New York, September 28th, 2015 At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015, Enel CEO Francesco Starace announced the Groups intention to contribute to four of the UNs 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), outlining the companys commitment during the United Nations Private Sector Forum 2015: Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.
The event brought over 350 business, labour and civil society leaders to United Nations Headquarters in New York to discuss how the private sector can contribute to the UNs SDGs by 2030.
The electricity sector is a central pillar of economic and social progress that drives production, increases job creation, improves education and healthcare, and opens up new opportunities for growth, said CEO Starace in his speech at the Forum. Enel puts sustainability at the core of its corporate culture, as we believe that being sustainable today means being competitive today and tomorrow. Environmental, social and economic sustainability are key for growth in the energy sector.
The Group will help SDG 7 (ensure access to energy) with its commitment to promoting affordable, sustainable and modern energy via its ENabling ELectricity initiative, which will benefit three million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Groups work towards becoming carbon neutral by 2050 will help the achievement of SDG 13: take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
For SDG 4 (ensure inclusive and equitable quality education) Enel will support education activities for 400,000 people by 2020 through projects similar to those already launched like Powering Education in Kenya, Ubuntu in South Africa and a number of scholarship programmes in Latin America. The Group has also committed to SDG 8 by promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, entrepreneurial development and self employment for 500,000 people through initiatives similar to those already launched, like coffee cultivation and competitive marketing in Peru and greenhouse farming in Chile.
Mr. Starace was speaking at the first part of the Private Sector Forum, which gave a select group of CEOs, business leaders and investors the chance to announce their strategy for advancing the new SDGs through core business activities.
Part of the drive for adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, the UN Private Sector Forum is designed to both increase understanding of the private sectors efforts in aiding achievement of the SDGs, and to provide a platform for the private sector to announce any objectives and partnerships that are aligned with the UNs goals.
Organisation of the Forum was entrusted to the UN Global Compact, on whose Board Mr. Starace became the first Italian business representative in May when he was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The UNGC also contributed to the establishment of the, which have replaced the Millennium Development Goals as the guiding objectives of the United Nations development agenda for the next 15 years.
For more information on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, visit: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics
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