The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals © United Nations
Article published 21/09/2023
This week (15 - 24 September) marks Global Goals Week, which helps to raise awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the accountability we have collectively to help to achieve them. Global Goals Week will see more than 150 of its partners across civil society, business, academia, and the UN system accelerate action on the SDGs to achieve the goal of a peaceful and prosperous world by 2030.
The 17 SDGs address critical issues including poverty eradication, human health improvement, and climate change mitigation. To address these challenges and find creative and effective solutions, it is essential to bring together diverse stakeholders from around the world and business events are the perfect platform for this.
The power of collaboration
Business events are more than just gatherings for networking and business opportunities; they are powerful platforms for raising awareness and collaborating to find solutions to global challenges such as poverty, health, and climate change.
Goal 17 of the SDGs, Partnerships for the Goals, focuses on strengthening the implementation and revitalisation of global partnerships for sustainable development. By uniting global communities, events can do just that. Events are a catalyst for change and provide an open forum to share knowledge and best practice as well as establishing partnerships and solutions to help us work towards achieving the UN SDGs.
They also provide an opportunity to encourage and boost collaborations and partnerships between businesses, governments, non-profits, academic institutions and innovation centres, which are essential for addressing complex issues as they combine diverse expertise and resources.
They also give attendees an opportunity to connect and learn from sectoral experts, thought leaders, and innovators who excel in their fields and inspire them to become advocates for positive change.
Community efforts
At VisitScotland Business Events, we believe that the business events community has the resources to help achieve a more equitable and sustainable world for future generations. As part of our efforts to raise awareness, we are aligning our work and campaigns, including Journey to Change and the Transformation Protocol, with the UN SDGs.
The SDGs primarily focus on climate action, and this serves as a reminder to event organisers and stakeholders that there is a significant responsibility to integrate sustainability into their events.
In the 2023 International Planner Sentiment Report, created by The Business of Events, it was revealed that a destination's or venue's sustainability credentials were a key factor in the decision making for planners selecting a destination to host their event. Planners from across the UK and Europe ranked this a 9/10 priority whilst the North American market ranked it slightly less of a priority at 7/10.
To support organisers and stakeholders who are looking for some inspiration or guidance on sustainability we have created the ECO Link, a comprehensive guide which details resources, insights and inspiration on event sustainability. The guide is separated into several categories so organisers can easily find the relevant resources for their event and the support available. To visit the ECO Link click here.
Together, we can harness the potential of business events to drive positive change and make progress towards a more sustainable and equitable world.
To find out more about VisitScotland's commitment to the UN SDGs click here.