18 July 2016: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched its annual Development Co-operation Report, which makes a case for businesses to invest in sustainable development and inclusive growth. The report, titled ‘Development Co-operation Report 2016: The Sustainable Development Goals as Business Opportunities,’ provides examples of how OECD is promoting collaboration among the stakeholders involved in sustainable development, and emphasizes that “business thrives when the world thrives.”

The report proposes five pathways to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): channeling foreign direct investment (FDI) to developing countries; scaling up the use of public funds to “de-risk” and attract private investment toward sustainable development aims; monitoring and measuring the impact that public investment has on mobilizing private funds; promoting “social impact investment” in areas such as education, health and social services; and promoting responsible and accountable business practices.

The OECD launched the report on the sidelines of the 2016 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), on 18 July, in New York, US. Douglas Frantz, OECD, moderated a debate among experts including representatives of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Mexico’s Specialized Technical Committee for the SDGs, the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), and the UN Global Compact.

On the day of the report launch, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) published a blog post by Amina J. Mohammed, Minister of Environment, Nigeria, which states that the SDGs cannot be achieved without the participation of responsible businesses. She calls on governments to enact regulatory frameworks to incentivize and unlock private investments for sustainable development, and on businesses to treat people fairly and equitably, while aligning their key performance indicators (KPIs) with sustainable development outcomes. [OECD Report Webpage] [Publication: Development Co-operation Report 2016: The Sustainable Development Goals as Business Opportunities] [OECD Notice of Launch Event] [UNDP Blog Post]