High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development: Veolia's innovative initiatives contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals
Organized by the United Nations between 9 and 18 July in New York, the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) evaluates the implementation of the agenda for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year's theme is "transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies" and reviews progress on SDGs 6, 7, 11, 12, 15 and 17. Pierre Victoria, Veolia's Director of Sustainable Development, presented the Group’s contributions.
The High Level Political Forum meets every year under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and every four years brings together heads of state and government: the HLPF begins with a week of discussions between experts, followed by a ministerial council meeting lasting three days.
The added value of the private sector for the SDGs
Pierre Victoria spoke in a session on “The added value of the private sector in policy dialogue”. Using 3 concrete examples, he showed how to catalyse private sector investment, innovations and expertise in order to implement the SDGs:
► in the water sector: the introduction of a clearly defined reference framework for access to sanitation
► devising solutions combining technical, economic, social and contractual innovations to trigger a collective dynamic: in Durban in South Africa, Veolia put forward a solution for recycling 98% of the SWTW treatment plant's wastewater and selling it to local industry, thereby reducing the amount of water being drawn for domestic purposes
► creating collective dynamics at private sector level for large scale mobilization: an illustration is the French initiative Act4Nature for biodiversity, involving 65 CEOs of major companies.
Pierre Victoria said, "provided that the targets are defined and the monitoring indicators are shared by all stakeholders, the SDGs offer businesses a framework for action".
Innovative collaborations and partnerships to increase the impact on the SDGs
During the side event "Business and the SDGs - Accelerating Transformation" organized by the WBCSD and UNDESA, Pierre Victoria presented examples of innovative collaboration that maximize the impact on the SDGs:
►Veolia and Odial Solutions collaborate to simultaneously deliver water and electricity in urban and rural areas in Africa;
► AfricWaste is organizing a large-scale PET plastic bottle collection line for local recycling: a pilot experiment launched in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and supported by Veolia.
