October 31, 2021—The socio-economic impacts of ESG risks increasingly affect human beings, alongside physical and natural capital, and the failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change is the most impactful risk in the years to come, according to Global CEO Alliance (GCEOA) Chairman and ADEC Innovations President and CEO James Donovan.
Donovan shared this insight during the UN Habitat Cities Global Conference held from October 29 to 31, which was held virtually. His presentation focused on accelerating joint actions to unleash the potential of cities worldwide.
For the advancement of the SDGs in cities, Donovan discussed the importance of developing ESG and sustainability strategies. This, in turn, allows cities and stakeholders to utilize technological solutions to manage and report ESG metrics as well as identify impactful ESG investments.
“Our long experience of managing enterprise data for our clients made us realize early on, that the ESG and Sustainability topic should also be addressed in a science-based and data-driven approach,” he said.
For Donovan, cities have the potential to deliver rapid shifts to a more sustainable future and can be both the source and the solution to many global problems. The government spending alone cannot solve the dramatic change that cities will be facing. It is important that cities and their stakeholders facilitate both technological and financial solutions in accordance with the respective SDG Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.
Donovan further encouraged actions from both the public and the private sectors as both play a vital role in mitigating and adapting to physical and transitional risks of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. He also encouraged incentives, investment, ingenuity, and unprecedented levels of cooperation.
“Business should not just wait for change to be mandated by governments and regulators. Instead, [they] should be well placed to identify, shape, and invest in the propositions that are profitable while effectively driving growth and opportunities emerging in the future. We are one community, and we must remember that,” Donovan emphasized.
In July 2021, the Global CEO Alliance began a partnership with UN Habitat to support 1,000 cities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which could have a huge impact on the lives of over a billion people from developing, low and middle-income countries.
This year’s UN Habitat Cities Global Conference aims to promote the local implementation of the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda in cities by introducing frameworks, encouraging cities to develop their Voluntary Local Reviews, increasing awareness among cities of the SDG Cities program, and reinforcing a global collaborative approach among city leaders, local stakeholders and civil society, national governments, city networks, and the private sector.
ADEC Innovations, along with Global CEO Alliance and UN Habitat, vowed to continue supporting the cities worldwide to advance the achievement of SDGs and strengthen local institutions. True to its commitment to sustainability, ADEC Innovations continues to adapt to the increasing social and environmental demands for the benefit and welfare of all, including the most vulnerable sectors of the community.