Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance

Global governance generally comprises the standards, institutions and decision-making processes that were developed in the years following World War II to address a variety of global challenges, including peace and security, human rights and development — and, more recently, addressing the climate crisis and the global pandemic. These institutions include the United Nations and its agencies, such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and World Health Organization (WHO), and affiliate entities, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, among others. The institutional architecture of global governance also includes intergovernmental forums that were created around specific regions or themes, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Group of 20 (G20) and the Group of 77 (G77). 

The foundations of peace, prosperity and sustainable development that the standards and institutions of global governance have established over decades are of fundamental significance to businesses. These standards and institutions are not only the framework for the international community itself but are also the mechanisms through which Governments (or Member States) come together to build consensus and forge cooperation to address the world’s greatest challenges. While, of course, decision-making must remain the responsibility of accountable, effective, inclusive and transparent public institutions (Targets 16.6 and 16.7), there are innumerable capabilities that the business community can contribute to tackle these challenges and strengthen the institutional enabling environment at the global and local levels. The business community has a particular responsibility, and opportunity, to encourage the voice and vision of Governments from developing nations in setting global priorities and allocating global resources.

Indeed, there is an increasing acknowledgement of the important contributions that businesses can make to these institutions and forums. Responsible businesses have increasingly been called upon to inform discussions around the Paris Agreement, to engage in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nowhere is this challenge more evident than in Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, which calls on various actors including the business community to contribute expertise, finances and resources to the achievement of the SDGs. 

To be sure, as existing institutions of global governance have come to be seen as inadequate to tackle certain global challenges, a range of ad hoc bodies comprising non-state actors have been created to fill the gap. Generally referred to as multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), these forums include representatives from a variety of actors, including Government, civil society and businesses and are focused on addressing specific challenges and sometimes setting standards around those challenges that are beyond the capacity of traditional institutions to address them quickly and effectively. But while MSIs are a promising new forum for global governance, caution should be observed with respect to their limited accountability, legitimacy and transparency as compared with public institutions. Even as they are gaining influence in global governance, they should be seen as complements to — not substitutes for — national Governments and international institutions. There are increasing calls for a more inclusive multilateral system (or international order) that includes non-state actors, which is supported by the UN General Assembly, which is calling for a reinvigorated and networked multilateralism grounded in inclusion. These calls will most likely gain momentum in the coming years. As such, there must be the necessary debate and deliberations on how to build the necessary accountability and transparency in these new institutions to ensure their legitimacy.

With the converging crises of climate change, economic uncertainty, a global pandemic and social inequality, which have been further complicated by a rise in disinformation, many businesses around the world are calling for greater global cooperation. This call was heard loud and clear during the 75th anniversary of the United Nations where over 1,300 Chief Executive Officers from over 100 countries around the world committed to being united in the business of a better world (see United in the Business of Better World: A Statement from Business Leaders for Renewed Global Cooperation). This was a defining moment for the business community to collectively rally behind the institutions of global governance as the only way forward in addressing the greatest challenges of our time. At the core of this statement was the recognition that there is a need for greater inclusivity and participation of all countries — developed and developing — in the building of a better world. Ostensibly, the statement also called for courageous and ethical leadership at a time when citizens are calling — and increasingly protesting — for greater accountability, integrity and transparency in the institutions that govern their lives and livelihoods. Businesses have a critical role to play in promoting ethical leadership and building trust both between public and private institutions and in them by civil society — consistent with the tenets of SDG 16 to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies. 

Further to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2021 — as highlighted in the introduction of this Framework — there is an urgent need to build trust through corporate purpose linked directly to societal benefit. The HOW Institute for Society captures this in the 2020 State of Moral Leadership in Business report, noting that “[l]eaders can no longer hope to scale shareholder value without scaling shared values. Mission and margin, profit and principle, success and significance are now inextricably linked.” It is through this lens that responsible businesses are called upon to engage with Governments and civil society towards a form of transformational governance that includes a courageous, ethical and integrated approach to conventional governance, sustainable governance and global governance — internally and externally to businesses and at the global and local levels. 

Inspired by the Ten Principles and UNGPs

The Ten Principles and UNGPs are given legitimacy and underpinned by the UN system and are therefore inextricably connected to the institutions and systems of global governance. To be sure, both of these were established largely as an acknowledgment and need to govern/guide responsible business conduct and protect the world’s most marginalized and vulnerable communities. 

Inspired by the Pathfinders SDG16+ Roadmap

The SDGs are in themselves a symbol of international cooperation and inclusive multilateralism.