Expo 2020, UN join forces for sustainability forum

Expo 2020 Dubai and the United Nations Global Compact are joining forces to hold a Sustainable Development Goals Business Forum.

It will be held during Expo’s Global Goals Week (16-22 January 2022), to unite businesses and spur further action towards a sustainable and inclusive future.

Announced today at this year’s UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, the collaboration reflects a shared and urgent commitment to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and drive meaningful change.

Highlighting the work of the UN Global Compact – the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative – the business forum will examine how the global community can foster economic prosperity for all, while ensuring the SDGs are achieved by the 2030 deadline.

Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Official Business Integrator of Expo 2020 Dubai, will co-curate this and all other themed business forums throughout the six-month mega event.

The collaboration will leverage the presence of more than 200 international participants at Expo 2020 to encourage a new wave of UN Global Compact membership participation and drive progress towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

.@expo2020dubai & the @globalcompact are joining forces to hold a Sustainable Development Goals Business Forum during Expo’s Global Goals Week (16-22 January 2022), to unite businesses & spur further action towards a sustainable & inclusive future.https://t.co/axJE83I1tT pic.twitter.com/sCNFWZw3xO

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) June 16, 2021

Nadia Verjee, Chief of Staff, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: "Our collaboration with the United Nations Global Compact is another milestone in Expo’s wider relationship with the UN. It builds on our shared commitment to strategic action, collaboration and innovation to advance the SDGs and exemplifies Expo 2020’s mission to bring the world together to create a better future for people and planet."

Aiming to be one of the most sustainable, inclusive World Expos in history, Expo 2020 has aligned its sustainability strategy with the SDGs, working with International Participants, commercial partners, stakeholders, and its entire supply chain to embed sustainability and inclusion into the physical site, the pavilion designs, and event operations.

The UN announced its Expo 2020 participation in October 2019 and has already partnered on a number of cross-cutting thought leadership platforms.

Its dedicated pavilion at Expo 2020, under the theme ‘We the Peoples: Shaping Our Future Together’, is an opportunity to engage millions of visitors from around the world and inspire action around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"We will use this opportunity to encourage more business leaders to set ambitious, measurable targets for sustainability. Tangible progress is essential for a just, inclusive and sustainable recovery from COVID-19 and to avert the climate and inequality crises that can hold human progress back if left unaddressed," said Dan Thomas, Chief of Communications & Strategic Events, UN Global Compact.