CEO Forum moving Forward Faster for the SDGs

As underlined at the recent UN Climate Change Conference COP28 the clock is ticking on climate action. Engagement at all levels – local, regional, and global - with involvement by all players in the public and private sectors is urgently needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change while reducing inequalities and building resilience to crisis. For Mauritius as a Small Island Developing State with unique vulnerabilities to climate change and global shocks, accessing financing for climate mitigation and adaptation is essential. However, being a middle-income country traditional development channels are often not open to Mauritius. So all-stakeholders public, private, national and international must be mobilized to work in collaboration to strengthen the country’s resilience and secure the lives and livelihoods of Mauritians now and for future generations.

Within this context the United Nations Global Compact Local Network Mauritius and Indian Ocean organized its first CEO Forum hosted by IBL. The UN Global Compact with other private sector organizations has the potential to play a strong role in fostering the public-private dialogue and engagement for economic transformation and climate action. As such the event brought together decision-makers including CEOs, chief sustainability officers, chief financing officers and business institutions to engage around where the private sector is best placed to advance sustainable development.

The host of the forum Mr. Arnaud Lagesse, CEO IBL Ltd. underlined the importance of cooperation:

"Collaboration is not limited to geographical or sectoral boundaries. By joining forces, we can create synergies that transcend traditional barriers, especially in the area of climate action..."

In her opening remarks the UN Resident Coordinator for Mauritius and Seychelles Ms. Lisa Simrique Singh highlighted that:

“The aim of today’s workshop is to receive orientations from the decision-makers behind the Local Network of Global Compact, you, CEOs, on where and how the Network can add value to an already rich ecosystem of private actors for sustainable development.”

The specific objectives of the CEO Forum were to:

• Promote increased CEO engagement with the SDGs through the UN Global Compact “Forward Faster” initiative to accelerate private sector action at the pace and scale needed to deliver on the 17 SDGs.
• Encourage CEOs to intentionally align their current and future commitments to the SDGs.
• Provide initial orientations for the strategy of the Global Compact Local Networks for the next three years, to bridge the gaps in terms of support to businesses engagement in the SDGs at national and regional levels.

Mr. Hervé Lado, Africa Regional Head of the Global Compact facilitated discussions of a CEO panel comprising Johan Pilot, ENL Property Ltd.; Pamela Bussier, Jubilee Allianz Insurance Mauritius; Vidia Moonegan, Ceridian Mauritius; and Arnaud Lagesse, IBL Ltd. The panellists shared what their respective company is doing to advance the SDGs and the The Ten Principles | UN Global Compact in Mauritius and the region. The conversation focused on the priority areas identified in the country’s Cooperation Framework with the UN, as well as the results of a materiality study “Developpement Durable, attentes des Citoyens et Priorites des Entreprises“ conducted by Kantar analysis. Businesses and citizens in Mauritius and other Indian Ocean countries participated in the survey.

The main themes centred around:

• Reduction of poverty and inequality, including gender inequality
• Climate action and preservation of ecosystems
• Sustainable consumption and production patterns and decent work

In his remarks to conclude the panel discussion Mr. Lado emphasized the importance of the Global Compact Local Network strategy to support Mauritius' and Indian Ocean's businesses in their contribution to the SDGs, in line with national and regional priorities and with the Forward Faster Initiative and schedule the CEO Forum as a yearly event to drive this contribution.

Following the panel, a workshop was conducted bringing together 28 sustainability champions from diverse range of industries including financial services, tech and textile industries, consumer goods, banking, property development and hospitality sectors. The participants discussed development challenges and solutions to feed into the UN Global Compact local network three-year strategy.

The outcomes and next steps of the event included an official announcement to hold the CEO Forum annually and to finalize a strategy to accelerate the contribution of the UN Global Compact in support of private sector contribution to fostering a sustainable and impactful future.

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For more information on:

Global Compact Local Network Mauritius and Indian Ocean

Forward Faster Initiative

United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2024 - 2028