The Africa Regional Data Cube (ARDC), based on the Open Data Cube infrastructure, is a technological innovation that layers 17 years of satellite imagery and Earth observation data for five African countries. This report identifies the key enabling environment, data management and sharing factors that affect the operationalization of the ARDC and makes recommendations to inform the scale-up of the technology, furthering SDGs 9 and 17.

This report represents more than a decade of research on sustainable business. Together with the UN Global Compact Progress Report, it forms the world’s most comprehensive research to date on business contribution to the SDGs, advancing Goals 12 and 17.

The SDG National Reporting Initiative was launched to facilitate greater information-sharing on SDG reporting between international, regional, and local communities, furthering SDGs 16 and 17. This report summarises the state of SDG reporting as well as challenges and successes identified during the implementation of the SDG National Reporting Initiative.

In May 2019, GIZ partnered with the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and the Governments of Kenya and Ghana to organize a joint peer learning workshop for partners engaged in SDG implementation and monitoring from both countries. The aim of the workshop was to share and learn from each others experiences in the area of SDG monitoring and engage in a technical cross-country exchange, furthering SDG 17.

Focussing on SDGs 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), Dr Alison Gardner, head of the Rights Lab’s Governance Programme, discusses the Slavery-Free Communities Programme’s work, highlighting promising practices in the context of Nottingham and the UK.

Despite the great potential of mobile data to support the delivery of the sustainable development agenda across sub-Saharan Africa, access to the data remains a great challenge due to real or perceived barriers. In order to address gaps in timely data that provide information on the SDGs, a multistakeholder workshop was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in February 2019, contributing to SDGs 9 and 17.

Advancing goal 17, this report seeks to inspire and guide companies, governments, cities and others involved in the implementation of Agenda 2030 to tap into the private capital markets and benefit from cheaper and more reliable capital to support the implementation of their SDG strategies. It introduces a roadmap for mainstream SDG bonds and corporate SDG finance to tap into the largest assets classes and respond to the specific financing challenges in emerging markets.

Investors, governments, and other stakeholders are increasingly demanding that companies demonstrate sustainable strategies aligned with the SDGs. A credible SDG strategy allows a company to clearly communicate its impact, facilitates easier access to the growing market for SDG financing, and connects investors with a pipeline of potential opportunities to address the SDG investment gap. This guide seeks to support companies looking to integrate the SDGs into their financial strategy and business model, contributing to SDGs 8, 12 and 17.

While the public sector and public finance will be core to the implementation of the SDGs, it is widely acknowledged that the private sector and capital markets must also play a key role. This report furthers SDGs 8, 12 and 17 by seeking to inspire major players in the investment value chain to build a market for mainstream SDG investments, with enough scale, liquidity and diversification to attract large institutional investors and finance a broad set of private- and public-sector activities in support of the SDGs.

This report provides an assessment of how companies in the UN Global Compact are adopting the Ten Principles and taking action to deliver on the SDGs. It contributes to Goals 10, 12 and 17.