26 September 2018: The Bloomberg Global Business Forum (GBF) met on the overarching theme of strengthening prosperity through trade. More than 70 Heads of State and 200 CEOs announced a series of partnerships, agreements and initiatives, while breakout sessions reviewed finance, migration, changing demographics, technology and economic issues.
The Forum convened on 26 September 2018 in New York, US.
Opening the Forum, former New York City Mayor and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action, Michael Bloomberg, emphasized that the day was “designed to give business leaders a seat at the table” on issues such as trade. UK Prime Minister Theresa May added in her keynote that understanding business needs and working in partnership with the private sector is crucial to success, which, Bloomberg noted, would be measured not by the day’s outcomes, but in the years to come.
UK Minister for Women and Equalities Penny Mordaunt outlined how six data points from the UK Government’s gender pay gap metrics will be incorporated into the global reporting framework of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). She noted that the partnership with Bloomberg is representative of “the growing global commitment to transparency and gender equality,” and that some of the largest UK companies have already taken action.
Multilateralism has brought the world unprecedented peace and prosperity.
The 2018 GEI includes 104 companies across 24 countries and regions. It scores them based on data from public filings and information collected via a 67-question survey. New data points will include the percentage of men and women in each quartile of payroll, and median and mean gender pay gap. [Bloomberg Press Release on Partnership to Promote and Improve Reporting on Gender Equality in the Workplace]
Ford, Uber, Lyft and Bloomberg Philanthropies announced their joint commitment to SharedStreets. The data platform aims to ease private sector engagement with cities, with the goal of improving urban mobility. Data shared on the platform are intended to better manage curb space to reduce congestion; reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and improve road and pedestrian safety. On the policy side, the initiative will give mayors access to road traffic data, enabling better decision making. SharedStreets was launched earlier in 2018 with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and is already operational in 30 cities around the world.
The GBF announcement augments the current platform. Ford will help develop a universal data standard for real-time curb demand that enables pricing and management. Uber will facilitate the production of a freely-available global dataset of vehicle driving speeds to help identify where people are speeding or otherwise driving dangerously. Lyft pledged to help build a model that will help city leaders understand where for-hire vehicle pick-ups and drop-offs take place, ultimately serving to reduce congestion. [Bloomberg Press Release on Agreement to Share Data through SharedStreets]
On the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, Presidents of Mexico and Switzerland reiterated their support and announced a first wave of private sector signatories. Switzerland’s President Alain Berset highlighted that many industries would not function without a foreign labor force, and that one in three Swiss residents are immigrants or descend from immigrant parents. A Bloomberg press release notes that migrants comprise 3.4% of the global population, but generate up to 9% of wealth. [Bloomberg Press Release on Business Leaders’ Remarks on Global Compact]
Closing the Forum, Bloomberg noted that “multilateralism has brought the world unprecedented peace and prosperity” and that through collaborative efforts, the future can be made bright. The One Planet Summit was held following the Forum’s conclusion. [Global Business Forum Homepage] [Bloomberg Press Release on Forum’s Conclusion]