WBCSD share with you the CEO Guide to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Adopted by 193 countries in September 2015, the SDGs set out a framework of 17 Goals to tackle the world’s most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges in the lead-up to 2030.

The guide is designed to provide you with a concise yet comprehensive introduction to the SDGs, and their relevance for the private sector – because this agenda can’t be achieved without business.

With 169 targets sitting behind the 17 Goals, it can be difficult to know where to start. Yet a recent survey shows that:

• 70% of CEOs see the SDGs as providing a clear framework to structure sustainability efforts
• 87% of CEOs believe the SDGs provide an opportunity to rethink approaches to sustainable value creation
• 49% believe that business will be the single most important actor in delivering the SDGs.

The SDGs provide us with a new lens through which to translate global needs and ambitions into business solutions.

How the CEO Guide to the SDGs can help you

The CEO Guide is a new flagship WBCSD resource that sets out the clear actions you can take to begin aligning with the SDGs, and plot a course towards unlocking the value they represent.

The guide draws on the landmark research of the Business & Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) which has found that achieving the SDGs could be worth at least US$12 trillion a year in market value by 2030 and create 380 million jobs in the process.

Highlighting the critical role for business in realizing the SDGs, the guide also explores the business implications of the SDGs across four pillars:

• Risks of inaction
• Capturing opportunities
• Governance & transparency, and
• The need for collaboration.

Acting on the SDGs is critical

At this time of political and economic uncertainty, strong and visionary CEO leadership is essential to achieving the transformation that is needed to usher in the inclusive and sustainable economic growth that the SDGs represent.

Through this CEO Guide, we seek to amplify the key messages of the BSDC, and help you turn them into action in your company. We outline how you can engage your organization, and recommend key steps for you to take to begin aligning with this critical societal agenda.

I encourage you to explore the CEO Guide – you can download the interactive digital version and watch the video from our central SDG Business Hub.

The Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary celebrated its 10^th Anniversary at the General Meeting which took place at the new headquarters of E.ON Hungária. Currently, BCSDH has 79 members, representing a community of value-creating business leaders of companies that contribute 30% of Hungary’s GDP.

During the past 10 years, 200 professional events, 200 active business leaders, 100 gifted participants of the ‘Future Leaders’ Talent Program, and more than 130 experts from NGOs, scientific, academic and business sectors have been involved in the Action 2020 Hungary program. Due to these efforts more than 500 business solutions have been introduced that provide real answers to sustainability challenges, and which demonstrate BCSDH’s strong commitment to sustainability.

Zsolt Jamniczky, Member of the Board of Directors of E.ON Hungária and Executive Board Member of BCSDH pointed out in his welcome speech that the organisation has now reached the optimal size which was defined as a strategy goal a few years ago.

 ’10 years ago, 15 companies and one private person thought that Hungarian businesses should take action for sustainability. Now, in 2017, BCSDH has 79 members who engage 400 thousand employees and produce 30% of Hungary’s GDP. Through the community of value-creating business leaders of these companies, BCSDH has achieved remarkable results in the field of sustainability. Nowadays, more and more leaders are recognising that operating sustainably generates competitive advantages for businesses, and are taking real steps by contributing to Hungary’s sustainability goals.’ – said Attila Chikán Jr., summarising the organisation’s development over the past 10 years.

BCSDH has been at the forefront of laying the foundation of this transformation since 2012 when ‘The Complex Interpretation of Corporate Sustainability Recommendations for Business Leaders’ were formulated.

‘At the moment, the most important task is to facilitate the practical implementation of these basic principles. BCSDH members are taking the lead in this process: 55 pre-existing business solutions have been identified which offer real answers to sustainability challenges.’ – added Irén Márta, Managing Director of BCSDH.

Nearly 80 business leaders and delegates attended the special Assembly of Members. To commemorate the jubilee, the founding members of BCSDH (Accor-Pannonia Hotels, ING Bank, Magyar Lapterjesztő, Szentkirályi-Kékkúti Ásványvíz, MOL Group, OTP Alapkezelő, Shell and two private individuals, Sándor Lakatos and Kinga Scodnik) were honored with a certificate.

Furthermore, 10 new members (4iG, Daikin, Duna Aszfalt, Graphisoft Park, Greenpro, Iberdrola, K&H Group, MVÜK, PPD Hungária, and Szerencsejáték Zrt.) were introduced in front of the large group of participants.

Furthermore, a collaborative project between two partner organisations was introduced in relation to BCSDH’s announcement of the need to transform recommendations into practice, and combat climate change. Gábor Décsi, founder of LEO, introduced the organisation and talked about benchmarking research relating to facility maintenance. Éva Beleznay, Vice-President of HuGBC, described the association’s work in depth.

Pictures from the event can be viewed by clicking here.

The Hungarian business sector agrees that operating transparently is the fundamental duty of all companies – as revealed in BCSDH’s annual sustainability survey.

91% of Hungarian businesses believe that operating transparently contributes to long-term success, and 98% even consider transparency to be a fundamental duty of all companies – as revealed in the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary’s (BCSDH) own, non-representative survey. BCSDH has more than 70 corporate members who contribute 30% of Hungary’s GDP. The organisation was interested in how companies that signed the Recommendation for Business Leader in 2013 evaluate progress in the implementation of the Recommendation’s core principles in the Hungarian business sector and in their own operations. The core values are: strategic approach, responsible management, ethical operations, respect for human values, environmental responsibility, partnership with stakeholders and transparent operations. This year, the core survey topic is transparent operations.

The survey reveals that leaders still consider the business sector as key player in promoting sustainable development. Large companies are expected to play a key role in facilitating the move towards sustainable development. Their sustainability strategies are mostly determined by regulators, consumers and customers. In order to ensure effective and successful dialogue and cooperation between companies and other stakeholders, mutual information sharing is necessary. Operating transparently can help to achieve this and to develop and strengthen trust among stakeholders.

„It has been confirmed that measuring sustainability performance and making these findings and goals transparent, discourse that stimulates creativity and innovation can be established. Therefore, the BCSDH recommends that all businesses and business decision-makers who are operating in Hungary gradually and continuously improve the transparency of their operations in order to take advantage of the benefit and potential that can be gained from non-financial reporting.” – Attila Chikán Jr., President of BCSDH summarised the most important lessons learned from the survey conducted with the participation of 68 companies.

 Even though strong commitment and belief are clearly demonstrated in the survey, these factors are overshadowed by the fact that 76% of respondents thought that the extent of a company’s transparency is the result of interaction between the company and its stakeholders. Furthermore, the greatest barrier to the creation and promotion of non-financial reports is the fact that ‘nobody asks or makes companies accountable for this kind of information’

The more detailed and downloadable version of the BCSDH survey is available on the site www.bcsdh.hu/topics/recommendation-for-business-leaders

Conference organised by the French Embassy in Hungary and the French Institute in partnership with the Embassy of Morocco in Hungary and Női Érdek/Hungarian Women’s Lobby
At the French Institute (Fő utca 17, Budapest 1011), 9 December 2016
In French and Hungarian with simultaneous translation. English programme for reference only

… whereas there will not be any climate justice without true gender equality, and whereas the elimination of inequalities and the fight against climate change should not be seen as contradictory…

Report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality on Women and Climate Change (2011/2197(INI)) of the European Parliament, 9th March 2012)

Women account for over half of the world’s population but their level of participation in political decision-making remains below that of men’s. This is equally true in the field of the environment, despite women being among the most vulnerable segments of the world’s population to climate change owing to the leading role they still play in family, health and education matters.
France and Morocco, as host countries to the COP21 and COP22 climate conferences, have emphasised during the negotiations the major role played by women, as well as their knowledge and expertise. France has, furthermore, placed women’s rights and gender equality at the heart of its development policy.
This conference will address these issues through the following questions: how can a better inclusion of women lead to public policies that better reflect the world population’s shared interest? What role can women play in raising awareness about what is at stake with climate change?

Programme:
9am – Opening speeches : After Paris and Marrakech: mobilizing on climate and gender

Anne-Marie Maskay, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of France

Nezha Riki, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Morocco

Martina Makai, Deputy State Secretary for green economy, climate policy and key public services, National Development Ministry of Hungary

9.30am – 10.30am Panel: Equality between men and women as a tool in the fight against climate change

Serge Rabier, socio-demographer, member of the High Committee for Equality between Women and Men, researcher at the Paris-Berlin Virchow-Villermé Public Health Center

Hakima El Haite, Delegate Minister in Charge of Environment at the Ministry of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment of Morocco (video message)(tbc)

Csaba Kőrösi, Head of Directorate for Environmental Sustainability at the Office of the President of Hungary (tbc)

Emmanuelle Pinault, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group

10.30am – 11am Q&A

11am – 11.30am Break

11.30am – 11.50am Keynote speech (in English): Climate change : a view from the IPCC

Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, Director, Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Policy, and Vice Chair of WGIII of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

11.50am-1pm Round table: Raising awareness about climate change: what women (can) do

Andrea Joós, biology teacher, member of the Climate Embassy Association

Miriam Ekiudoko, Présidente, Ebony African Organization

Rebeka Szabó, maire-adjointe, Zugló

Moderator: Réka Sáfrány, Secretary General, Női Érdek/Hungarian Women’s Lobby and Board member, European Women’s Lobby

In French and Hungarian with simultaneous translation
Information and registration: Jana Gottfriedova, j.gottfriedova@inst-france.hu

‘We have to stop talking and start walking.’ – with this provocative beginning, Jan Peter Balkenende, former prime minister of the Netherlands, delivered his successful speech about climate change at BCSDH’s business lunch organised for business leaders. During this event, BCSDH’s unique, four-point recommendations for the business sector were announced to help accelerate the shift towards a low-carbon economy, representing a milestone in Hungarian sustainability.

BCSDH Üzleti ebéd 2016.11.17.

The Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSDH) held its annual business lunch, simultaneously with the COP 22 Climate Change Conference in Marrakech. Recommendations were announced at this event, representing a milestone in sustainability initiatives for the Hungarian economy. As guest speaker, Professor Jan Peter Balkenende, former prime mister of the Netherlands, gave a successful speech about the role of businesses in mitigating climate change. BCSDH, which represents a community of 75 member companies that contribute 30% of Hungary’s GDP, invited the professor-politician to the event within the framework of the Action 2020 program in cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

On behalf of GE, the host organisation of this event, President Joerg Bauer welcomed the 150 guests. Gajus Scheltema, Ambassador to Hungary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands then gave a welcome speech, followed by Jan Peter Balkenende, who spoke about the need for immediate action on climate change, and how the business sector should play a major role in this.

“Businesses and institutions are not only responsible for their own profits and well-being, but they also have a responsibility towards people and to create a better life for the next generation” – said Jan Peter Balkenende, adding that, besides other sustainability issues, climate change also makes long-term thinking indispensable for companies. “The longer you wait to implement measures, the tougher it will be in the future. So we cannot wait, and we need to do it together!”

Irén Márta, managing director of BCSDH, stated that one company alone cannot change the world, so there is a need for new alliances and cooperation within value chains. BCSDH, the national partner organization of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), represents one such corporate alliance. WBCSD has just announced its business recommendations for introducing carbon pricing at the COP 22 Climate Change Conference. At the same time, its national partner organisation also put forward recommendations for the business sector to support the transition towards a low-carbon economy. The four points in the recommendation identify the ways in which Hungarian companies can effectively contribute to global processes. The entire business sector and any company can now take measurable steps forward.

BCSDH’s recommendations for Business on Climate Change:

1. Analyse the local risks and opportunities associated with climate change, and create related action plans
2. Introduce carbon footprint measurement, analyse results and conduct action planning on an ongoing basis with regard to effectively decreasing carbon emissions
3. Identify and create action plans for energy use and/or CO2 emissions related to the processes of consumption and the use of products and services by shaping the attitudes and behaviour of consumers and customers
4. Raise awareness among employees

“It is very important for us at BCSDH to cooperate with those business leaders that are familiar with sustainability and who are aware of the importance of climate protection. Through the Action 2020 program we have worked with more than 150 experts over the past years who represent the business, civil and scientific sectors, and this collaboration has resulted in the recommendations announced today. It’s my conviction that, in the long run, you can only survive as an economic player if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you are innovative and you are sustainable. However, if these components are harmonized, you can obtain a significant competitive advantage.” – said Attila Chikán Jr., President of BCSDH.

One of the tools for achieving this goal is the BCSDH’s Action 2020 Hungary program which explores and inspires business solutions that go beyond ‘business as usual’, and which, as good practices, can be disseminated to a broader range of business actors. More than 50 companies have already joined the program.

In 2016, Climate Change is the main focal area of the Action 2020 Hungary program. With the involvement of CEOs, more than 50 civil, scientific and business experts formulated their recommendations on climate change. They have identified business solutions for both the business sector and the stakeholders who are affected, the promotion and implementation of which will positively impact climate change.

The main sponsors of this program in 2016: Siemens and Tesco, highlighted sponsors: Alteo Group, Generali, Hungrana, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Unilever

Photos of the event you can find here.

Mr. Balkenende’s presentation can be reached here.