Business, Government and the SDGs: The Role of Public-Private Engagement in Building a Sustainable Future

This book seeks to revise and challenge the roles and traditional realms of influence that national and local governments, and businesses at a critical juncture in terms of achieving sustainable development, faces when tackling the dual challenges of climate change and post-COVID recovery.

Using the broader lens of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to assess the roles and responsibilities of each of these stakeholders and their relationships, the book offers policy, economic arguments, case studies and examples to argue that neither national or local governments, nor companies, could afford to deviate from the SDGs in the recovery from the current crisis, nor that the imperative of bold climate action should detract from the broader focus on sustainability. The analysis frames the debate of how a balance between people, planet, and profits can be achieved and how nations, regions and cities, and businesses, with their representative organizations, can achieve a sustainable recovery from the current global crisis, and contribute to climate smart, resilient and inclusive development.

About the Author

Mahmoud Mohieldin is a Professor of Economics, Cairo University. He serves as the UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and UN 7th High-Level Champion for Climate Action. He was Senior Vice President of the World Bank Group. From 2004 to 2010 he served as Minister of Investment in Egypt.

Sameh Wahba is Regional Director for Sustainable Development, Europe and Central Asia region, The World Bank, and former Global Director for Urban, Resilience and Land Global Practice.

Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez is Full Professor of Management at Universidad EAFIT, Colombia. She is a member of the global council of Sustainable Development Goal number 1 (SDG 1: End Poverty).

Miral Shehata is an independent researcher. She works as an Economic Researcher and Social Development Specialist at the Ministry of Finance, Egypt. Ms Shehata was previously a research assistant at the University of Chicago.