The arrival of the new industrial revolution - or Industry 4.0 - promises considerable opportunities for inclusive and sustainable development for both manufacturers and governments, according to a new report.

The report, titled “Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals - seizing the opportunity in global manufacturing”, was developed jointly by PwC, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido) and the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS).

It explores the relevance for manufacturing businesses of achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - also called the Global Goals - and examines how global manufacturing organisations can align their strategy with SDGs.

Greater sustainability can help manufacturing and industrial businesses unlock trillions in growth opportunities. At the same time, governments will turn to business to help them shape and implement policy measures that advance sustainable economic growth and inclusive prosperity, said the report.

The report states that SDGs offer tremendous economic opportunities for global manufacturing players and businesses at large, if captured and applied as part of long-term and inclusive growth strategies.

A systematic, collaborative relationship between governments and manufacturers is therefore vital for the successful achievement of the global development agenda.

It also aligns with the Business and Sustainable Development Commission’s flagship report “Better Business, Better World” issued in earlier this year at Davos, Switzerland, showing how pursuing the global goals could raise trillions in new market opportunities in ways that extend prosperity to all.

The report revealed that sustainable and inclusive business models could unlock economic opportunities worth at least $12 trillion a year by 2030 and generate up to 380 million jobs, mostly in developing countries.

But that the total economic prize from implementing the global goals could be anywhere between two and three times larger still, assuming that the benefits are captured across the whole economy and accompanied by much higher labour and resource productivity.

Dr Anil Khurana, partner, strategy and innovation at PwC and a member of the organising committee at GMIS, said: “The SDGs offer businesses - including manufacturers - a unique opportunity to set their course towards a genuinely sustainable long-term strategy, one in which they can align better with governments and regulators, use energy and other resources much more efficiently, lower their costs and improve their innovation in terms of both products and production methods.”

“The countdown has already begun in the race to achieve the SDGs, but global manufacturing should see it as a long-term play. CEOs therefore have much to consider and many moving parts to assimilate when it comes to the SDGs, but if they can meet these challenges, the rewards that await them are considerable indeed,” he added.

Ludovico Alcorta, director, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, said: “Building vibrant and systematic partnerships with industry is a vital prerequisite for the successful implementation of today’s transformative agenda toward accelerating poverty reduction and sustainable development.”

“Government and business must work together to create clear policy frameworks and incentives to ensure that profits are translated into sustained economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection,” he said.

“Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 9 will foster strong, sustainable and balanced growth and prosperity by creating jobs and mainstreaming cleaner industrial solutions. But leveraging industry’s potential to create lasting development results calls for new forms of partnership that put forward innovative business models that respond to commercial priorities while also delivering on the development front,” he concluded.

The inaugural GMIS will conclude today (March 30) at the Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, UAE.

A joint initiative by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the Unido, and co-hosted with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, the summit will be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

The summit is the world’s first global gathering for the manufacturing community, bringing together leaders in business, government and civil society to shape a vision for the sector’s future, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service