Operationalizing the SDGs in the Extractive Industries: Private Sector Experiences and Opportunities

Date: September 21, 2017, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Convene Conference Center, 730 Third Ave, New York

The outcome document from the event is available here.

Alongside the UN General Assembly in September 2017, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s Thematic Network on Good Governance of Extractive and Land Resources (‘SDSN Thematic Network’), the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), GIZ, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), the Responsible Mining Index, the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), and the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), and the University of Cape Town hosted a strategic meeting to take stock of initiatives seeking to operationalize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for companies and other relevant stakeholders, assess whether and how private sector reporting mechanisms and frameworks are or should be aligned with the SDG Indicator framework and how they could be harmonized, and identify next steps for advancing the various efforts being undertaken to improve the contribution of the extractive industries to sustainable development.

As we approach the two-year mark since adoption of the SDGs, this meeting provided a valuable opportunity to share updates on work being undertaken, identify synergies amongst existing projects and frameworks, explore potential follow-up activities to continue advancing this work beyond the meeting, and ultimately to build upon the efforts being undertaken to operationalize the SDGs for extractive industry companies, governments, and other stakeholders.

This multi-stakeholder strategic meeting gathered experts from extractive industry companies and associations, governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, and academia. The objective of the meeting was to collectively examine avenues, examples, tools, and challenges for operationalizing the SDGs among extractive companies and identify actionable opportunities for further collaboration.

The event began with brief kick-off presentations, followed by open discussion on predetermined topics. Small groups considered problems that the field faces and identified next steps, including how the Network can facilitate improved knowledge-sharing and collaboration in this field.