Mexico City, May 27 (EFE).- The entities grouped under the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) and the Mexican Network for the United Nations Global Compact on Monday signed a cooperation agreement with the national government to push forward to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Objectives.
The president of the Mexican Network, Martha Herrera, and the president of the Mexican Business Council, Antonio del Valle – representing Carlos Salazar of the CCE – explained that the agreement has among its goals for companies to align their strategies and operations to the universal principles of human rights, along with labor, environmental and anticorruption standards.
The companies will generate business that will contribute to the transformation of their environment and creating opportunities, new products and markets, as well as alliances with other sectors that can add to Mexico’s sustainability, the CCE said in a bulletin.
“I’m convinced that the companies should undertake actions that transcend (sectors) to generate a positive impact in the lives of people with a view toward the future,” said Antonio del Valle.
Therefore, the business representative hailed the fact “that now … business entities are seeking to work in a coordinated and strategic manner along with the government and the United Nations to adopt measures that allow us to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and build a fairer and more prosperous world.”
Both the business sector and the Mexican Network acknowledged that it is not possible to attain full human potential and achieve sustainable development in Mexico while economic, social and environmental gaps exist, along with the gap between men and women.
They also said that institutional and social discrimination, exclusions and violence based on sexual orientation, identity or gender expression, disabilities and ethnic identity are obstacles to achieving these goals.
All the organizations belonging to the CCE joined the pact.
The CCE is a key business grouping that coordinates policies and actions of business associations.
Attending the event were Alfonso Romo, the head of the President’s Office, and Economy Secretary Graciela Marquez, along with Lise Kingo, the executive director of the United Nations Global Compact, and Antonio Molpeceres, the resident coordinator of the UN System.
The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. In Mexico, it has a network of more than 700 companies and organizations committed to sustainable development and corporate social responsibility.