DHAKA, May 21, 2020 (BSS) – Asif Ibrahim, spokesperson of ESCAP Sustainable
Business Network (ESBN) Executive Council for the 2020 Asia-Pacific Forum on
Sustainable Development, today pledged to put people and planet before profit
to ensure that businesses are sustainable and do not lead to a depletion or
pollution of the earth’s resources.
“To accelerate wider business action, we encourage governments to adopt
policies that correct for externalities of business operations, including
putting a price on carbon, while incentivizing social and inclusive business
models,” said Asif, who is also the Chair of the ESBN Taskforce on Disaster
and Climate Risk Reduction.
In a statement, Asif said they will ensure that throughout business
operations they will do their utmost to care for employees and suppliers,
including respecting human rights throughout their operations as outlined in
the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and in line with
United Nations universal declarations and relevant ILO conventions.
As members of the Executive Council of the ESCAP Sustainable Business
Network, Asif said they are deeply concerned with the impact of the COVID-19
crisis on workers and enterprises, in particular micro, small and medium-
sized enterprises (MSMEs), and emphasize the need to help those most in need,
such as informal workers, women, migrants, refugees and older persons.
As a global pandemic, COVID-19 has severely impacted Asia and the Pacific.
In a region that relies heavily on exports and tourism, lockdowns and
related closures have disrupted business and supply chains, putting many out
of jobs, and risking increasing the already stark inequalities in the region,
the statement reads.
“We are concerned that even before the onset of the pandemic, the region
was not on track to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by
2030,” Asif said.
He said they also underscore the need to accelerate their efforts to
achieve the SDGs and focus on building back better from the Covid-19 crisis.
He said they believe the crisis offers opportunities to strengthen the
role of – and collaboration with – business in building a more sustainable
Asia-Pacific region.
As members of the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network, Asif said they
pledged to work with the government and the United Nations to help accelerate
the delivery of the SDGs through enhancing their own sustainability,
including by adhering to internationally recognized sets of principles and
standards of responsible business conduct like the United Nations Global
Compact, and setting company-wide carbon emission reduction targets.
“We will also work separately and collectively to promote increased
sustainability and resilience among the wider business community in the
region,” he said.
As the COVID-19 crisis has shown that digital tools and platforms are
critical in enhancing resilience, they pledged to work to increase the
knowledge and spread of digital tools in the region, including solutions for
more effective and efficient supply chains, finance, sales and back-office
functions, to enable more flexible production and delivery of work, including
working from home where possible.
“As the region is already the most disaster prone in the world, we will
also continue to work with ESCAP to emphasize the need for resilience and
disaster risk reduction, including through public-private partnerships for
tsunami monitoring,” Asif said.