Governments worldwide are increasingly recognizing the role of business investment to reach the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and have adopted measures to promote investment. According to the UN’s estimate, in order to achieve the UN SDGs, $2.5 trillion of investments will be required each year in developing countries, and a majority of this will necessarily be contributed by private sector. 

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the only private sector Observers to the UN General Assembly with the aim of encouraging business sector to support the SDGs. Nowadays, while many companies have already expressed their intention and vision to integrate SDGs in their business operation, ICC is dedicated itself to play an important role in leveraging private sector for sustainable development, especially companies in developing countries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the shareholder maximization and profit-seeking still remain the prevalent vision among the public, there is an emerging consensus recognizing the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the business and its role to pursue social, environmental and economic goals. In the view of ICC, aligning business investment with SDGs is a smart business strategy since there are many opportunities in the environmental industry. However, sometime, there are difficulties in unlocking investment opportunities, especially in an era of increasing protectionism with more restrictive trade and investment policies. For business predictability, efficiency and transparency are critical elements for encouraging investment. Thus, an effective policy taken by government may have an immediate and positive effect. 

ICC published in 2016 Guidelines for International Investment, which sets out principles for both governments and investors on various issues such as finance, fiscal policies, ownership, management, technology and anti-corruption. 

ICC encourages governments to adopt policies to align investments and SDGs. In 2017, ICC released its latest version of the Business Charter for Sustainable Development, which provides a practical framework and sets out tools for businesses to shape their strategy in relation to sustainable development.