Aligning for delivery on the SDGs and UN Reforms: Design Workshop kicks off new initiative “GO for SDGs”
Launched at the SDGs Summit in New York in September 2019 by United Nations Environment Programme and the German Ministry for Environment, "Global Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals (GO for SDGs)" aims to boost efforts and solutions for delivering on the 2030 Agenda, anchored in shifting unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.
GO for SDGs will develop key targets in: policy innovation and enabling environment for resource efficiency; business and start-ups in the area of circularity and resource efficiency; and lifestyles and youth engagement as demand drivers for sustainable consumption and production. The broad ambition is to build inclusive and sustainable economies at all levels. This will aid in the delivery of regional efforts supported by UN reform, particularly in the context of the UN Development Cooperation framework.
As such, it will contribute directly to the UN Decade of Action and Delivery for the Sustainable Development Goals.
The initiative will highlight:
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Joining forces and leveraging flagship initiatives already in the green economy space.
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Exemplary approaches from countries and capacity building for replication across regions.
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A platform to facilitate dialogue and knowledge sharing on best practices through peer-to-peer learning, collaboration and innovation.
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Knowledge exchange on innovative and successful practices through newly designed regional sustainability hubs.
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Strengthening UNEP’s role and capacity to deliver and create change within the context of UN Reform, focusing at a regional level.
To jump start this effort, Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, kicked off a design workshop held on 2-3 December 2019 to flesh out the operational modalities of the initiative, with the following objectives:
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brainstorming activities for collective impact in the area of resource efficiency and circularity,
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creating a shared vision of success for transitioning to inclusive green economies, and
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identifying desired outcomes in shifting unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.
The workshop was attended by colleagues from the Asia Pacific, West Asia, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean, and European regional offices of UNEP; who were joined by colleagues from UNEP’s Ecosystems and Economy Divisions and hosted global initiatives such as: One Planet Network, the Green Growth Partnership, and the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE).
The workshop focused on how joining forces can scale up best practices emerging from all levels, to reinforce delivery and impact at the regional level, by using peer-to-peer learning, exchange and benchmarking.
Photo L—R: Steven Stone, Chief Resources and Markets Branch UNEP, Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary General & Deputy Executive Director UNEP, Ligia Noronha, Director Economy Division UNEP.
In her opening remarks, Joyce Msuya, emphasized the importance of collaborating across disciplines, regions and technical divisions to deliver on all SDGs, which she characterized as "'bookends' to where UNEP’s substantive work can be situated." She noted that the UN reforms, particularly those related to the UN Development Cooperation, make this initiative timely and impactful across all levels.
Ligia Noronha, Director of the Economy Division, laid out the genesis of the initiative and the theory of change, which centers on creating a space for catalytic change. This perspective speaks to UNEP’s “collaborative advantage” and its ability to develop innovative ideas in the area of sustainable consumption and production, with partners from the global, regional and country levels.
The workshop delivered important insights on how we can further strengthen the impact of GO4SDGs, by considering and including:
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Regional coordinators on the ground, who can work directly with country delivery.
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Regional communities of practice, particularly with ministries of finance and economic planning.
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Regional innovation meetings - back to back with UN country team meetings, with a thematic focus on one of the high impact sectors for transforming economies and their footprints: buildings and construction, food loss and waste, plastics and textiles, among others.
Image: Operationalizing GO4SDGs: Putting UN Reform in Practice
Funding for the initiative is provided by a contribution from Germany and will be allocated using a “marketplace of ideas” to effectively link relevant global initiatives with regional demand, to promote scaling across regional offices and partners. It will additionally link with new efforts underway, complementing the PAGE 2030 strategy, SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan — increasing momentum for the One Planet Network — and the newly launched Green Industry and Finance Platforms via the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership.
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