Engagement with the private sector
The United Nations strongly believes in the power of private sector engagement and has a long history of working with the private sector. In recent years, we have been forming innovative partnerships with the private sector by leveraging their local and industry expertise to strengthen emergency preparedness and response.
This collaboration has become more and more important given that the number of people affected by humanitarian crises continues to increase. It has become clear that the complexity of the world’s emergencies requires the coordinated action of diverse actors, including the private sector. Businesses are key members of the communities affected by humanitarian emergencies, are often among the first responders on the ground and therefore play an instrumental role in localized response.
OCHA’s work with the private sector is guided by the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, the Secretary-General’s guidelines on cooperation between the United Nations and the Business Sector, OCHA-WEF Guiding Principles for Public-Private Collaboration for Humanitarian Action and the Agenda for Humanity.
There are many reasons that private sector actors get involved in humanitarian response.
They include
To save lives:
Natural disasters, political crises and chronic emergencies are killing millions of people each year. They rob individuals and nations of their potential by destroying local economies, infrastructure and livelihoods. By engaging in emergencies, businesses can guarantee that their efforts will play a key role in reducing the suffering of people in vulnerable communities and these efforts will be seen by customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
To strengthen brands:
Consumers expect their favourite brands to not only satisfactorily deliver products and services but to have a strong Corporate Social Responsibility that enables them to help the needy. By engaging in emergencies, businesses associate their brands with strengthening emergency preparedness and response, reinforce their brands and attract more customers.
To motivate staff:
Businesses report that one of the biggest incentives for engaging in humanitarian action is to motivate their employees. By engaging in emergencies and giving employees the opportunity to save lives in a crisis, businesses not only meet their Corporate Social Responsibility objectives but also meet their business objectives by increasing staff retention, staff morale and loyalty as well as recruitment of talent.
To foster innovation:
Business know how, expertise and skills can play an important role in saving lives in crises. Armed with cutting-edge and state-of-the-art technology, businesses can help the humanitarian community approach challenges in novel and creative ways – leading to innovation for both the humanitarian community and business.
Connecting Business initiative
Launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016, the Connecting Business initiative (CBi) is a joint initiative between OCHA and UNDP that engages the private sector at the intersection of the humanitarian, development and peace agendas. The initiative aims to transform the way the private sector engages before, during and after emergencies, increasing the scale and effectiveness of the response in a coordinated manner. By working together with and supporting private sector networks around the world, CBi strengthens strategic engagement of the private sector in disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery at societal, sectoral and company level, and connects the private sector with national, regional and international coordination structures.