The Group of Friends of Paragraph 47 (GoF47) is a government-led initiative that was formed by Brazil, Denmark, France and South Africa in June 2012 during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) following the acknowledgement of the importance of corporate sustainability reporting in Paragraph 47 of the outcome document ‘The Future We Want’. The Group which now also counts Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Norway and Switzerland among its members, represents a range of developing and developed countries, bringing together governments with a variety of different experiences and approaches to promoting sustainability reporting, and creating rich environment in which to exchange information and best practice. UN Environment supports the GoF47 in a Secretariat capacity.
The GoF47’s goals are:
- To promote the exchange of experience on sustainability reporting policies and initiatives with a view to enhancing their effectiveness, leading to more widespread and higher quality sustainability reporting.
- To increase the number of governments with policies or initiatives that promote corporate sustainability reporting.
- To maintain and promote discussions on sustainability reporting in relevant international fora.
- To engage with strategic stakeholders, recognizing that the promotion of sustainability reporting is a multi-stakeholder effort.
The GoF47’s Charter sets out the Group’s common vision in more detail.
Here is for more information on how to become a member.
