UK SDG group joins UN Global Compact

An action group focused on furthering progress of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the UK has become part of the UN Global Compact Network (GCN). 

UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (UKSSD), which is to join the global movement, said it was part of the organisation's growth plans and follows the departure of network director Emily Auckland. 

Since it was founded in 2016, UKSSD has been hosted by Bioregional, a sustainable development charity based in London. However, UKSSD said this arrangement had put “a huge amount of responsibility” on the small charity and was “not sustainable in the long term”.  

In a statement, UKSSD co-chairs Victoria Page and Jeff Twentyman said it had been in conversations with the GCN about establishing a closer relationship and Auckland’s departure had just accelerated this process. 

“We’re confident GCN is the right home for the network given the complete alignment in our commitment to the SDGs in the UK,” Page and Twentyman said. 

They highlighted the UKSSD’s recent work with the GCN to bring together more than 150 leaders from business, civil society and other areas of public life to lobby Prime Minister Boris Johnson to use the SDG’s to “frame and futureproof” the UK’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Since launch, theUKSSD has helped bring together major organisations and corporations to lobby government for positive change and secure political commitments to promoting the SDGs. 

It has also supported individual causes linked to the SDGs, including an interfaith campaign in 2018 to address poverty, inequality and hostile attitudes towards immigrants. 

Most recently, the organisation teamed up with the Local Government Association to produce a guide to the SDGs for local councils, setting out a four-step process for “engaging with and localising” the goals. 

The GCN’s work in the UK aims to bring together company leaders to promote sustainable and responsible business activities and engage with and lobby governments on major issues.