Executive Summary

“Food Sustainability – A Guide to Private Sector Action” has been prepared on the occasion of the First United Nations Private Sector Forum.

The guide has been produced by the United Nations Global Compact Office in close collaboration with the lead organizers of the Forum’s roundtable discussions: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Global Alliance for ICT and Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA-GAID), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Office for Partnerships (UNOP), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Bank (WB), and the World Food Programme (WFP). The thematic structure of the guide follows the topics of the Forum’s roundtable discussions:

1. Water management

2. Agricultural inputs and infrastructure

3. Financial mechanisms and management instruments

4. Nutrition

5. Energy and biofuels

6. The role of Information and Communication Technology

7. Job opportunities for rural low-income populations

Section introductions frame the issue at hand in the broader context of food sustainability outlining key challenges and suggesting actions that companies can take to make a positive contribution. They are supported by illustrative examples profiling different ways in which companies around the world are taking action in food sustainability - individually, collectively or in partnership with other stakeholders.

The examples are aimed to be illustrative rather than comprehensive, and drawing from a sample of both developing country companies and multinational corporations. They have been submitted by companies invited to attend the 2008 UN Private Sector Forum and by the UN agencies, funds and programs working on these issues, and are designed to inspire broader commitments and actions by the business community.

*Courtesy of the UN Global Compact

http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/news_events/9.1_news_archives/2008_09_24/food_sustainability.pdf