Business goals and Sustainable Development Goals can essentially go hand in hand. “Business Platform for Goals” is a new generation action platform that brings together UNDP and the private sector to work together on common issues around the same table. These common themes, this time, are about the future of “our planet and its people”. The "Business for Goals Platform" (B4G), which was launched last January by UNDP and leading business institutions TÜRKONFED and TUSIAD, held its first workshop in Istanbul to determine the path to Sustainable Development Goals.

In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the road map to be followed by the "Business for Goals" Platform in the coming period has been determined.

Private sector representatives and UNDP experts, who met in Istanbul on May 30, organized the first workshop under the "Business World for Goals - B4G" Platform to develop a common vision and roadmap for the answers to these questions. Launched last January with the partnership of UNDP and the leading business world institutions TÜSİAD (Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association) and TÜRKONFED (Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation), representing thousands of companies in Turkey, the Platform is included in the 2030 Agenda of the private sector and the business world. organized a prioritization workshop to determine the path to be followed in the upcoming period regarding the potential roles it can play on the road to progress and the policies that can be implemented to achieve the “Sustainable Development Goals”.        

“Business for Goals - B4G” is a new generation action platform that brings together UNDP and the private sector. Collaborative topics are, this time, the future of “our planet and its people”. Through the platform, the creativity, innovation capacity, dynamism, adaptability, growth skills and entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector and UNDP's more than 50 years of expertise, knowledge and global network on sustainable development come together and it is aimed to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the business world. This new partnership between UNDP and the corporate sector also introduces a new, innovative and flexible model of “Collaboration and policy making” developed to address some of the obstacles and challenges in achieving the ambitious goals of the 2030 Agenda.

In this direction, at the meeting held in Istanbul, from different sectors of the economy; More than 70 members of the private sector, representing large holdings, international companies, family businesses and SMEs, participated in the round tables with UNDP experts to discuss the issues of the sustainability agenda, discussed the necessary steps to reach the goals in 2030 and developed new ideas and suggestions. In the brainstorming workshop, discussion areas were handled around pre-determined thematic topics and each table was moderated by UNDP officials: from climate change to inclusive ways of doing business, from gender equality to responsible production and consumption, from social entrepreneurship to integration of refugees, from clean energy to women. empowerment, competitiveness and entrepreneurship.

In the workshop, which was the first important event held in this context, group discussions were led by UNDP experts around 9 main topics: “Leadership, Partnerships and Project Finance”, “Gender Equality in Working Life”, “Responsible Production and Consumption”, “Entrepreneurship (Social entrepreneurship, Women's entrepreneurship)”, “Business resilience”, “Integration and secure employment of refugees”, “Environmental and Climate Changes: Energy - Water - Chemical - Waste Management”, “SMEs and Competitiveness (Infrastructure- Innovation)” , “Decent Work”. Topics were discussed and discussed around 3 questions asked by the moderator to the participants. Participants evaluated whether the topics covered are on the agenda of the business world, the root causes of the problems, what needs to be done in the field of policy and advocacy, and the roles that the Platform can play in solving these problems.