Grundfos CEO to United Nations: Private Sector Can Help Meet World’s Sustainability Goals

Grundfos CEO Mads Nipper was among today’s speakers at the United Nations Global Compact Leaders’ Summit in New York.

He used his speech, among other things, to remind the approximately 800 listeners that the corporate sector wants political action and will use the United Nation’s 17 sustainability goals as a lever for development, innovation and business.

“Sustainability and responsibility are not a department or a report. They are the very essence of every company, who wants to think ahead and accomplish something greater than just creating short-term profit,” said Nipper, who explained that the Danish pump manufacturer is eager to provide the world with clean water and develop new technologies and business models.

According to Nipper, water is a pivotal resource in as many as 15 out of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that the world hopes to achieve by 2030.

“The need for water and sanitation on a global scale is evident – and the lack of equal access to both is one of the world’s greatest risks in the future, said Nipper. “Everybody needs access to drinking water to live, however, more than 663 million people lack access to it. That’s a staggering figure. Another eye-opener is that 2.4 billion are without basic sanitation. Roughly-one third of the world’s population is at high risk of death due to waterborne diseases.”

Therefore, Grundfos has already established a collaboration with a number of NGOs and UN organizations to speed up the engagement – for instance in some of the largest refugee camps in the world. This offensive approach, according to Nipper, is to raise awareness among other global companies, NGOs, governments around the world and especially the UN system.

A global leader in developing high-tech water pumps and systems, the $3.85 billion (USD) Denmark-based company employs 1,300 people in the United States and nearly 18,000 globally with 80 companies in more than 55 countries.