Once again, we are delighted to bring you the 3^rd edition of the UN-Business Focal Point e-newsletter...

Recently, The Dow Chemical Company and Blue Planet Run Foundation  assembled at the United Nations in New York to announce a partnership to bring clean drinking water to the 1.2 billion people in the world who do not have access to it...

UNDP has entered into a new partnership with a commercial bank, ANZ Bank, to devise commercially viable business models for delivering banking services to the un-served and under-served in the Pacific...

When the tsunami struck the nations of the Indian Ocean in December 2004, the United Nations responded with a UN Flash Appeal — an emergency funding mechanism designed to address such extraordinary disasters through ad hoc government contributions. However, it was soon apparent that the situation in the Maldives was unique, and that additional funding would be necessary if the nation was to “build back better”...

Beginning on September 12, 2006, Google Earth – Google’s 3D virtual world browser – will feature UNEP: Atlas of our Changing Environment, offering satellite images of environmental hotspots from around the world. The project builds on the success of UNEP’s very popular hardcover release One Planet, Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment...

On September 7, 2006 Futbol Club Barcelona and UNICEF began a global partnership to benefit children in the developing world; another positive step by the world’s first football club to formally support the UN Millennium Development Goals...

The Galapagos Islands of Ecuador received a $5 Million donation to help construct a $10 Million, 2.4 megawatt wind farm that will provide energy for half of the island’s 6000 residents and reducing CO₂ emissions from the existing diesel generating plant by an estimated 2,800 tons per year...

Within the framework of its innovative partnership strategy with the private sector and bilateral partners in development, UNDP has designed a project aimed at reducing and mitigating deforestation with financial support from Shell Djibouti and the Netherlands...

It’s not every day that a private sector employee gets seconded to a UN agency. And this assignment has been unique: a year spent with the United Nations Development Programme, helping to build and manage a partnership project between The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), the United Nations Foundation (UNF) and UNDP in support of the long-term tsunami reconstruction effort...

Highlighting again the importance of good governance and accountability, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued his tenth, and final, Report on the work of the Organization...

On 15 August, the Copenhagen Business School and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) co-hosted a workshop on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) that generated a vibrant debate about their contribution to equitable and sustainable development. The issue of UN-business partnerships occupied much of the discussions...

More than 1,500 representatives of nearly 500 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from 62 countries participated in the 59^th annual DPI/NGO Conference, which took place at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 6-8 September. This year’s Conference dealt with the “Unfinished Business: Effective Partnerships for Human Security and Sustainable Development”...

International organizations, leading representatives of the public sector and the private sector, national and foreign investors and financers met in Ankara on 15-16 September 2006 for the “International Public-Private Partnerships Summit” to share their experiences on sustainable development in the area of public-private partnerships and to discuss ways of expanding the scope of cooperation...

The biggest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) event of the year in Asia gathered more than 500 delegates from 24 countries, representing 380 organizations. In addition to such a large convening power, there were 101 speakers and moderators from 19 countries and 57 exhibitors in the expo area. All these participation figures set all-time records since the Asian Forum on CSR started 5 years ago...

As increasing attention is drawn to the role and responsibility of business in addressing issues of global concern, new alliances between business and the public sector are and will remain quite complex. Issues such as human rights and migration tie into the much more visible and comprehensive theme of development, but generate additional challenges for the forces of change. Mary Robinson’s presentation was a frank assessment of the global trends in human rights, business and migration and how these issues can and should be addressed in the age of globalization and in the context of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)...

The fourth annual UN Global Compact Barcelona Local Networks Forum took place on the 26-27 September 2006 and convened representatives of Local Networks (companies and focal points), UN agencies and donor governments from around the world to share experiences, review progress, and adopt recommendations enhancing the effectiveness of Local Networks...

Donna’s first peek into the workings of the UN dates back to her communications and fundraising efforts with UNICEF in Canada. Even at that time 24 years ago, UNICEF sought to engage civil society, including business, as a responsible driver of development...

The World Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) has developed a tool to investigate allegations of fraud, corruption, collusion, and coercion in Bank operations...

The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), the UN Global Compact and Fundacion Ideas Para la PAz have released a report entitled Development, Peace, and Human Rights in Colombia: a Business Agenda that emphasizes practical ways in which various organizations in Colombia can collaborate to address vulnerable populations such as the internally displaced, and support the re-integration of ex-combatants into Colombian society...

The Clinton Global Initiative/Dalberg Task Force on Program Delivery has just released From Talk to Walk: Ideas to Optimize Development Impact, a report that addresses the operational inefficiencies and lack of innovation in the delivery of development programs which serve as major obstacles to social and economic development in the world’s poorest countries...

The White Paper, entitled From Funding to Action: Strengthening Health Care Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, was launched at the World Economic Forum on Africa on June 1st and summarizes the findings of two multi-stakeholder workshops held in sub-Saharan Africa and of a series of high-level interviews that took place during the WEF’s 2006 Annual Meeting in Davos...

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has released a new tool called A Business Guide to Development Actors: Introducing Company Managers to the Development Community for identifying potential partners for development related projects they may be considering, as well as to encourage development agencies to increase their visibility within the business community by submitting profiles...

This report, entitled The State of Business and HIV/AIDS (2006): A Baseline Report, was published by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS and evaluates business response to the fight against HIV/AIDS and identifies key strategies for companies to leverage their core competencies in order to reduce the pandemic...

This report, entitled Evaluating the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Partnerships, was written to analyse the purpose and value added of partnerships; to review evaluations of partnerships and the methodologies used, and to summarise lessons learnt; and to consider how the evaluation of partnerships could be strengthened including by identifying possible elements of a partnership evaluation framework...

A list of upcoming events relevant to UN private sector focal points...

The names and contact information for new colleagues...