Tokyo, 5 February 2018: The Fujitsu Research Institute hosted a conference at the headquarters of the Japanese Business Federation (Keidanren), WBCSD’s Global Network partner in Japan. The focus of the event was on the topic of “Corporate Action in the Age of SDGs: Value Creation and Business Opportunities”.
The conference recognized the SDGs as the common global language to discuss socio-economic challenges and explored global trends of corporate approaches to the goals. It also aimed to clarify the efforts, developments and challenges in Japan, while engaging in an in-depth discussion on how Japanese companies can maximize their potential to contribute to the SDGs to enhance competitiveness, strengthen business capabilities and drive forward new business opportunities.
Remembering that the SDGs do not present an obligation to the private sector, it was widely recognized that the expectations on business to make a significant contribution in delivering the goals are rising and that achieving the goals could unlock business opportunities of up to 5 trillion USD in Asia alone.
There is increasing interest in the role of business in the 2030 agenda in Japan. The Japanese government has moved to recognize the importance of corporate action in realizing the goals, while Keidanren has also recently amended its Charter of Corporate Behavior to include details on the SDGs and the role of business in achieving them.
Among the 300 business leaders who attended the conference, WBCSD was represented by Julian Hill-Landolt, Director, Sustainable Lifestyles, who emphasized the opportunities for business as outlined in the CEO Guide to the SDGs. Representatives from the Earth Security Group, Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Research Institute, MSCI ESG Research, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa and Sumitomo Chemical also gave engaging presentations.
More information about this event and presentation materials can be found here. Fujitsu has issued a conference report in July 2018, available here.
