Federico Buyolo, General Director of the Office of the High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda, highlighted the importance of business as a driving force behind the transformation required by the implementation and achievement of the 2030 Agenda, and as a key element for the generation of partnerships and sustainable development. Below you will find the most remarkable messages of his intervention:
- The 2030 Agenda is a universal language. An agenda so that no one is left behind. The generation of alliances is the basis for Sustainable Development to occur.
- On September 25, 2015, after more than two years of negotiation, the 2030 Agenda was approved, being the first time that companies work in this direction and promote the initiative. Companies are the instrument of transformation for the Agenda to be real. It is necessary that different actors work together and coordinate to achieve the objectives of this multi-actor and multilevel agenda. It is a complex agenda for a complex world, and it sets the guidelines for advancing sustainable development.
- The Government of Spain is working on alliances, which are a fundamental element, represent "ecosystems" of transformation.
- In the Sustainable Development Council, in which CEOE has three members, one of them being the president, Antonio Garamendi, includes 48 civil society organizations.
- The 2030 Agenda is transformation, it changes the current models, it is not a political agenda. The generation of alliances and the collective intelligence that derives from it is fundamental.
- "There is no plan B because there is no world B." Currently we consume between 1.8 and 2.1 planets per year, and as of today we have already consumed the resources of one year.
- The transformation implies a change of economic model, an inclusive vision and respect for the environment. The participation of the actors in the definition of policies must be improved. Either we are able to anticipate what is to come, or we will not move forward.
- In 2010 there was a gap of social inequality between rich and poor countries, but today the gaps are within the same country.
- The 2030 Agenda has: 17 objectives, 5 areas, 3 dimensions, 255 indicators and 169 targets.
- The Government of Spain will not tell each company where it has to go, but it will be the company that decides according to its situation and the opinion of its stakeholders. This creates collective intelligence and multiactor alliances.
- The transformation is based on 4 fundamental elements:
o Know the Agenda 2030: in Spain only 13% of the population knows it, and it is difficult to do it with that low percentage. The goal is for you to know it 100%, but with 80% you are satisfied.
o Understanding the 2030 Agenda: it is a complex agenda because the world is also complex and is constantly changing. We need to create certainties to live in uncertainties.
o Interconnections: now a problem does not have a single solution.
o Alliances: they are fundamental for change. Win-win alliances are the basis for the implementation of the Agenda. - It is necessary that the change of model implies:
o Solidarity: is the ethical commitment to global sustainable development.
o Empowerment of citizenship: on a personal, cultural, economic and social level. - The 2030 Agenda is a global social contract that allows us to advance in a global world.
- The agreement on the creation of this Agenda was the first time that something of this caliber was approved, without having the pressure to be on the brink of disaster. If today we tried to approve the Agenda, we could not because of the current political situations.
- To reach alliances for the 2030 Agenda, it is necessary to dialogue to find a consensus.
- The President of the Government announced in Sitges the Business Alliance, which is an alliance of private companies with the Government. The intention of this initiative is to unite things that both parties are doing and in which they are working, to use the companies as an engine. Disseminate the 2030 Agenda and create a dialogue channel. Works of visibility of the business actions and identify ties of connection with the actions of the Administration (City Councils, Autonomous Communities).
- Sustainable Development Strategy: they are working together with five organizations: WWF, OXFAM, UNICEF, REDS and the Global Compact.
It will be a long-term agenda: 2020-2030, for the fulfillment of the SDGs in Spain, and will define the path we have to follow to achieve it. It will include the issues that Spain has to face, a monitoring chart and some 40-50 guidelines. It will be a "Strategies Strategy" since it will collect initiatives such as the Agenda for Change and the PNIEC, as well as new ones. It will be flexible, clear and consensual.