NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

2015 was a year of grand political ambitions channelled into the Sustainable Development Goals. These ambitions can be turned into concrete business opportunities – given the right mind-set and urgent action.

First, the mind-set. Our survey of more than 5,500 public and private sector leaders around the world shows a readiness for action and an appreciation of the challenges we face. Business leaders – 83 percent of our respondents being private business leaders – are especially concerned about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to well-being, good health and jobs – in short, the creation of decent lives.

The survey reveals that these "back to basics" SDGs has the biggest impact for good business as well for a sustainable society. However, neither these nor any of the 17 SDGs can be tackled by the public sector alone. Luckily, public and private sector leaders see business opportunities in all of them – and they are ready to seize them.

The survey reveals that these "back to basics" SDGs have the biggest impact for good business as well  for a sustainable society.

Second, the urgency. The long list of SDGs illustrates both the urgency and the complexity of the challenges the world faces. Questions of inequality, health, and poverty are inextricably linked with climate change, land degradation and ocean biodiversity. And our time for addressing them is running out. If we are to solve these global problems within the 15 year timeframe set, we must pursue concrete oppor tunities for change. This report, and last year's report, is full of them. We do not claim that the opportunities are easy shortcuts to achieving the SDGs, but they can inspire us to operationalise the broad ambitions behind the goals.

The opportunities demonstrate new ways to make the best of systemic risks, thus bringing the world closer to a safe and sustainable future. See opposite page for an overview of how the opportunities are linked to the SDGs.

From “GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY REPORT 2016”