India Inc became first in world to formally adopt UN's sustainable goals

India Inc. on 12 March 2016 formally adopted the United Nations' (UN) agenda for the world's sustainable development and the 17 goals identified for its implementation in Mumbai.

The 11th National Convention on Sustainable Development Goals organized by the Global Compact Network in Mumbai, which was inaugurated by Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, assumed significance as this is for the first time the UN is involving private and public sector corporates globally to drive its development agenda. This was the first such meeting which was held globally.

Top 50 domestic corporate leaders such as the Tata Group, the Aditya Birla Group, Reliance, Vedanta, the Adani Group and public sector behemoth Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and several MNCs will officially adopt the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDGs).

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the continuum of the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were under implementation from January 2000 to December 2015. These 17 SDGs are being implemented from January 2016 to December 2030.

17 Sustainable Development Goals are:

• No Poverty
• Zero Hunger
• Good Health and Well Being
• Quality Education
• Gender Equality
• Clean Water and Sanitation
• Affordable and Clean Energy
• Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• Required Inequalities
• Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Responsible Consumption and Production
• Climate Action
• Life Below Water
• Life on Land
• Peace Justice and Strong Institutions
• Partnerships for the Goals

About United Nations Global Compact

• United Nations Global Compact is a UN initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible polices, and to report on their implementation.  

• Under the Global Compact, companies are brought together with UN agencies, labour groups and civil society.

• It is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative with 13000 corporate participants and other stakeholders over 170 countries.

• The Global Compact Network India, an association of over 300 companies, functions as the Indian Local Network of UN Global Compact, New York.

Now get latest Current Affairs on mobile, Download # 1  Current Affairs App