Foundational Reports Released During Global Goals Week 2023
Latest SDG Research from the United Nations, Force For Good, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UN Global Compact, Accenture, and the International Finance Corporation
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is not just a time for meetings and conversations. It’s also an opportunity for organizations to release findings from new research and surveys.
These reports are a critical component of SDG messaging. They allow us to set a baseline for measuring progress, growth, and change for the coming years and more. The best resources provide impartial assessments, comprehensive details, and actionable objectives.
Here are five recently released reports worth bookmarking for future reference:
- Global Sustainable Development Report
- Capital As Force for Good 2023 Report: Solutions to the SDG Gap
- 2023 Goalkeeper Report: Imagine a World
- United Nations Global Compact-Accenture Global Private Sector SDG Stocktake
- Inclusive Employment: Advancing Economic Opportunities at the Base of the Pyramid, an International Finance Corporation (IFC) Report
Global Sustainable Development Report
Arguably, the most important report released this year as part of the SDG Summit is the Global Sustainable Development Report. The GSDR is an evidenced based document designed to inform policy makers on best practices for implementation. Given that it is only updated every four years, we will surely be referring to this report’s data for the foreseeable future.
Our partner program SDGCounting covered the GSDR in detail in The GSDR is the Most Important SDG Report of the Year. Start here for a great overview of this important resource.
Capital As Force for Good 2023 Report: Solutions to the SDG Gap
Published ahead of the high-level General Debate at UNGA78, the 2023 Capital As Force for Good report, now in its fourth year, found the SDG funding shortfall to be $137 trillion. This is compared with $135 trillion from last year’s assessment.
Lack of SDG progress is inextricably linked to lack of funding. Now with only seven years remaining to the 2030 Agenda deadline, the report emphasizes the need for global resource mobilization at an unprecedented level. The report also highlights 15 proven solutions, that if scaled and replicated globally, could could address 70% of the SDGs.
2023 Goalkeeper Report: Imagine a World
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2023 edition of the Goalkeepers Report, released annually to coincide with its glitzy Goalkeepers Event, focuses on maternal health as a catalyst for saving lives and improving outcomes.
As both foundation co-chairs highlight in their respective opening letters, despite making great progress in the early 2000’s, child and mother mortality rates have remained stubbornly high for the past decade. The opportunity for progress is great given we now know much more about the health of mothers and babies. However, these solutions still aren’t reaching the communities where families need them most.
Also included in the report is the Explore the Data section where:
Goalkeepers share the latest estimates on 18 indicators, ranging from poverty to education. These indicators help us understand the progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals — where innovation and investment are creating bright spots, and where we’re collectively falling short. This data reminds us that progress is possible, but not inevitable.
United Nations Global Compact-Accenture Global Private Sector SDG Stocktake
Ahead of its Leaders Summit, the UN Global Compact, in partnership with Accenture, released the SDG Stocktake: Through the Eyes of the Private Sector report.
In a survey of over 2,800 business leaders from around the world, 94% still view the SDGs as a unifying global vision. However, the report finds that the private sector wants to focus on the areas where it can have the most impact. The report identifies ten pathways for businesses to take action on the 17 SDGs to have an outsized impact.
Additional key findings:
- 84% of business leaders say unclear measurement resources to calculate impact towards the SDGs prohibits their company’s ability to make progress.
- 82% of business leaders say limited access and/or poor quality of data limits their ability to measure contribution to the SDGs.
- 77% of business leaders expressed concern about a skills shortage or mismatch in the workforce to realize SDG-related impact across industries.
Download the report here (free, but requires registration).
Inclusive Employment: Advancing Economic Opportunities at the Base of the Pyramid
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) debuted its latest report Inclusive Employment: Advancing Economic Opportunities at the Base of the Pyramid at the Business Fights Poverty Global Goals Summit hybrid workshop on driving inclusive employment.
This report seeks to build the business and investment case for expanding employment to the estimated 4.5 billion people in developing countries who survive on low incomes, lack access to goods, services, and economic opportunities, and who often work in low-skilled, informal sector jobs that have limited earning potential.
Report findings and recommendations are based on thought leader interviews and in-depth case studies of 13 companies. Iqbal Muslimin, the co-founders of Evermos, one of the highlighted companies, presented on the BFP panel.
Have we missed any foundational reports released during UNGA78? Let us know and we will add them to our list.
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