On September 24th, Max Koeune, President & CEO of McCain Foods Limited participated in a virtual event organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the UN Biological Diversity Convention (CBD).
COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), with over 250,000 infected across the globe. UNDP will support countries to set up a multisectoral whole-of-society approach to face the challenges beyond the health sector, to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to mitigate the potentially devastating impact it may have on vulnerable populations and economies.
The Business Call to Action (BCtA) continues to work with its member companies by providing guidelines on how to cope with the pandemic. We are working to better understand the bottlenecks companies are facing, their priorities during this crisis and its impact on people at the base of the economic pyramid through surveys with our members. Here are some of the first BCtA companies to respond to COVID-19:
The BCtA’s Q&A series, Public Eye, examines partner priorities around issues at the heart of inclusive business, such as SDGs, climate change, women’s empowerment, refugees and more. Ulrika Modéer, director of the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy.
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The BCtA’s Q&A series, Public Eye, examines partner priorities around issues at the heart of inclusive business, such as SDGs, climate change, women’s empowerment, refugees and more. Ulrika Modéer, director of the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy.
As the global population increases in a climate-stressed world, we face mounting challenges. On the one hand, cities consume close to 65% of the world’s energy and generate more than 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But on the other, they drive economic growth and account for 80% of global GDP. They are home to over half of the world’s population.
Interview with Sahba Sobhani, UNDP by Carolina Zishiri and Patrick Scheffer
Summary:
Sahba Sobhani is a Global Programme Advisor-Private Sector in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), UN Development Programme (UNDP). He provides programme support and policy advice on private sector development issues and technical oversight for UNDP’s multi-stakeholder initiatives including the Business Call to Action Initiative, the Connecting Business Initiative and the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business. Previously, he managed two key UNDP private sector initiatives. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Fletcher School of Diplomacy (USA).
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Sahba Sobhani is a Global Programme Advisor-Private Sector in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), UN Development Programme (UNDP). He provides programme support and policy advice on private sector development issues and technical oversight for UNDP’s multi-stakeholder initiatives including the Business Call to Action Initiative, the Connecting Business Initiative and the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business. Previously, he managed two key UNDP private sector initiatives. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Fletcher School of Diplomacy (USA).
by Robert de Jongh, specialist leader, social finance, Deloitte Consulting and Sahba Sobhani, programme advisor for private sector, UNDP
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In an increasingly interconnected, complex and turbulent world, business is navigating uncharted waters. Amidst this uncertainty, the global community came together in a global call to action to guide all stakeholders– including business– in building a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive society. While the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were designed for and approved by governments, they also constitute a global framework for measuring business contributions to society – how companies can ‘win with purpose’.
Children’s education initiative biMBA AIUEO joins Business Call to Action with a mission to reach 1 million children and employ more than 200,000 women as teachers
Press Release
JAKARTA, March 23, 2017 /3BL Media/ -- Indonesia-based social enterprise biMBA AIUEO has joined Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to bring its children’s early education learning centres to at least 30 provinces and 500 sub-districts in the country by 2030, reaching 1 million students – 15 percent of them from communities earning less than $8 a day.
On International Women’s Day, UNDP launched campaign to combat gender stereotypes in the workplace
Press Release
ISTANBUL, March 8, 2017 /3BL Media/ – With less than one third of businesses in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region owned or co-owned by women, urgent action needs to be taken to address gender inequalities in the labour market.
To continue development, countries must legally allow women to work in all sectors and own businesses, support women’s employment and entrepreneurship, and combat gender stereotypes, according to UNDP’s most recent Regional Human Development Report.
Vava Coffee joins the Business Call to Action with a commitment to increase access to financing for its suppliers
Press Release
New York, April 7, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Vava Coffee, a Kenya-based social enterprise, has joined the Business Call to Action with a commitment to extend a credit facility complemented by financial management and sustainable agricultural practices training to 130,000 coffee farmers in the country by 2018.
