IMPACT 2030 Mobilizes Global Corporate Volunteers to Support the United Nations in Achieving the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals

New York, New York – December 5, 2014 /3BL Media/ – Today, at the United Nations, the business sector announced IMPACT 2030, a collaborative effort with a goal of supporting the United Nations’ Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This collaboration is in response to a resolution by the United Nations’ General Assembly to expand involvement of the private sector in support of corporate volunteerism. IMPACT 2030 brings together a global coalition of private sector leaders and other stakeholders to expand and encourage corporate and employee volunteering activities.  

“IMPACT 2030 is the only business led effort designed to unite companies in their corporate volunteering efforts to address the United Nations’ Development Agenda,” said Grady Lee, executive committee chair for IMPACT 2030 and the co-founder of CorpsGiving. “We believe corporate volunteering — in partnership with the United Nations, peer companies, government, philanthropic organizations, academia and civil society — will be a powerful tool to accelerate the global achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and inspire the private sector to positive action.”

Partnering for Impact

Each IMPACT 2030 partner has committed to applying its employee volunteer actions towards one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals in the form of capacity building and civic engagement. Founding partners include The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, IBM Corporation, SAP SE, UPS, Perkins Coie, and Waggener Edstrom Communications. Collaborating partners include Google, Cemex, Telefonica, SingTel, and Ball Corporation.

Opportunities to Join IMPACT 2030

IMPACT 2030 will launch in September 2015 at the United Nations with a CEO Summit of partner companies when the General Assembly adopts the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. IMPACT 2030 is seeking partnership from companies of all sizes to join the initiative and align their volunteer efforts.

 “Our founding partners are making significant financial and resource commitments to enable this effort,” said Sue Stephenson, vice chair of the IMPACT 2030 Executive Committee and vice president of Community Footprints for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. “But there is a significant amount of work to be done and we need companies from all countries to join our effort so that we can have widespread success.”

Shifting the Corporate Volunteer Paradigm

“IMPACT 2030 represents an inspired vision and shift in the traditional paradigm of corporate volunteer action by mobilizing businesses from around the world to strategically deploy their employee volunteer commitments towards helping achieve the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals,” said Will Kennedy, programme officer, United Nations Office for Partnerships, and one of the originators of the concept.

"Volunteerism and volunteers are the ultimate renewable resource for Sustainable Development" said Richard Dictus, executive coordinator for United Nations Volunteers. "IMPACT 2030 is an excellent initiative that will enable corporate volunteering to engage the global sustainable development agenda, and for social corporate responsibility to be counted as a major contributor to this global endeavour. Sustainable Development Goals aim at leaving no one behind in the drive to create the world we want for this and future generations. It is an all hands on deck situation where the capacity of the private sector to implement, manage and upscale, coupled with state of the art technical knowledge in many domains through skills based corporate volunteering can be the decisive factor."

Key leaders behind IMPACT 2030 include:

• Grady Lee, Chair, IMPACT 2030, Co-founder CorpsGiving
• Will Kennedy, Programme Officer, UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP)
• Jordi Llopart, Chief, New York Office, UN Volunteers
• Chris Jarvis, Senior Partner, Realized Worth
• Sue Stephenson, VP Community Footprints, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC

To learn how your company can get involved in IMPACT 2030 please email Christine Johnston at contact@impact2030.com.

About IMPACT 2030

IMPACT 2030 is a collaboration between the United Nations and the business sector to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 through corporate employee volunteering. IMPACT 2030 leverages the momentum of the United Nations resolution A/RES/66/67 adopted by the 66th General Assembly which states the following: "The General Assembly […] welcomes the expanding involvement of the private sector in support of volunteerism, and encourages its further engagement through the expansion of corporate volunteering and employee volunteer activities."

About Waggener Edstrom Communications

Waggener Edstrom Communications (WE) is the official media relations and communications partner for IMPACT 2030. WE is a global, integrated communications agency. For 30 years, the independently owned firm has developed strategic communications programs for innovative and world-changing clients, working to influence markets, inspire people and improve lives. In the past few years, the agency was honored with numerous awards for our creative and strategic work, among them recognition as Global Technology Agency of the Year, Best Large Agency to Work For, Communications Agency of the Year, and Technology Agency of the Decade. The agency has more than 750 employees in 17 offices around the world, and its Global Alliance partners expand the agency’s reach to more than 80 additional international markets. WE has four key sectors: Social Innovation, Technology, Healthcare and Consumer, as well as expertise in Creative, Digital, Content, and Insight & Analytics. To learn more, visit http://www.WaggenerEdstrom.com.