“Building healthy and sustainable societies through leadership, partnership and social responsibility”

 Mr. Annan delivered the following remarks at the Corporate Social Responsibility Awards, held on 16-17 September 2013, in Holstebro, Denmark.

Thank you for those kind words and that welcome.

HRH Prince Joachim, ministers, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure for me to be with you today to discuss how we can work together to build healthy and sustainable societies.

It is a mark of the importance attached to this goal that this conference has attracted such a distinguished audience.

I also want to add my warmest congratulations to all those nominated for this year’s awards.

This recognition shows your determination to raise your sights and consider the wider impact you have on society and the environment.

By demonstrating that it is possible to combine economic development with environmental sustainability and social progress, you are setting an example which others must follow.

For only by combining these three objectives successfully can we move to a sustainable trajectory and hand over to future generations the fairer, more secure world that we urgently need.

This is an approach where Denmark is taking a strong lead.

This country and its neighbours often find themselves at the top of any global list measuring equity and citizen well-being.

Denmark, like any country, faces problems and stresses. New challenges arise and old ones remain.

But you have built over generations, a prosperous, peaceful and inclusive society.

According to a recent survey, there is no country where corruption has less of a grip.

On protecting the environment, you have also set high standards and bold ambitions.

With around a fifth of energy already provided from renewable sources, you have given yourself a target of achieving independence from fossil fuels by 2050.

Nor does your leadership and solidarity stop at your borders.

Denmark is among the handful of countries that has met the 0.7% target for development assistance.

It is a record in which collectively you can take huge pride.

Your determination to help tackle global problems and advance human development is shared widely, including in the business community.

The number of Danish companies that have adopted the UN Global Compact has increased five-fold since 2008.

Ladies and gentlemen, your example, values and leadership are needed as never before.

I am by nature an optimist but across the world there is real cause for concern.

Despite real progress, we seem certain to miss many of the Millennium Development Goals.

In a world of plenty, one in eight people still lives in extreme poverty.

Seven million children will die this year from diseases we have long had the power and knowledge to prevent.

57 million children are denied the chance even to attend primary school.

And while the worst of the global financial crisis is over, its impact can still be seen all around us.

We are seeing growing inequality of income and opportunity both within and between countries.

And it is young people who are paying the highest price for the mistakes and negligence which led to the economic crisis.

These challenges are being made worse by a rapidly deteriorating environment.

We continue to recklessly abuse our planet and ignore the fact that its resources are limited.

Forests are being cut down at the rate of 30 million acres every year – an area three times the size of Denmark.

We are increasing our water use at an unsustainable rate, yet one in five people already live in areas of water shortage.

One third of all the food we produce is wasted while 870 million of our fellow human beings go hungry every day.

And we continue to pollute our atmosphere, fresh water supplies and oceans.

Far from falling, global CO 2 emissions are almost 50% higher than in 1990.

Rising temperatures and extreme weather events are already affecting every continent.

We can see the consequences all around us.

They are displacing communities, heightening competition for resources, and raising national and regional tensions.

According to a recent study, climate change is already costing the world more than $1.2 trillion a year – 1.6% of the global GDP.

But this is just a taste of the costs and challenges we have to face unless we act now.

As climate change turns productive land into desert and reduces harvests, we will need to increase food production by 70 per cent by 2050 to meet the needs of population growth and increased demand.

Ladies and gentlemen, these few statistics clearly demonstrate that current patterns of economic growth are putting an unprecedented stress on the earth’s ecosystems, with potentially devastating outcomes for human well-being and life generally.

So what, as we begin to shape the post-2015 global development framework, is needed to build a sustainable future?

And above all, how can we ensure that sustainability is placed at the heart of decision-making so it is tackled with the urgency and on the scale needed?

First we need to set ambitious sustainable development goals which set out what we must do together for the well-being of the planet and for generations to come.

Economic development should aim to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce inequality and promote environmental sustainability.

We need to recognize the strong connections between these three objectives, and understand that each cannot be achieved in isolation.

We already know, for example from the MDGs, how crucial gender equality is for reducing poverty and improving health.

Second, we must understand that achieving the sustainable development goals depends on good governance at all levels – local, national, regional, and global.

This leadership must begin, but not end, at a political level.

It is governments which have the primary responsibility to promote development and set regulatory frameworks in a way which protects the healthy functioning of the Earth’s ecosystems.

But this requires political leaders to think about long-term benefits, beyond the short-term electoral cycle.

Tax reform, for example, is needed to encourage sustainable investment and manage production and consumption patterns in a way which takes into account our impact on natural resources and the environment.

The right incentives must be put in place to drive energy efficiency and ensure a shift to renewable sources of energy.

This shift to sustainability also requires governments and official agencies at every level to be responsive to their citizens’ aspirations and needs.

Third, sustainability requires the leadership and responsibility of business alongside the public sector and civil society.

It is the private sector which is the main motor of the world economy and which accounts for two-thirds of the use of our natural resources.

Companies should support sustainable development goals in practical and measurable ways, in their policies, production processes and engagement with stakeholders.

They should refrain from lobbying and political activities that might endanger these goals.

Businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, have to drive the research and technological advances which are critical to overcoming the challenges I have talked about.

Even on an issue as global in its reach as climate change, it is the private sector, within the wider framework set by Governments, which will identify and deliver the solutions we need.

It is business which can help, for example, harness Africa’s rich potential for solar and wind power.

It is the private sector, as is happening here in Denmark, which will make the increased investment in resource-efficient production and new technologies to reduce waste and increase clean power generation.

But it is also important that this knowledge and technology is shared on preferential terms with developing countries, and that businesses give back and create opportunities wherever they operate.

As far-sighted businesses have long understood, such decisions are neither altruism nor charity.

It is also the realization that healthy, sustainable businesses depend on peaceful communities and a healthy environment.

So businesses, as we see today, are increasingly realizing that corporate social responsibility is essential for their bottom-line.

It can help deliver benefits which range from improved efficiency and larger markets to increased staff morale and public trust.

I said earlier that I remained an optimist. I don’t doubt the scale of the task but we should take confidence from what has been achieved.

Looking at what we’ve learned from the MDGs, it is clear that much can be accomplished through partnership.

We need to work together across national borders and across sectors to identify and deliver the solutions for sustainable development.

Look, for example, at how the partnership between governments, the private sector, civil society, academia and foundations has transformed the health of millions of people.

Over the last decade, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has saved over nine million lives.

New HIV infections have been cut by over 20 per cent. Malaria deaths in Africa, the continent where it remains a huge health problem, are down by a third.

Tuberculosis deaths worldwide have fallen by more than 40 per cent.

We have seen, too, how mobile technology, driven by the innovation of the private sector, has ended one of the great divides by giving millions in the developing world access to information, networks, financial and other services.

We must also remember that delivering healthy societies and sustainable economies brings new opportunities.

Denmark is now reaping the benefit in new jobs and technological leadership from being one of the first countries to set about greening its economy.

Ladies and gentlemen, we need to find the same vision and determination to tackle global problems.

In an inter-connected world, when challenges and threats ignore borders more than ever before, we must remember that we sink or swim together.

I urge you to export the common sense of purpose and shared community which is the foundation of Denmark’s success around the world.

Thank you for the invitation to share my thoughts with you.