This year’s UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC look different than any other year—as does the level of urgency around these moments. Over the last six months, the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing movement for racial justice have magnified the inequities that have long-plagued our economies and societies. And with the impacts of the climate crisis increasingly visible, we have no time to waste in designing and implementing a green, just and inclusive recovery.

Business can, and must, lead the way toward this future and an economy that works for all of us. This September marks 50 years since Milton Friedman declared that the "social responsibility of business is to increase its profits." Today, that thinking's left us with massive inequities, a burning planet and broken trust the world over. In 2020, we must reset our economy to maximize shared well-being on a healthy planet.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be driving this imperative forward through discussions we’re both hosting and joining virtually. Here’s where you can find our Leaders and our team during the UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC.

What We’re Hosting

September 23, 9:00am-10:00am ET

Build Back Better: Designing A Future That Leaves No One Behind

We’ve reached a convergence of crises—from COVID-19 and its socio-economic implications to climate—and none can be addressed or resolved in isolation. While their causes are manifold, they share a common feature: they are all underpinned and exacerbated by structural inequalities along the lines of race, gender, migration status and more. How can we advance inclusive approaches to tackle these intersecting crises, increase resilience to future shocks and ultimately ‘build back better’? What is the role of the corporation in this pursuit?

In partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce and the UN Global Compact, and supported by the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, we’ll be exploring these questions, and more, in an interactive, virtual session hosted as part of the SDG Business Forum.

Speakers:

• Silvia Dias Lagnado, Sustainable Growth Officer, Natura &Co
• Hiro Mizuno, B Team Leader, Former CIO, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund and Independent Director, Board of Directors and Audit Committee, Tesla
• Leena Nair Chief Human Resources Officer, Unilever
• Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom
• Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO, Oxfam GB
• Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO and Chief Change Catalyst, The B Team (moderator)

Where We’re Speaking

September 16, 11:30am-1:00pm ET

Mary Robinson Speaker Series on Business and Human Rights: Building a Just Recovery: Workers’ Views on the Post-Pandemic Economy

The COVID-19 pandemic has both exposed and exacerbated deep inequalities between companies and the workers and communities they depend on. In this virtual edition of its Mary Robinson Speaker Series on Business and Human Rights, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre will bring together labor voices from hard-hit communities and regions and global thinkers to discuss the path to rebuilding an economy that serves and respects the rights of all its participants.

Speakers include:

• Sharan Burrow, Vice-Chair, The B Team and General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
• Mary Robinson, Chair, The Elders and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

September 21-23

Uniting Business Live

The aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could not be more urgent. With the Decade of Action to reach the SDGs underway, the UN Global Compact will host a series of three forums to advance ambitious action to achieve the Goals. Together, CEOs, corporate sustainability experts and business leaders will address gaps in progress, drive business ambition on the SDGs and highlight solutions that are ready to take forward today.

Speakers include:

• Ajay Banga, CEO, Mastercard | Closing Remarks, Sept. 23, 1:30-2:00 ET
• Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka Group (IKEA) | Partnerships To Achieve The SDGs in The COVID-19 Era, Sept. 23, 7:30-08:30am ET
• Sharan Burrow, Vice-Chair, The B Team and General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation | Global Leaders Roundtable, Sept. 21, 12:30-1:30pm ET
• Emmanuel Faber, Chairman and CEO, Danone | The Business Case for a Resilient Rebuild, Sept. 23, 12:30-1:30pm ET
• Paul Polman, Chair, The B Team and CEO (2009-2018), Unilever | Business Response/Reflections on 75 Years, Sept. 21, 10:00-11:00am ET and The Business Case for a Resilient Rebuild, Sept. 23, 12:30-1:30pm ET

September 22, 9:00-9:45am ET

Protecting Jobs: Decent Work Solutions for a Just Transition

With the right policies in place, just transition strategies could generate 24 million new jobs globally by 2030. During the Climate Action Summit of 2019, 46 countries recognized this imperative. Together, they committed to develop national plans for a just transition, placing decent work and a just transition for all at the center of climate action. As part of this year's SDG Action Zone, the International Labor Organization will gather labor leaders, youth activists and economists to discuss policy priorities for formulating these just transition strategies.

Speakers include:

• Sharan Burrow, Vice-Chair, The B Team and General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation

September 22, 12:00-1:00pm ET

Walmart Sustainability Milestone Summit: Accelerating Progress Toward a Sustainable Future

To keep the promise of the Paris Agreement and limit warming below 1.5°C, the world must take immediate action to reverse nature loss and drastically reduce and sequester greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Walmart’s Sustainability Milestone Summit will bring together CEOs and business and NGO leaders to discuss ambitious, transformative initiatives underway to confront the climate crisis, restore natural resources and improve the livelihoods of people who depend on them, and more.

Speakers include:

• Emmanuel Faber, Chairman and CEO, Danone
• Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever

September 23, 10:00-11:40am ET

Conquering the Climate Decade

Over the last six months, we’ve seen governments and businesses respond to a major emergency in unprecedented ways. They’ve built bold and comprehensive policies and programs to protect people’s lives and livelihoods in the face of a rapidly shifting crisis. What lessons can we learn from these initiatives as we address the climate crisis over the next decade? The Climate Group will bring together policymakers and civil society and business leaders to discuss how 2020’s reshaped

Speakers include:

• Christiana Figueres, Co-Founder, Global Optimism and former Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

September 24, 9:00am-10:00am ET

Climate Leadership NOW

While climate action has consistently proven itself to make good business sense, the threat of the climate crisis has become increasingly apparent. The next decade will be crucial to put us on track to decarbonize the economy. Business does not claim to have all the answers nor cannot it do everything—but the power of corporate leaders to help accelerate the pace of change is profound. The We Mean Business Coalition and the hosts of Outrage + Optimism will come together in this discussion to explore what corporate climate leadership needs to look like in the 2020s.

Speakers include:

• Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO and Chief Change Catalyst, The B Team