Infrastructure investment is long-term in nature and can lay the foundations for sustainable development in member States. To improve the sustainability of infrastructure and public services, such investments must be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) says the United Nations Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development in its Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2022 launched on 12 April 2022.
The report urges Governments to build on UNECE’s initiative to put people at the core of infrastructure and promote the five desirable outcomes to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for the SDGs, to improve the sustainability and resilience of infrastructure services delivery. Amongst the different UNECE PPP tools and recommendations, the recently launched UNECE People-first PPP Evaluation Methodology for the SDGs is an ESG matrix available to Governments and other stakeholders as a self-assessment tool, used to assess the compliance of PPPs and infrastructure projects with the SDGs.
This new, and digitally enabled tool, as well as the Role of People-first PPPs for the SDGs in delivering sustainable Infrastructure to Accelerate the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda, will be the focus of the forthcoming 6th UNECE International PPP Forum which will address a number of current and emerging challenges and opportunities at both national and city level. Experts will dive deep, discussing issues such as climate change, the circular economy, digital transformation, sustainable finance, green procurement, and the blue economy, and how these challenges can be overcome and opportunities maximised through the UNECE approach to PPPs for the SDGs.
The Forum will also showcase a number of case studies from around the world that aspire to comply with the SDGs and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles. The compliance of these studies with the SDGs and ESG principles has been assessed using the self-assessment tool of the UNECE People-first PPP Evaluation Methodology for the SDGs.
The Forum will bring together representatives of Governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders. It will be held in Barcelona, Spain from 4 to 6 May 2022 and is co-organized by the UNECE and the IESE Business School, with the support of the Barcelona City Council.
More information on the UNECE PPP work can be found at http://www.unece.org/ceci/ppp.html