Transforming Barbados Through Sustainable Business: Major UN–Private Sector Forum Charts New Ground

“Sustainability is not charity, it’s smart business,” said the UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Simon Springett, at the opening of a vibrant UN and private sector forum this week.

The event, hosted by the UN and the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), brought together a variety of UN agencies[i], the Government of Barbados, academics, international financial institutions and an impressive array of private sector entities from two-person micro enterprises to large hotels and banking and insurance giants.

In addressing the central aim of the forum - to work together to deliver sustainable business and financing solutions in Barbados - it was agreed that businesses centring sustainability has become critical to their success. According to Springett, “Companies that embrace the Sustainable Development Goals are not only reducing risk, they’re unlocking new markets, attracting investments and ensuring the trust of consumers and employees alike.”

The critical need to develop greater resilience in a country and region increasingly prone to extreme, often devastating, weather events such as recent hurricanes Melissa and Beryl, was also a key theme of the event.

According to Paul Inniss, BCCI President, “For small island economies like ours, resilience is no longer optional, it is essential for competitiveness and sustainability.” He noted the importance of partnerships to ensure progress and success and stressed that the BCCI was the first Caribbean business chamber to join the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. He also highlighted work with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction to build resilience in small businesses.   

“We are all stakeholders in a future built on partnership, collaboration and shared prosperity… We have seen what is possible when the UN, Government and the private sector work hand in hand…Now it is time to chart the path forward.”

The power of partnerships was also embraced by Honourable Kay S. McConney, Minister of Economic Affairs and Investment, who, while talking of boundless opportunities and emerging frontiers for the Barbados economy, highlighted the UNICEF-led Green Rising Initiative. Prime Minister Mia Mottley is the Global Chair of this climate action intervention and launched the Barbados national chapter in June 2025, with the aim of giving 5,000 young people training in green entrepreneurship.   

“The Green Rising initiative is cultivating a new generation of climate-smart innovators and problem solvers,” said Minister McConney, adding, “It is designed to equip young people with the skills and the networks and the opportunities to participate directly in the green economy as entrepreneurs, as technicians, as scientists and as creative thinkers. The private sector can certainly play a pivotal role.”

For Yolande Oliver, a manager at KPMG and one of the participants, the takeaway was clear. “For every solution, for every recommendation we put forward to a client, we need to ensure that it aligns with the SDGs, that the DNA of their operations speaks to sustainable growth so that their success is lasting and meaningful.  That’s one way I can give back to my community.”

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[i] International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Global Compact, UNICEF, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Women