Covenant on the Role of the Private Sector in the

Post-2015 Global Development Agenda

Introduction
In 2015, the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the most
important international agreements aimed at combatting poverty,
will expire. A growing number of businesses, NGOs and
governments consider the role for the private sector in realizing
the post-2015 development agenda as a key driver. The private
sector can play a vital role in transferring knowledge, know-how
and technology, providing funding and employment opportunities
and supporting in skills training. Currently, no common
understanding of the role of business in global development exists
across stakeholders.

This document has been created and signed by an alliance of cross-
sector stakeholders after a multi-stakeholder consultation. We see
a need for a genuinely multi-stakeholder process in all steps of
developing the Post-2015 Development Agenda, including target
setting, defining responsibilities and drafting documents.

Joint Vision
We envision that the private sector is actively involved in Global
Sustainable Development by assisting to realize the existing MDGs
by 2015. And, by participating in the process leading up to the new
Global Development Agenda in 2015 and by realizing the goals of
this new agenda through their own operations and in global
partnerships. We believe it is important that businesses take the
utmost care to meet their corporate social responsibilities and to
find business opportunities that create value to society. In this
way, the private sector can contribute to sustainable development,
alongside the public and civil sectors.

Common Goal
To jointly define the role and contribution of the private sector in
the global development agenda, and stimulate further involvement
of businesses in cooperation with other sectors.

Commitment to Building a Broader Understanding
We have produced a repository of case studies that highlight the
contribution of the private sector to development initiatives as
well as the impact these have had toward achieving MDGs.


The signatories recognize:
the importance of the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) in generating a
commitment from the international community to poverty eradication by addressing
issues like food security, education, gender, health and clean water issues;
that a new framework for Global Development must include social and
environmental sustainability in developing and developed states;
that the partnerships for Global Development need to be more inclusive: they need
to include the private sector, besides governments and civil society without reducing
the overarching responsibility of governments and without diminishing the important
role of citizens via their civil society organizations;
the commitment the private sector expressed at the several Rio+20 meetings to take
up a leading role in the Post-2015 Development Agenda;
the necessity of private sector actors in their role as providers of goods and services,
in creating jobs and in contributing to the tax-base of states, which could eradicate
poverty and create the basis for a life in dignity for each and every world citizen;
that to address new global challenges like climate change, the sustainable
management of natural resources (land, water, minerals) and the preservation of
biodiversity requires the active participation of private sector actors in finding and
executing solutions;
the necessity of states, NGOs, labor unions and research institutions in creating an
enabling environment in which businesses can create value for society;
the necessity of local and global multi-stakeholder partnerships to deal with complex
challenges;
the responsibility and opportunity the Netherlands has in promoting active
participation of the private sector in cooperation with NGOs, labor unions,
government agencies and research institutes in Global Sustainable Development and
the United Nations Post-2015 Global Development Agenda;
that the largest impact the Netherlands has on developing economies and potentially
poverty reduction is realized by its private sector involvements in those economies;
the need for concerted action of businesses, NGOs, labor unions, government
agencies and research institutes towards Global Sustainable Development before the
United Nations will have finalized the framework by 2015;
that the private sector defined as privately held businesses, from multinationals to
small enterprises have been, such as states and other institutions, a part of the
problem in Global Development, but are also part of the solution.
The signatories appreciate:
the work that has been done by the
United Nations High Level Panel of
Eminent Persons on the Post-2015
Development Agenda,
the work that has been done by the
United Nations Open Working Group on
Sustainable Development Goals,
the work that has been done by the
World Business Council on Sustainable
Development in their projects Vision
2050 and Action 2020,
the work that has been done by Dutch
Social and Economic Council including
the International Corporate Social
Responsibility Declaration and the report
on the Role of the Private Sector in
International Development,
the work of the UN Global Compact in
promoting the role of the private sector
in achieving the MDGs and its
involvement in setting the Post 2015
Development agenda.
The signatories stress:
the need for a genuinely multi-
stakeholder process in the developing
the Post-2015 Development Agenda in all
steps of the process, including target
setting, defining responsibilities and
drafting documents,
the need to involve the different
stakeholders at all levels, global, national
and local, and all sizes, for instance, to
involve small and medium size
enterprises next to multinational
enterprises.
An initiative of:
Sustainable development

1. Aim to contribute to sustained
prosperity and dignity for all
individuals, present and
future;
2. Believe in the importance of
the following dimensions for
sustainable development:
a) Leave no one behind
b) Put sustainable
development at the core
c) Transform economies for
jobs and inclusive growth
d) Build peace and effective,
open and accountable
institutions for all
e) Forge new partnerships;
3. Commit to contributing to the
realization of the Millennium
Development Goals (2000-
2015) by 2015;
4. Commit to contributing to the
current Millennium
Development Goals until the
new Framework for Global
Development at the United
Nations is finalized in 2015;
5. Acknowledge that active
participation and contribution
of states, NGOs, labor unions,
businesses and research
institutes are all necessary
towards realizing the aims
and goals in articles (1)-(4),
where the different
stakeholders have common
but differentiated
responsibilities

The role of the private sector

6. Agree that the purpose of the private sector is to create value for society: value to shareholders, value to the
planet and value to society at large, which results in three autonomous and complementary aims:
a) To make profit and provide a reasonable financial return for their owners and investors
b) To minimize negative impact on society and nature and take full responsibility for fair and just business
practices in their value and supply chains
c) To maximize their positive impact on society and nature and take full responsibility for creating value for
current and future generations
7. Agree that the particular role of the private sector in the light of Global Sustainable Development is to:
a) Respect the basic rights of people and workers and conserve natural resources in all their operations, and
perform due diligence on these issues;
b) Find business opportunities that are both profitable and work towards the aims and goals mentioned in (1)-(4);
c) Ensure the promotion of a good business culture by eradicating all forms of corruption in business practices;
d) Promote good governance and law and order;
e) Be open in their communications and reporting about the impact of their business activities on societies;
8. Endorse the normative frameworks for International Corporate Social Responsibility and stakeholder engagement
as specified in the following documents:
a) The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work;
b) The ILO Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy;
c) The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
d) The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
e) The ICC Guide to Responsible Sourcing;
f) The Ten Principles from the United Nations Global Compact
9. Recognize that businesses have a great potential to find value creating business opportunities including:
a) The creation of inclusive, decent and fair jobs;
b) Making supply chains inclusive and sustainable, such as in the work of the Sustainable Trade Initiative;
c) Creating circular business processes;
d) Creating inclusive products that are also accessible to the poor, such as initiatives in the framework of the
Bottom of the Pyramid;
e) Making products in a socially inclusive way that provides employment for people with diverse mental,
intellectual and physical capacities and competences;
f) Developing product, process, supply chain and business model innovations that create value to society and
nature;
10. Recognize the potential contribution of innovative ways of doing business such as:
a) Social Entrepreneurship: conducting entrepreneurial activities with the primary aim of realizing a positive
impact on society and in such a manner that it is financially self-sufficient; [insert definition];
b) Impact Investing: investing in business activities which provide an expected positive financial return and where
the primary aim of the investment is realizing a positive impact on society];
11. Recognize the importance of defining, measuring, improving and reporting on the impacts businesses have on
Natural and Social Capital.

Public private partnerships

12. Affirm the importance of governments for
enabling a business environment that
creates value and contributes to Global
Sustainable Development by:
a) Setting clear and predictable regulations
and efficient, stable and fair institutions
and policies;
b) Providing an equal playing field for
businesses that are responsible;
c) Providing the right incentives to
stimulate value creating business
practices;
d) Being responsible market players in
their own purchasing, procurement and
investment activities;
13. Affirm the importance of NGOs and labor
unions for securing a business environment
that creates value and contributes to Global
Sustainable Development by:
a) Providing a structured and disciplined
frameworks for transparency and
harmonize different frameworks for
transparency;
b) Monitoring the progress businesses
make to provide adequate transparency;
c) Providing neutral platforms for
precompetitive business agreements
and innovations;
d) Giving a voice and influence to
underrepresented stakeholder groups;
e) Providing expertise on complex social,
environmental and governance issues;
14. Affirm the importance of research institutes
for stimulating a business environment that
creates value and contributes to Global
Sustainable Development by:
a) Enabling innovation through applied
research;
b) Providing expertise on complex social
and environmental issues;
c) Providing impartial reflection on
complex issues.

The three pillars of the covenant