2018 marked the third anniversary of the launch of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, significantly affecting also the business sector. Only two years after their launch, in 2017, four in ten (40%) top companies acknowledged the goals in their corporate reporting.
The SDGs are anticipated to generate at least US$12 trillion worth of market opportunities by 2030, which means that the private sector plays a critical role in providing solutions that can contribute to solving these challenges, while also generating new business opportunities.
