The role of private sector in the implementation of sustainable development goals

On September 25, 2015, the Sustainable Development Agenda of 2030 was agreed and adopted by the United Nation. This agenda consists of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. It expressed a global call for taking urgent actions to save the planet. In this regard, the private sector is one of the key stakeholders that could shoulder a fundamental responsibility for accelerating the SDGs implementation process. The current article reviews important aspects of the role of the private sector toward SDGs achievement. The corporate social responsibility, circular economy, and the environmental initiatives are required to support the implementation of SDGs. However, for achieving SDGs the private sector faces a number of challenges such as lack of influential leadership, harmonious partnerships, shortage of investments, exhaustiveness and complexity of interlinkages among the goals and their targets, and lack of monitoring and evaluating methods for assessing the progress of implementation. Moreover, there is a dire need for a reliable set of measurable indicators to support the private sector in measuring the implementation progress. This review article highlights the role of private sector in beating the challenges confronting the achievement of SDGs.

Automated summary

The private sector plays a key role in accelerating the implementation of SDGs through corporate social responsibility, circular economy, and environmental initiatives. However, it faces challenges such as lack of influential leadership, shortage of investments, complexity of interlinkages among goals, and the need for reliable measurable indicators to track progress.