Summit of the Future and the UN General Assembly 2024

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly starts this September. At the heart of this edition is the Summit of the Future, bringing world leaders together to forge new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future. Core to this is revitalising the United Nation’s collaboration with stakeholders to fulfil existing commitments and address new and emerging challenges.

This includes the UN enhancing the private sector’s contribution and strengthening their accountability towards the implementation of the agreed frameworks on cross-cutting issues including climate, biodiversity and inequality.  This sets the stage for the UN and its stakeholders to move beyond recognising the potential of the private sector, to clearly defining and articulating our expectations of business responsibilities as part of UN global agreements.

The World Benchmarking Alliance will host different events to further explore how to strengthen the corporate accountability process and accelerate business action on the SDGs.

Alliance Action Forum: Workshop on business action and accountability towards global agreements

25 September, 9:00–11:30am, New York City

Together with our Allies, the United Nations Foundation’s Universal Access Project and Business Council for the UN, we are thrilled to invite you to our third edition of the Alliance Action Forum. This collaborative, multi-stakeholder workshop on business accountability and action towards global agreements, will be hosted in-person in New York City.

WBA’s annual Alliance Action Forum, on the margins of UNGA, provides all stakeholders a space to explore how to strengthen and embed corporate accountability within the UN System. Building from our community of 400+ organisations, we believe that multi stakeholder collaboration is a key vehicle towards sustainable development and the process calls for a whole society approach.

At this session we will bring Allies and key partners together to share the expertise and experience of how they work to hold companies accountable for contributing to sustainable development, especially aligned to global agreements.

Investor Roundtable on the UN Global Digital Compact and the role of the private sector

20 September 8:30–10am, New York City

This is an in-person only event, co-hosted by the Investor Alliance for Human Rights and the World Benchmarking Alliance. This roundtable will hear from investors, who are engaging with technology companies, on how the UN Global Digital Compact can be used to articulate expectations of companies on integrity and responsibility in digital governance. The roundtable will have a particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI) given its relevance to many of the Sustainable Development Goals and the open questions surrounding the impact of AI on society. It will examine how investors can work further with other key actors, such as the UN, governments, and civil society, in holding businesses accountable to these globally defined responsibilities.

It is being held at the Investor Alliance for Human Rights’ office. Please contact Nikki Gwilliam-Beeharee and Lauren Compere if you would like to attend. 

Embedding private sector accountability in the Global Digital Compact

21 September, 6:00–8:00pm, New York City

This Saturday evening reception, co-hosted by UNICEF and the Governments of Finland, Denmark and Mexico, aims to explore how the UN Global Digital Compact might be used, in tandem with other instruments, to articulate expectations for companies on integrity and responsibility in digital governance.

The UN Global Digital Compact is intended to be the first global framework to establish cross-cutting international norms and standards for the building blocks of a safe and inclusive digital environment. If acted on effectively, it may enable progress toward a global governance system that includes and prescribes the accountability of the private sector.

The event will have a particular focus on AI given its relevance to many of the Sustainable Development Goals and the open questions surrounding AI’s impact on society, including upholding gender equality and human rights. It will also examine the roles of the UN, governments, and civil society in holding businesses accountable to these globally defined responsibilities.

How to make the SDGs consequential for business

Monday September 23 from 12:00–2.00pm
NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (44 West Fourth Street, New York, NY 1001

This event is co-hosted by the GRI, GlobeScan, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business & World Benchmarking Alliance and will aim to explore what is needed to engage businesses and the UN on creating a consequential norm for corporate behaviour that will support sustainability and change behaviour.

We will be looking at concrete measures that governments and the UN should take, their key guidance role, and how to give action to the outcomes of the Summit for the Future so that there is no ambiguity on the steps that companies must take. We will also hear directly from businesses about what they need to make the transformation.

Strategic consultation with financial institutions on shaping the private sector accountability mechanism within the food system

Tuesday 2-3.30pm 24 September 2024

Finance plays a pivotal role in shaping how Food and Agriculture companies operate and this meeting aims to consult directly with actors working within finance on shaping sustainability of the food systems. The aim is for the convenors to provide participants insight into the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub’s ongoing work on bringing private sector accountability into the Food System Summit Stocktaking process and for the participants to then provide initial feedback on how best to involve the finance industry in this work. This is a small invite-only meeting being held before wider consultations. The convenors, the UN Global Compact and World Benchmarking Alliance, invite and welcome contributions and comments from individuals who work in banks, asset managers, asset owners, insurance, financial service providers, in particular individuals who are either producing or using sustainability-linked data, products and tools to either make financing decisions or to enable others in the finance value chain to make financing decisions. Participants do not need to have strong expertise on the Food System or on the UN Stocktaking process. In-person only meeting.

Please contact Nikki Gwilliam-Beeharee (n.gwilliam@worldbenchmarkingalliance.org) and Ana Colazo (a.colazo@worldbenchmarkingalliance.org) if you would like to attend.