The Dutch Diamond Dynamic: doing business in the context of the new sustainable development goals

The Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) of the Netherlands is an independent body which advises government and parliament on foreign policy, particularly on issues relating to human rights, peace and security, development cooperation and European integration.

The AIV produces advisory reports on its own initiative or at the request of government or parliament. All reports are presented to the relevant members of the government as well as to the House of Representatives and Senate. In most cases, the government members in question are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defence and the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. They are expected to send a government response to parliament within three months. The requests for advice, the reports and the government responses are all made public.In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted a comprehensive agenda for sustainable development, with related goals on a better environment, climate action and improving well-being and human rights. The new agenda applies to all countries and achieving the SDGs will require close coordination, nationally and internationally.

The complexity of the agenda calls for new forms of cooperation. Its implementation will depend on the participation of a wide range of actors. Besides central and local authorities and international institutions, major efforts will be asked of companies, civil society organisations, knowledge institutes and financial institutions.

The AIV acknowledges that a number of large Dutch companies are international pioneers in their contribution to sustainable development. Their intrinsic motivation to incorporate sustainability in all parts of their operations reflects a transition that is also taking place in society at large: from a defensive approach to sustainable development as side issue, to awareness that a society based firmly on sustainability is the only way to safeguard prosperity and economic development now and in the future.

However, these pioneering companies still run up against stiff restrictions. None of them can boast a fully sustainable business model. Their good intentions are hampered by the reality of competition and the market. For these companies, too, it is an ongoing challenge to reconcile their internal business interests with sustainable development.

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