Most influential SDGs initiatives launched by WFE in 2023

26 / 12 / 2023

By Marwa Nassar - -

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has launched several influential initiatives in 2023 to serve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The WEF’s impact initiatives range from the First Movers Coalition promoting emerging climate technologies to initiatives aimed at helping refugees fleeing war to find work.

First Movers Coalition:

The World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition (FMC) helps advance the most critical, emerging climate technologies required to decarbonize the world’s heavy-emitting sectors.

Today, the coalition is the world’s largest, private sector, clean demand signal for emerging climate technologies.

Since it was launched two years ago at COP26, FMC member companies have moved from commitments to action with 94 offtake agreements already signed to purchase emerging climate technologies.

Helping refugees to find work:

Refugees and forcibly displaced populations are often locked out of labor markets in their host countries.

To address this challenge, the World Economic Forum launched the Refugee Employment Alliance in May 2022.

At the end of 2023, partners of the Alliance have hired more than 54,000 refugees across the globe. And by December 2027, they expect to hire an additional 125,000 refugees and support 33,000 with mentoring, skills training, and access to digital devices.

Alliance for Clean Air:

Currently, 99% of the global population lives in places where air pollution levels exceed World Health Organization safe guideline limits.

The Alliance for Clean Air was launched to promote private sector efforts to improve air quality across their supply and value chains.

Influential multinational companies in the Alliance have committed to measuring air pollutants from their operations and reporting the results in their sustainability reports. They are also exploring the impact of their existing climate strategies and ways to go even further through specific air pollution mitigation measures.

Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation:

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation supports trade reform in developing and least developed countries (LDCs). It brings public-private partnerships to make cross-border trade simpler, faster, and more cost-effective.

The Alliance has now successfully delivered 14 projects, supporting developing countries and LDCs in fulfilling their commitments under the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.

By the end of 2022, Alliance initiatives had already achieved an initial 10-times return on investment, saving $60 million in seven project countries.

Closing gender gap:

It will take until 2154 to close the global gender gap at today’s rate of change, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2023.

However, the World Economic Forum has supported 14 countries in convening Gender Parity Accelerators – national public-private collaboration platforms – that are designed to help close economic gender gaps.

The accelerators work with more than 80 public sector and 1,150 private sector partners across these countries to increase female labor force participation and advance equity in pay and leadership. They’ve reached nearly three-quarters of a million women to date.

Unlocking clean energy in emerging markets:

Developing clean, renewable energy in emerging economies could boost energy security, as well as reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and therefore helping them meet their sustainable economic development and climate targets.

Within the Mobilizing Investment for Clean Energy in Emerging Economies initiative, the World Economic Forum has been working to unlock renewable energy finance for four of the biggest emerging and developing economies; India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Nigeria.

The Forum and its partners are developing bold proposals that can make a difference in many nations. This includes repurposing coal plants to become renewable assets and establishing the Cost of Capital Observatory for energy investments.