Baker McKenzie joins UN Global Compact’s Forward Faster Initiative to accelerate private sector action to reach SDGs
Baker McKenzie proudly announces it has joined the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Forward Faster initiative to accelerate private sector action at the pace and scale needed to deliver on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and meet the 2030 Agenda. Baker McKenzie is one of the first organizations to join the initiative, will and take action in line with the Firm’s prioritized SDGs to drive progress forward.
The Forward Faster initiative calls on business leaders everywhere to take measurable, credible, and ambitious action in areas where the private sector can collectively make the biggest, fastest impact to accelerate progress across all 17 SDGs by 2030.
Under the Forward Faster initiative, Baker McKenzie has committed to a gender equality target, specifically to drive equal gender representation, participation and leadership across all levels of management by 2030. Gender equality has long been a priority for Baker McKenzie, culminating in the Firm setting global gender aspirational targets (of 40:40:20 gender diversity by July 2025) in 2019.
Alyssa Auberger, Chief Sustainability Officer, states, “Our desire to be one of the first organizations to join this initiative is consistent with our belief that collective action is essential to driving meaningful, sustainable change. Sustainability and gender equality are part of our core values; with our global reach and expertise, we are well-placed to advance sustainability and gender equality initiatives and therefore, welcome the opportunity to engage with like-minded organizations and support global initiatives like Forward Faster aimed at accelerating progress.”
The SDG Progress Report released earlier this year by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, showed that just 15 percent of the SDG targets are on track, progress on 48 percent is weak and insufficient, and progress has stalled or gone into reverse on 37 percent of the SDGs.
Joyce Smith, member of Baker McKenzie’s Global Executive Committee, adds: “This initiative reflects a pivotal moment for the private sector in accelerating progress toward the SDGs. We are pleased to be part of it and to do our part as a global business in our own right.”
As an active participant of the UNGC since 2015, the participation in Forward Faster is a formal expression of the Firm’s values and commitment to driving positive change, and is an integral part of the Firm’s sustainability strategy, as detailed in its most recent Annual Sustainability Report.