The First Scoping Meeting of the Governing Consortium of the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment was convened at UN Headquarters in New York from 1 to 3 May 2018.
The event, held under Chatham House rules, aimed to set the agenda and priorities for the work of the Forum in 2018 and beyond. Members of the Governing Consortium of the Forum reviewed the key principles, interventions and contributions to the implementation of the environmental dimensions of the SDGs.
The Consortium also considered the role of the Forum in furthering the implementation of the 2017 UNEA resolutions and its contributions towards UNEA 4, which is scheduled to take place in March 2019.
Following consultations with Forum members, the following streams have been identified as key to framing the discussion:
- Technology and innovation as game changers
- Sustainable Finance
- Policy interventions required to grow green technology markets for the future
In that context, the Forum also looked at strengthening Public-Private Partnerships for the environment and the conditions required to ensure their successful design and implementation. It looked at rethinking Corporate Social Responsibility and opportunities for directing CSR activities toward the achievement of the SDGs – this discussion was separated from the issue of greening business and industrial practices in the wider sense. Finally, it also discussed ways of communicating the work important work of the forum and its contributions to society and sustainable development.