Businesses have a critical role to play in solving today’s crises, rebuilding trust and building a sustainable future. From climate disruption to widening inequality, the role of the private sector has never been more crucial.

As the global financial sector wrapped up the International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, Spain, last week, the stakes and the opportunities have never been higher.

Investing in sustainability is not just a moral choice — it’s a financial one.

From facing contemporary challenges to navigating new reporting requirements, leading a successful business requires applying a sustainability lens.

Throughout the Forum, the UN Global Compact engaged with CEOs, Government leaders and civil society to emphasize business-driven solutions and to look at what the public and private sector can do collectively to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With more than one billion working people (a third of the global workforce) struggling to earn enough for a decent standard of living, ensuring a living wage is paramount to our achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

Sustainable finance supports mobilizing private and public capital to fund projects that advance inclusive growth outcomes, such as mitigating climate change, enhancing social equity and fostering sustainable economic growth.

The gathering focused on the need for land restoration, highlighting the importance of soil health, the increasing risk of drought and the impacts of degraded land on migration, geopolitical tensions and food insecurity.

COP29 concluded recently in Baku, Azerbaijan. With mixed results, the conference sought to mobilize and align private and public finance to support ambitious climate goals and find agreement on many other critical issues.

The urgency is clear: we must act now to bridge the ever-widening climate finance gap, estimated at $4 trillion annually.

At COP29, the private sector has a pivotal opportunity to lead the charge in financing and driving sustainable climate solutions on a global scale.

Updated every five years, NDCs are meant to progressively increase ambition, keeping the world on track to meet the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement.