UNCSD Update – 14 February 2013 – Sustainable Development Policy & Practice

ECOSOC President Outlines Plans and Programmes for 2013

13_February 2013: The newly elected 69th President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Néstor Osorio, has highlighted that the Council’s work in 2013 will center around integrating the three pillars of sustainable development into UN development efforts. continued…

UN Greening the Blue Reviews Report on Vision of a Sustainable UN

February_2013: UN Greening the Blue has reviewed a report, titled “A Vision of a Sustainable UN.” The report reflects the ideas of current UN leaders and focuses on five concepts: commitment, efficiency, being outcome-focused, dynamism, and being networked. continued…

UN Secretary-General Releases Note on Measuring Happiness and Well-Being

February_2013: The UN Secretary-General has released a note on “Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development” (A/67/697). This report, dated 16 January 2013, gathers the views of Member States and international organizations on the identification of indicators for the “pursuit of happiness and well-being.” continued…

UNTT Think Piece Explores Partnerships for Disaster Resilience

January_2013: The UN Task Team for the Post-2015 Development Agenda (UNTT), along with eight UN agencies, has released a new thematic think piece titled “Building resilience to disasters through partnerships.” The paper assesses lessons learned from the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA), and explores the localization and strengthening of partnerships for disaster reduction.continued…

DSD Hosts Online Panel Discussion on Rio+20 Follow-up

12_February 2013: The Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) of the UN Department for Economic and Social Development (DESA) hosted an online panel discussion as part of its ongoing follow-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The event took place on Google+ Hangout and featured four UN and civil society experts: Nikhil Seth, DSD Director; Elizabeth Thompson, Rio+20 Executive Coordinator; Langston James “Kimo” Goree VI, International Institute for Sustainable Development Reporting Services (IISD RS); and Jacob Scherr, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).continued…

UNICEF, UN Women Release February Newsletter on Inequalities Consultation

11_February 2013: The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women have released the second Online Newsletter on the Post-2015 Global Thematic Consultation on Inequalities.continued…

Beyond 2015 Campaign Highlights Efforts to Build Consensus

11_February 2013: The Beyond 2015 campaign has published a monthly update for January 2013. The update highlights three areas of work on the post-2015 framework: national consultations; consensus building; and an upcoming Civil Society Organization (CSO) conference.continued…

UNDP Administrator Recommends Placing NCDs on Global Development Agenda

11_February 2013: In a lecture titled “UN Progress on the Global Development Agenda, Post-2015 and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs),” UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark highlighted progress on health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). continued…

UN International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 Launched

11_February 2013: Highlighting the importance of cooperation to address freshwater management challenges, ensure access to water for all, conserve ecosystems and prevent conflict over transboundary resources, the UN International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC) was launched at the headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France. continued…

Global Compact Bulletin Highlights Private Sector Solutions in Post-2015

February_2013: The latest issue of the UN Global Compact Bulletin highlights the completion of the pilot phase of Global Compact LEAD, which was launched in 2011. Private sector executives met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum (WEF), to mark the next phase of the corporate sustainability leadership platform.  continued…

UNICEF, UN Women Release Final Report on Inequalities Consultation

7_February 2013: The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women have issued the final version of the Synthesis Report of the Global Public Consultation on Addressing Inequalities.continued…

European Parliament Adopts CSR Reports

7_February 2013: Members of the European Parliament discussed corporate social responsibility (CSR) and adopted two reports on the topic, during its February 2013 meeting in Strasbourg, Germany. The Parliament called on businesses to become more responsible by pursuing strategies for sustainable growth.continued…

UN Secretary-General Releases Advance Report on Strengthening ECOSOC

4_February 2013: The UN Secretary-General has released the advance unedited version of a report titled “Implementation of General Assembly Resolution 61/16 on the Strengthening of the Economic and Social Council.” The report looks at methods for strengthening the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and recommends ways to make the body more “issue-oriented, knowledge-based, [and] stakeholder-friendly.” continued…

SLoCaT Partnership Highlights EMBARQ’s China Transportation Briefing for 2013

1_February 2013: The World Resources Institute’s EMBARQ Center for Sustainable Transport, a member of the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), has released its China Transportation Briefing for 2013 through the online blog TheCityFix.continued…

OECD-AfDB Workshops Address Green Growth in Africa

18_January 2013: Zambia, in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), recently hosted two workshops on the theme “Green Growth in Africa: Concepts, Tools and Strategies for Building Greener Economies and a Sustainable Future.”  continued…