Honorable Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Good morning. 
 

It is an enormous pleasure for me to be here today at the 8th Public–Private Dialogue Conference. And I am very pleased to have the opportunity to address such a distinguished group of leaders and champions; in government, business, and civil society. A truly international group that reflects the global nature of the common challenge we are facing – the challenge of creating a better and more sustainable world.

And what more fitting a place to discuss such challenges than in Denmark.

So, welcome to Denmark.  Welcome to Copenhagen.

I am sure that your time here will be both productive and inspiring, but I also hope you will have the opportunity to enjoy just a little bit of what our beautiful city has to offer.

2015 is a significant year. It marks the deadline of the promise of all Member States of the United Nations to improve the world through the achievement of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

15 years ago our ambitions were unprecedented – and the good news is that much has been achieved: millions of lives have been saved, the number of people living in extreme poverty has halved, 9 out of 10 children now go to school, malaria and tuberculosis have decreased significantly, and there have been visible improvements in all health areas. A decade ago we could hardly have imagined the progress that we are witnessing today.

However, significant gaps continue to persist. The achievement of the MDGs proves to be uneven among and within countries. Large inequities and inequalities continue to persist and, in some places, are even increasing.

More than 1.3 billion people continue to live in poverty, and of those children now going to school, it is questionable how many when leaving will be able to read and write.

So, we have not yet achieved what we set out to. Now, we stand at the beginning of the next leg of that long and challenging journey. Later this year, the international community will adopt a new global framework for sustainable development that will set the course for the years to come.

We must remain resolute in our determination to end poverty, to empower women and girls, to foster peace and security, to ensure every one access to quality health services and education and to protect and conserve our planet and its richness.

This journey is also one full of hope and aspiration. Ending poverty is within reach for the first time in history. It is truly a historical opportunity for our generation. However, we will only succeed, if persistent inequalities are addressed.

And the greatest inequality, as I see it, is gender inequality. Being born a girl should not prevent one from reaching their full potential, but unfortunately in many countries with restricted opportunities and choices, being born a girl does just that.

The numbers speak for themselves, when we talk about; teenage pregnancies, early and forced marriages, maternal mortality, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS.

I strongly believe that gender equality is the single most important thing that can be done to improve the world. It is a fundamental human right and the foundation for building sustainable, healthy and prosperous societies and communities.

It is a well-known fact that poverty disproportionately affects women. When women are given equal access to education, opportunities and resources the society as a whole will benefit. Men and women alike – must be involved and contribute. It is a prerequisite for ending poverty.  

The challenges ahead are daunting, but one thing is certain, rising to the challenge will require perseverance and joint effort. Realising sustainable development and ending poverty will require collaboration. No one can do it alone.

It will take partnerships – across continents, regions and countries and between the public and private sector. Governments at all levels, the business community, civil society, international organisations and citizens all have a role to play. All resources must be mobilized in order to create ‘real’ change.

Providing incentives and a conducive policy framework will be of key importance, yet sustainable development will not be brought about by policies alone. It must be taken up by societies as a principle, guiding the many choices each one of us makes every day: Raising awareness of the social and environmental implications of our choices as consumers and citizens. Shifting private companies’ production and how they do business in a more sustainable direction.

The private sector has a significant role to play. Private businesses can provide innovation, know-how, technology and expertise in a number of areas that are critical to ensuring sustainable development and finding new solutions.

Furthermore, ensuring a thriving private sector is a precondition for fostering growth. One of the key challenges is to ensure that growth happens while preserving the natural resource base, protecting the environment and ensuring social inclusiveness.

This is far from straight forward and gives rise to considerable challenges in many sectors.

Let’s take the fashion and textile industry as an example. This is one of the largest industries in the global economy. And it has a truly global value chain. In Denmark, it is the fourth largest industry and as such plays a key role in the Danish economy.

Globally, production often takes place in developing and middle-income countries and the clothes then travel through a vast number of brands to consumers all over the world. The demand on the fashion industry for constant economic growth is often at odds with environmental and social sustainability. And as such, the industry holds a much less fashionable top position as one of the most polluting industries in the world.

However, it is also a sector where an increasing amount of focus is being given to finding innovative solutions to critical environmental, social and ethical challenges by private businesses, employer organisations, labour, governments, international organisations and civil society alike.

Since 2009, Denmark has hosted the biennial Copenhagen Fashion Summit, the world’s largest focusing on creating a more sustainable industry.

It is an industry, where the challenges are great and where finding solutions is complex and requires partnership by all stakeholders. Collective action is needed from everyone involved in the fashion life-cycle from production to consumption. Everyone holds a responsibility.

There is no doubt, it is difficult and the progress is varied but the results can be inspirational. Not least for other industries.

Let me end by sharing a couple of concrete examples of valuable and responsible partnerships.

Last week, I attended a conference and saw a presentation of the HER project which aims to educate and increase awareness of health issues amongst female employees. This is done by creating workplace programs and linking multi-national companies and their suppliers to local NGO’s in a number of developing countries.

The presentation was made by the Danish fashion brand Bestseller who has implemented the HER project in the company’s supplier factories in Bangladesh.  

Providing information about female-related and other health issues and offering basic services at the work place has seen positive results; for example sickness related absence has been reduced by 20 percent among female workers and the women’s level of knowledge about basic health issues has improved – not only in the factories, but also in the local community.

Another example is a public-private partnership between the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the Malaysian government and academic partners. I had the opportunity to visit the project ‘Jom Mama’ (Come on mama) a few years ago.

The project targets young couples and aims to improve women’s health prior to and during pregnancy in order to minimise the risk of pregnancy-related complications and prevent the onset of diabetes for both mother and child later on in life.

The partnership brings together the expertise and knowledge of a private company to assist the public effort of addressing a critical health issue, namely the rapidly increasing prevalence of diabetes.

Both examples showcase how private companies can make a real difference.

Sharing experience and knowledge about challenges and possible solutions is invaluable. Sharing experience and insights is also about inspiring one another. Inspiring others to take on responsibility and actively promote more sustainable practices because we all have a responsibility.

Thank you.