How Can the Private Sector Promote Sustainable Development?

Becoming increasingly important as a significant part of the economic growth and employment mechanism, the private sector provides goods and services, generates tax revenues for financing key social and economic infrastructure and develops new and innovative solutions helping solve development challenges. It also plays an important role in combating climate change. The role played by the private sector in development extends from the traditional approach supporting economic development to the establishment of more comprehensive and detailed public-private partnerships.

However, the private sector’s role is not limited to financing and investment. The capacity for introducing innovation, human resources, technical information and technological inputs are other potential contributions of the private sector. Promoting sustainable economic growth involving opportunities for value creation, the private sector plays an important role in development. Further, it is certain that sustainable development action will also improve business environment and markets. Trillions of dollars of public and private funds will be reallocated to the Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, there will be great opportunities for responsible companies to find solutions.