Collymore appointed to CEO-led global development commission

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore has been appointed to the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development, a new initiative that seeks to articulate and quantify the economic case for businesses to engage in sustainable development.

The commission - co-founded by former United Nations Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch-Brown and Unilever CEO Paul Polman - brings together international leaders from business, labour, financial institutions and civil society with the aim of putting business at the centre of sustainable development.

The initiative will work for one year after which it will present a comprehensive report outlining new business and financial models as well as market opportunities for companies who are invested in approaches aimed at helping achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

“Adopting these goals will provide a roadmap for businesses to become more sustainable and will spur the necessary partnerships needed for SDG delivery. For instance, it’s my belief that Kenyan businesses have the unique ability to bring the essence of the SDGs to life in ways that no other group can in this country,” Mr Collymore said.

READ: Collymore's term on UN Global Compact board extended

The commission's co-chair, Mr Malloch-Brown, in a statement said that governments and international organisations alone cannot build the future the world needs, noting that business is key to accelerating the transition.

“A massive prize awaits business if it successfully ushers in an era of shared prosperity and increased sustainability,” Mr Malloch-Brown said.

Mr Collymore joins a team of other global business leaders that includes Laura Alfaro (professor at Harvard Business School), Peter Bakker (President, World Business Council on Sustainable Development), Mo Ibrahim (Founder of Celtel and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation), Donald Kaberuka (ex-President, African Development Bank), Sharan Burrow (General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation) and John Danilovich (Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce) among others.

Jeremy Oppenheim – who led the development of the influential New Climate Economy report – will act as Programme Director.