UN Global Compact Chair urges industry to sustainable challenge
Thu, 26 Nov 2015 16:16:00 GMT
Guest lecturer Chris Harrop is the UK Chair of the UN Global Compact and the Director of Marketing and Sustainability for Marshalls plc
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Director of the University's Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Communities Professor Adrian Wood welcomes guest speaker UN Global Compact UK Chair Chris Harrop
HOW do the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) impact in practice for organisations? Will these new global goals, set out by the United Nations (UN), end poverty, fix climate change and fight inequality and justice?
These were some of the questions waiting for the UK Chair of the UN Global Compact and the Director of Marketing and Sustainability for Marshalls plc, Chris Harrop, when he headed a seminar organised by the University’s Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Communities.
The United Nations Global Compact is a voluntary initiative based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles and to undertake partnerships in support of UN goals.
As explained by Chris, who is also the Non-Executive Director of the Ethical Trading Initiative, the Sustainable Development Goals – expected to last until 2030 – were adopted by the UN Summit in response to emerging global mega-trends and replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“The UN has had to update its objectives and to do this they have received a lot of input from businesses, including Marshalls plc,” said Chris.
Chris, an advocate for sustainability, mentioned how the company’s activities were tightly focused upon meeting economic challenges and mitigating risks and how these have led to opportunities that have come out of the SDGs and the global mega-trends.
“The 17 new sustainable goals have been set up to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all,” he said. “There are many issues such as poverty, hunger, climate change and there are also issues of war, but if every business works on one goal at a time, good outcomes are achievable.”
Chris spoke of the numerous sustainable goals Marshalls is working towards and of one in particular; Goal 11 – ‘to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’.
“In-built into street furniture and outside landscaped seating are special posts which are there to deter terrorism,” said Chris. “You can drive a seven-and-a-half tonne truck at 50 mph into the object and it would stop the vehicle within two meters,” he added.
Marshalls plc has won a string of awards for achieving sustainability in a variety of areas and the company continues to focus upon essential global priority issues such as; climate change and energy; education; food and agriculture; governance and human rights; health; infrastructure and technology; peace and stability; poverty; water and sanitation; and women’s empowerment.
