Do we really embrace the SDGs and turn these goals into impact?

Private sector action towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has the potential to "unleash a cascade of innovation and productivity gains and even an idea of a new capitalism,” as the Economist put it some years ago. But to get to this point, we need new alliances and common action across private and public sectors.

Multilateral institutions have understood the importance of these partnerships. These rise of initiatives like the UN Global Compact and others committed to ensuring effective, cross-sector collaboration is evidence to this, says the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Jan Peter Balkenende.

He is encouraged by signs that the private sector is increasingly engaged in sustainability and asks how we can strengthen public-private cooperation and support authentic action to avoid SDG washing.

His co-speaker, Elina Kamenitzer looks at how the European Investment Bank is going about bridging public and private. Our speakers will also evaluate how better measurement tools can contribute to SDG implementation and if these tools should be obligatory or voluntary? What other actions may need to be taken to increase investment around and conducive to SDGs?