UK Businesses Implore Theresa May To Back Sustainable Development

An open letter from businesses involved in the UK implores UK Prime Minister Theresa May to back the UN Sustainable Development Goals that were adopted just a year ago, in advance of the World Economic Forum’s upcoming annual meeting in Davos.

The UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (UKSSD) initiative penned the open letter which it intends to place in a national broadsheet today, Monday the 16th of January. The letter is intended to coincide with the start of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting which starts in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday the 17th, and runs until the 20th. According to the UKSSD, “We are calling on the UK Government to show active leadership on the implementation of [UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)] both at home and overseas.”

The open letter boasts signatories from across a broad spectrum of business in the UK, including names such as Coca-Cola, DONG Energy, National Grid, MARS, Nestle, Ikea, Vodafone, and many more. More than 80 businesses involved in the UK have signed on to the open letter, openly committing to “take responsibility and work with the Government to make sure the SDGs are delivered in the UK and around the world.” Specifically, the signatories commit to supporting the UK Government to:

• Demonstrate to business its commitment to deliver the SDGs in the UK
• Work with businesses to deliver the SDGs, creating a transparent reporting framework and clear benchmarks
• Require all departments, not only the Department for International Development, to work with business and other stakeholders to develop an SDG delivery plan

The full ad, which will be printed on Monday, can be seen here (PDF).

The open letter is the second such letter signed by big-name businesses in advance of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, with a similar open letter being published last week to implore US President-elect Donald Trump and co. to back a “low-carbon USA” and commit to “addressing climate change.”