Young Bangladeshi business leader among 10 UN SDG Pioneers

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Photo: UNB
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Photo: UNB

The United Nations Global Compact has announced 10 new SDG Pioneers - young business leaders including one from Bangladesh who are doing an exceptional job to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The young business leader selected from Bangladesh is Mashook Mujib Chowdhury, Sustainability Manager of DBL Group.

The 2019 SDG Pioneers will attend the UN Global Compact Leaders Week to be organized on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly from 23 to 26 September at the UN Headquarters in New York.

They will be speaking in the SDG Media Zone on September 25 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. (EDT). The session will be broadcast live.

The 2019 search for SDG Pioneers focused on professionals aged 35 and under, working at any level in a company participating in the UN Global Compact, according to UN Information Centre in Dhaka.

“These exceptional young professionals are demonstrating how breakthrough innovation can create the profitable business solutions needed to address today’s global challenges,” said Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact.

“The 2019 SDG Pioneers are setting a clear example of the kind of personal leadership that is needed to make the Global Goals a reality by 2030 — and inspiring many others to join the movement towards a more sustainable future for all.”

The SDG Pioneers were judged by an expert panel comprised of representatives of Government, business and civil society.

The selection criteria included the individuals' commitment to embedding the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact into their companies' core strategies, their efforts to advance the SDGs, as well as their engagement with the UN Global Compact and its Local Networks.

The SDG Pioneers programme is part of the UN Global Compact’s Making Global Goals Local Business campaign — a multi-year strategy to drive business awareness and action in support of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The other UN Global Compact SDG Pioneers are Regan Leahy, Assistant Citizenship Manager, Hogan Lovells, UK, Murtaza Ahmed, Managing Director, Artistic Milliners, Pakistan, Dylan McNeill, Director of Supplier Sustainability, Royal Philips, Netherlands, Muchtazar, Environment Sustainability Programme Officer, Unilever, Indonesia, SeoJia Han Alvin, Group Sustainability Manager, Singapore Telecommunications Limited, Singapore, Dr Joyce Sitonik, Head of Clinic Business Operations, AAR Health Care, Kenya, Lindsey Verhaeghe, Sustainability Initiatives and Reporting Manager, Nutrien, Canada, Meg Parker Young, Director of Impact Strategy and Development, Thomson Reuters, USA, Zaw Ye Naung, Founder, ShweTaungNyoGyi Co., Myanmar.