Chief Executive Officers to Join Government and Civil Society Leaders at “Uniting Business LIVE” to Tackle COVID-19 Recovery and Advance the Sustainable Development Goals

UN Global Compact convenes private sector leaders at three-day virtual event to chart road ahead on the sidelines of United Nations’ 75th session
Sep 18, 2020 1:05 AM ET

Chief Executive Officers to join Government and civil society leaders at “Uniti…

UNITED NATIONS, New York, 18 September 2020 /3BL Media/ - The United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, will host Uniting Business LIVE a unique online event from 21–23 September, the week world leaders would normally converge on New York for the start of the UN High-Level week. 

To mark the opening of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly and the 20th anniversary of the UN Global Compact, Uniting Business LIVE will virtually convene leaders from business, Government, and civil society to tackle COVID-19 recovery and share their commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Norwegian Prime Minister H.E. Erna Solberg, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister H.E. Gaston Browne, UN Secretary-General H.E. António Guterres and UN Global Compact CEO & Executive Director Sanda Ojiambo will kick off  three days of unique virtual conferences featuring dozens of CEOs, corporate sustainability experts, policymakers, civil society leaders, young business innovators, and UN chiefs discussing how to advance the SDGs in light of the unforeseen challenges the world faces.

Private Sector speakers include 3M CEO Michael Roman, SAP CEO Christian Klein, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, Imagine Co-Founder Paul Polman, Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber, Enel CEO Franceso Starace, Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, Coca-Cola Chair and CEO James Quincey, Novozymes CEO Ester Baiget, Moody’s President & CEO Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr., SkyPower President Kerry Adler, Deloitte Chair Sharon Thorne, Iberdrola CEO Ignacio S. Galan, Ingka Group CEO Jesper Brodin, Salesforce CMO Stephanie Buscemi, Orestia CEO Maria Fernanda Garza, Daiwa Securities Chair Takashi Hibino, Natura & Co CEO Roberto Marques, BrightGreen CEO Chebet Lesan, KENGEN CEO Rebecca Miano, Unilever HR Chief Leena Nair, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, Nigerian Stock Exchange CEO Oscar N. Onyema, and Schneider Electric CEO Jean Pascal Tricoire. 

Uniting Business LIVE will kick off at 07:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, 21 September with the Private Sector Forum at which Sanda Ojiambo will present to the UN Secretary-General a

Statement from Business Leaders for Renewed Global Cooperation signed by hundreds of CEOs signalling strong support from business for the UN’s mission and multilateralism.

On Tuesday, 22 September, the inaugural Global Impact Forum will showcase four key initiatives to mobilize corporate action on the Global Goals: SDG Ambition, Target Gender Equality, Young SDG Innovators, and Business Ambition for 1.5°C. These are designed to mainstream sustainable business practices and scale solutions from the ground up, while sharing actionable solutions to practical questions on youth, race, gender equality, climate change, and enhanced collaboration between business and governments, the press and activists. 

On Wednesday, 23 September, the SDG Business Forum, co-hosted by the UN Global Compact, the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs and the International Chamber of Commerce, will showcase how companies are using their influence to lead the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and examine new leadership initiatives that have emerged during this crisis.

Other confirmed speakers at Uniting Business LIVE include UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Milton Cheng Global Chair at Baker McKenzie, Accenture Interactive CEO Brian Whipple, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, H.E. Somsak Thepsuthin, Minister of Justice, Thailand, H.E. Claudia Blum, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Colombia, Liu Zhenmin, UN Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce, PRI CEO Fiona Reynolds, Natura & Co CMO Silvia Lagnado, and RBI CMO Fernando Machado. 

Media Accreditation:

Media coverage is encouraged. For full programme and to register to attend please visit: https://registration.unglobalcompact.org/website/15648/media-centre/ 

Follow the conversation on social media #UnitingBusiness 

 For interview requests, please contact: media@unglobalcompact.org

Alex Gee:  +447887 804594,  alex@mackworthassociates.com

For more information about the United Nations Global Compact please visit our website: www.unglobalcompact.org

ABOUT THE UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT

As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Launched in 2000, the mandate of the UN Global Compact is to guide and support the global business community in advancing UN goals and values through responsible corporate practices. With more than 10,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 60 Local Networks, it is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world.