Business leaders from around the world submitted a signed Commitment Letter to sustainable development to the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Lenni Montiel on June 13 at UN headquarter in New York City (DING YING)

In a commitment letter to the UN, 32 businesses from around the world pledged to work for the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a global development agenda adopted by 193 UN member states in 2015.

Business leaders handed over the letter to Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development, on June 13 at the UN headquarters in New York, during a symposium titled Commitment to Agenda 2030, Partnerships for Innovation and Social Responsibility.

Most importantly, the businesses committed to using the 17 Sustainable Development Goals enshrined in the agenda to evaluate their business strategies and operations, according to a press release from the Chicago-headquartered FiSO Group, a co-organizer of the symposium.

Known as Agenda 2030, the document embodies a transformative vision for the planet's future, targeting poverty and hunger eradication, health and education improvement, urban sustainability, climate change combat, and the protection of oceans and forests.

Montiel said business participation would be crucial to realizing the sustainable development goals, and praised the participating businesses for their "remarkable leadership and initiative."

This was the first time businesses were "explicitly committing themselves to achieving the 2030 Agenda," said Haitian Lu, Chief of the Office of the Under Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs.

Business leaders also brought their personal experiences of sustainable development to the table, such as investing in new technology, incorporating sustainability as a key objective in operations, improving employee welfare, and bolstering partnerships for sustainability among businesses. They also vowed to cooperate with the UN system, governments and civil societies to advance sustainability goals.

Jing Zhao Cesarone, a representative from FiSO Group, believed that the event would help business leaders gain a better understanding of the relationship of business and sustainable development as well as "a renewed sense of commitment toward our planet, each other, and future generations."

(Reporting from New York City)

Copyedited by Dominic James Madar

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