UN calls on business to help rebuild a better world after the pandemic

The UN this week urged the business world to help rebuild a better world after the coronavirus pandemic, with urgent action in areas such as climate change and the fight against inequality. According to the organization, the crisis of COVID-19 has made the weaknesses of today's world very clear and amplified its problems, but it also offers an opportunity to respond to them. 

This was the central message that some of its main leaders conveyed at the opening of a virtual summit of the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative founded 20 years ago in which thousands of companies participate and commit themselves to include in their strategies and operations a series of principles regarding human rights, the environment or the fight against corruption.

"Now more than ever, when major decisions are made about our future, companies need to address environmental, social and governance risks in a comprehensive way and go beyond the norm," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a speech. . 

According to Guterres, in the midst of the climate crisis and with the social fabric fracturing in many places, companies need to show more ambition, unity and willingness to cooperate. "If we can't make globalization work for everyone, it won't work for anyone," warned the Portuguese diplomat. 

UN General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande also urged ensuring that recovery from the pandemic builds a "more sustainable" world, accelerating the transition to a green economy, and "an inclusive future" for all. 

The summit of the United Nations Global Compact, which is being held in virtual format because of the coronavirus, has taken place over 24 hours over the Internet, passing the baton from one city to another across the planet. The President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde, was the first to speak on Monday at the opening of the event, with a speech in which she argued that "a better world must rise from the ashes of the pandemic". The principles that should guide this transformation, she stressed, already exist and are reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals, the great agenda against poverty and for the protection of the environment approved by the United Nations and in force until 2030.