Presentation by Malcolm Johnson, ITU Deputy Secretary-General

British Swiss Chamber of Commerce - Great British Breakfast: Presentation

13 October 2016, Le Richemond, Geneva

 The Business Case for SDGs

In September 2015 the UN General Assembly agreed the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and set out a global agenda for development based on economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability known as the '2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'. It identifies five pillars of "people, the planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships". The SDGs build on the foundations established by the MDGs, but extend them in several important ways to all countries, acknowledging the growing urgency of development efforts and putting environmental sustainability centre-stage.

It has been widely recognized that information and communication technologies (ICTs) will be essential to the achievement of all 17 SDGs. My talk will explore the business case for contributing to the SDGs, and the need for the private and public sectors to work together to achieve them in innovative new ways, with examples such as mobile banking, digital financial inclusion and smart cities to explain how achieving the SDGs can be a win-win for everyone.