UK Stakeholder's for sustainable development [UKSSD] wrote an open letter to Mrs May last week. It was published in the Times. It's here:
Dear Prime Minister,
As a group of businesses investing in making our economy fit for the future, we support sustainable development in the UK. This is essential for our long-term prosperity and the wellbeing of generations to come. The UK Government played a leading role in developing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and adopted them just over a year ago. As businesses, we’re ready to take responsibility and work with the Government to make sure the SDGs are delivered in the UK and around the world.
Sustainable development will create jobs, increase competitiveness and secure the natural resources our economy relies on. We support your Government to:
- Demonstrate to business your commitment to deliver the SDGs in the UK
- Work with businesses to deliver the SDGs, creating a transparent reporting framework and clear benchmarks
- Require all departments, not only the Department for International Development, to work with business and other stakeholders to develop an SDG delivery plan
Together we can build a fairer, sustainable and more prosperous Britain.
Yours sincerely,
I was struck by three things. The first was the clunky wording, but I'm used to that. The second was that I'd not heard of ~50% of the companies that signed it (but I do live a sheltered life), and the third was that were no (as far as I could see) education bodies involved. Not even the ubiquitous EAUC was there, although it is now a member of UKSSD; nor was UUK. What does this say? Well, it might say that this was just about business and what it can do. But education is a business, and it is certainly working to "build a fairer, sustainable and more prosperous Britain". I also wondered where was the TUC, but that's another story.
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