After Sarajevo and Bijeljina, the third workshop on „Building capacity for integration of sustainable development goals into business strategies“ took place in Žepče on October 29th, 2019.

Representatives of 22 companies in jurisdiction of Development Agency Žepče (RAŽ) attended the awareness raising training on the importance and business opportunities that come with implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The companies were trained to use self-evaluation tools for SDG integration into business strategies as a tool to integration of current business strategies with SDGs and future business requirements.

The workshop was opened by the Mayor of Žepče municipality Mr. Mato Zovko. The workshop was facilitated by certified trainers using the Business Call to Action (BC2A) curriculum.  The companies that took part in the workshop had the opportunity to exchange ideas and listen about elements of good practice and first-hand experience from representatives of Tvornica cementa Kakanj, Omorika Recycling, and BONTEX.

The workshop explored the extent of readiness of the companies to engage in inclusive and sustainable business operations. The tools promoted will aid companies in their new business paths and support their development. This training will help the companies to advance their business strategies, strengthen their position while enhancing their profits.

The companies targeted in the workshop are the ones with particular interest for the SDGs implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The priority is given to the companies that can significantly decrease their ecological footprint, advance their energy efficiency, create better quality products/reduce production of pollutants, as well as companies that are active in sectors that employ significant number of employees that and have the need for additional information on compliance procedures regarding regulations and ethical business strategies.

The workshop was organized as part of the „SDG Roll-Out Support and Private Sector Engagement“ project financed by the Swedish Government. Through this project, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) carries out activities aimed at awareness raising and capacity development for interested private sector stakeholders towards the alignment of their business strategies with the SDGs.