UNESCO and the abrdn Charitable Foundation (aCF) have announced a 3-year partnership today, to promote environmental sustainability through research and education with the goal of developing innovative solutions to environmental concerns. As the first financial services company to enter into a partnership with UNESCO, abrdn, through the aCF, will support UNESCO programmes on environmental sustainability, climate change and water and ocean science.
UNESCO and the abrdn Charitable Foundation (aCF) intend to establish an advisory board comprised of representatives from both organisations. The members of the advisory board will be selected for their expertise and shared vision of a more sustainable world; they will decide on projects and identify areas for broader collaboration.
The partnership will promote the role of biosphere reserves and other UNESCO sites to act as pilot sites for sustainable development and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably the SDGs related to water (SDG 6), climate (SDG 13), the ocean (SDG 14) and land (SDG 15). Support will be provided in particular to the work of UNESCO’s intergovernmental science programmes, notably the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) within UNESCO sites.
Ana Luiza Thompson-Flores, Director, UNESCO Regional Bureau for science and Culture in Europe, expressed her enthusiasm for partnering with the abrdn Charitable Foundation in these areas of great importance to UNESCO. She noted the critical need for UNESCO to partner with the private sector, particularly the financial sector, to advocate innovative approaches to sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Stephen Bird, chief executive officer, abrdn, said: “The major challenges we are all facing today around climate change and biodiversity loss need collective solutions and we are excited to embark on this partnership with UNESCO. Our vision for a better future starts with asking more of ourselves and this partnership is an important step for us as we work with UNESCO towards achieving our ambitions around creating sustainable change.”
UNESCO has been at the forefront of furthering the sustainable development agenda, so we are delighted to be able to collaborate with them to deliver projects aimed at sharing their knowledge with the financial sector.
