Business Call to Action: Our Year in Highlights
In 2016, the Business Call to Action welcomed 45 new inclusive business commitments, adding to the total of 182 member companies working in 66 countries across a diverse range of sectors, from renewable energy to affordable eye care and from sustainable agriculture to microinsurance. Only one year since its launch, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seeks to end poverty and hunger, and actively address issues of inequality, is already influencing the way the private sector works – and who benefits.
This year, we have witnessed both large and small businesses stepping up and making real contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As several member companies’ commitments come close to completion, it is heartening to see companies renewing their commitments, replicating their inclusive business models and influencing up-and-coming enterprises (visit our Resources page to read case studies on renewing member companies Dimagi, Jaipur Rugs, MicroEnsure, ¡Échale! a tu casa, and many others).
In September 2016, the Seventh BCtA Annual Forum took place in New York City. Bringing together over 200 member companies and other stakeholders, it focused on increasing effectiveness of inclusive business as a key contributor to the SDGs (read the event report here). Looking at the significant growth in our membership this year, we are encouraged by the diversity of companies recognizing the value of inclusive business as a powerful tool for contributing to the 2030 Agenda.
To ensure that these contributions are meaningful and make an impact, businesses must continue embracing change in an era of disruptive innovations. Unlocking the potential of developing markets requires ambition as well as imagination: in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda while ensuring business growth, companies need both the creativity and ambition to address the needs of the developing world’s untapped markets.
During 2016, BCtA partnered with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on a joint report highlighting the successes and challenges of integrating private-sector data into SDG review processes – and how governments can facilitate the measurement of businesses’ contributions. In 2017, the BCtA team looks forward to continuing its support of members’ efforts to create inclusive growth. We will keep challenging the private sector to make responsible inclusive business – in pursuit of the SDGs – a key component of corporate strategies.
Through the BCtA Impact Measurement Services (BIMS), we will help inclusive businesses to better plan for social impact and measure those achievements, as well as drive good management practices that enhance inclusive businesses’ performance. By building an evidence base to influence policies at the global and country level, we will work to create a more conducive environment for inclusive business – and make those businesses’ contributions to SDGs count.
In the meantime, we welcome you to visit our newly launched website to explore case studies, resources and tools for companies looking to venture into or scale up their inclusive businesses and contribute to the SDGs. Finally, our team would like to wish you a happy and healthy holiday season. We look forward to continuing our collaboration in 2017.
2016 HIGHLIGHTS
BCtA and GRI Release Publication Measuring Business Impact on the SDGs
Business Call to Action (BCtA) and GRI launched a report that finds that governments are increasingly interested in accounting for private sector contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a trend that has evolved from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Read the report hereIncreasing Effectiveness of Inclusive Business a Key Contributor to the SDGs
The Business Call to Action brings together inclusive business stakeholders with a focus on concrete development impactsCan Businesses Promote Sustainable Development While Turning a Profit?
Business involvement in sustainable development is intimately linked to the strategic context in which it operates. Here are four ways to consider this contextBusiness Collaboration on Water Could Have Massive Multiplier Effect
Many companies are setting innovative targets around Sustainable Development Goal 6, water and sanitation for all. Bhaskar Chakravorti argues that further collaboration on this goal will raise the entire SGD platformHow Kenyans are Embracing Mobile Technology to Access Healthcare
Mobile money technologies are facilitating much-needed access to healthcare financing and delivery in KenyaBeing a Woman Business Owner Offers Unusual Challenges but Great Reward
Women business owners discuss their commitment to inclusive business: the challenges, opportunities and rewardsMEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
Who has joined us in 2016? Browse all member stories or search per sector, SDG, or regionAsahi Kasei: Investing in Inclusive Growth
Japan-based company joins with a commitment to build an inclusive textile value chain in IndiaBridging the Digital Divide in Papua New Guinea
Digicel is fast-tracking mobile and solar solutions in Papua New GuineaImproving Lives by Improving Sight
Essilor International joins with a commitment to expand access to vision care in developing countriesAchieving Nutritional Autonomy for All
Nutriset is working to establish local value chains for tackling malnutrition
About the Business Call to Action (BCtA): Launched at the United Nations in 2008, the Business Call to Action (BCtA) aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging companies to develop inclusive business models that offer the potential for both commercial success and development impact. BCtA is a unique multilateral alliance between key donor governments including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UK Department for International Development, US Agency for International Development, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Finland, and the United Nations Development Programme — which hosts the secretariat. For more information, please visit www.businesscalltoaction.org or on Twitter at @BCtAInitiative.
