Giving Compass' Take:

• Yaquta Fatehi, guest writer at NextBillion, discusses ways in which the private sector can align their path and actions with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

• What’s the best way to measure the success of these collaborations? How can these institutions join forces effectively with local communities for real and sustainable impact?

• Here's why supporting SDGs is a great business opportunity. 

These are a few of the questions explored at the recent Sustainability and Development Conference (SDC) at the University of Michigan. The event drew nearly 500 academics and practitioners from around the world, and we attended on behalf of the William Davidson Institute (WDI – NextBillion’s parent organization).

The conference delivered some essential insights on the private sector’s role in sustainability and development. Here are some key takeaways.

SHIFTING FROM TRANSACTIONAL TO TRANSFORMATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

There’s a growing awareness that the private sector has a role to play in advancing sustainability and development goals – and the SDGs in particular. Rosina Bierbaum at the University of Maryland highlighted the strong financial case being made for sustainability efforts in the “Adapt Now: A Global Call For Leadership On Climate Resilience” report. And as Mette Olwig from Roskilde University pointed out in her session on “commodifying humanitarianism,” profit and doing good are increasingly seen as going hand-in-hand – and “doing good” is increasingly defined as working toward the SDGs. The goals offer a convenient and visible framework for sustainability and development efforts that appeals to the business world.

These trends are welcome, given the concern raised by World Vision’s Keith Dokho in a panel on leveraging private sector resources for development impact: namely, that philanthropy alone cannot bridge the estimated annual US $2.5-3 trillion gap in investment needed to achieve the SDGs. One way private sector actors are helping to address this gap is by shifting from transactional to transformational partnerships.

Read the full article about how the private sector can align with SDGs by Yaquta Fatehi at NextBillion.