UNDP presents Better Business, Better World: Philippines Report
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2019 06:07:45 +0000
THE United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Philippines presents the Better Business, Better World: Philippines Report which projects that by 2030, $82 billion can be generated in the country through a a shift to sustainable business models
It said that this, will translate to large environmental and social benefits with the most significant business opportunities aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in four key areas of the Philippine economy: cities and mobility, energy and materials, food and agricultur, and health and well-being. These opportunities have the potential to create 4.4 million new jobs by 2030.
The report follows the global flagship report ‘Better Business, Better World, released in 2017 by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) chaired by Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, a former UNDP administrator.
The report shows that pursuing 60 sustainable and inclusive market hotspots in just four key investment opportunities could create $12 trillion in business value by 2030–equivalent to 10 percent of forecast GDP – and generate up to 380 million jobs, mostly in developing countries, by 2030.
UNDP Philippines worked closely with SYSTEMIQ, which supported the BSDC and the development of the flagship report, and applied the same methodology while framing around the Philippines’ context and sustainability issues.
Guided by a steering committee composed of senior officials from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Makati Business Club (MBC), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and experts Guillermo Luz and Raphael Lopa, Ssytemiq Ltd, with support from AlphaBeta, conducted intensive research and case studies to produce the report.
Titon Mitra, resident representative of UNDP Philippines, highlighted the rationale behind the report saying that “We have a real opportunity to mobilize the available inert substantial private capital in the country to achieve the SDGs. The challenge is not in the lack of funds, but rather the effective application of these funds. The report provides a basis for companies to transition from CSR to doing well and doing good. The size of the economic prize is staggering, creating both a win-win situation and a means to accelerate the achievements of the SDGs. The private sector is the engine not only for economic growth, but also for sustainable development. Better businesses need a better world, and we can’t have a better world without better businesses.”
As part of its mandate to establish meaningful partnerships in line with sustainable innovations, UNDP Philippines will continue to work with NEDA, DTI, PCCI and other organizations to disseminate the report to more companies and businesses all over the country.