CACCI President Mr. Peter McMullin AM was in Bangkok, Thailand on May 19 to 20 to speak on a panel at the Regional Committee in Asia-Pacific (RCAP) meeting organized by the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO), of which CACCI is an active member.

With the theme “Defining the Present – Shaping the Future”, the meeting also served as the first global commemorative celebration of the 75th anniversary of CoNGO.

President McMullin joined the Open Panel on Business and Labour: For Human Rights and Sustainable Development, during which he focused his address on the need for partnerships (UN SDG 17) if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is no doubt that the challenges facing us are daunting in achieving the SDGs by 2030, according to Mr. McMullin.

However, he stressed that we cannot just get caught ‘observing the problem’. Instead, we must continue to work together to maximise peace and prosperity for our region.

President McMullin said he firmly believes that if civil society, government and business work together, we can ensure human rights are upheld while eliminating poverty (SDG 1) and ensuring decent work and economic growth (SDG 8).

In his final remarks he outlined the need to focus our efforts on gender equality (SDG 5) and mentioned that gender diversity offers two great opportunities:

• Businesses led by women in developing economies reinvest 80% of their income in the wellbeing and education of their families.
• Businesses led by women often take into account sustainability and decarbonisation into their business models.

If we are to lift all boats by the rising tide, he stated, we must ensure these opportunities are embraced and acted upon.