Just as governments are being urged to align their national development plans with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is crucial for businesses to also integrate the SDGs into their corporate strategies, Dr. Eugene Owusu, SDG Advisor to the President of Ghana, has said.
This, he indicated, will maximize coherence and build a common platform with the national efforts at attaining the goals, while also ensuring businesses’ increased value creation.
“Aligning the SGDs with business strategies will open up new business opportunities, most likely enhance efficiencies, and spur innovation.
Partnering and investing in the SDGs is good economics, it is good politics, and good development, but above all, it is good business,” he said, urging the private sector to partner government to create the needed opportunities.
Dr. Owusu made these assertions during a presentation at the CanCham CSR event on Sustainable Development Goals held by the Canada-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) under the theme: ‘Why SDGs matter for your business.’
The event, among other things, seeks to highlight the benefits of the SDGs to organisations and the society, why SDGs should be of interest to businesses, and how the seventeen SDGs matter to their future.
Last year, President Nana Akufo-Addo was named co-chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s SDGs Advocates. As co-chair, he will works with his fellow Advocates to promote the SDGs as part of an ambitious and transformative global development agenda.
To this end, Dr. Owusu called on all to support the transformational agenda of Ghana to demonstrate unparalleled leadership in the implementation of the SDGs.
Speaking at the event, Frederick Attakumah, President of the CGCC reiterated the Chambers commitment to making businesses excel beyond making profits, by providing equal focus to the welfare of the planet and the people.
He said: “Organisations must have a purpose that enables them contribute positively towards enhancing the basic humanity, and dignity of members of our societies while proactively seeking innovative business models that address our current challenges.
We have no doubt that the SDGs offer an excellent framework for positively, and effectively transforming our current reality to that of a much better world,” he added.
The Canada Ghana Chamber of Commerce exists to provide an outstanding platform for growth and development of the businesses of its members, and to facilitate trade and investment relations between the private sectors of Ghana and Canada.
The Chamber does this b y providing advocacy on key issues that positively impact the business climate in the country, by leveraging strategic partnerships with Canadian business Chambers for business-to-business linkages, as well as providing network platforms for members.
