One year after its adoption, the Pact for the Future stands as one of the most significant multilateral achievements. Despite rising geopolitical complexity—marked by fragmentation, financial constraints, and reform pressures—the Pact’s value has only grown, with governments now focused on safeguarding what was agreed and accelerating practical implementation. Progress is advancing across intergovernmental processes (including new mechanisms on AI governance, outcomes emerging from ECOSOC and global conferences, and strengthened coordination with international financial institutions), as well as at the country level, where Resident Coordinators are integrating Pact priorities into national SDG acceleration efforts. What is equally clear, however, is that the Pact can only succeed through coherent, targeted, and scalable collaboration between the UN system and the private sector—reflected in 30 explicit references to private-sector engagement throughout the Pact and its annexes.
Participants underscored the persistent tension between ambitious global agendas and the operational reality of overstretched systems, duplicated mandates, overflowing summits, and stakeholder fatigue from multiple, overlapping entry points. Despite these challenges, employers emphasized their continued commitment to supporting multilateralism, provided that engagement mechanisms are clear, meaningful, and aligned with the practical realities of enterprises. The overarching message was that the main gap lies in implementation. Economic structures—including informal labour markets and the role of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) —must be central to delivering on the Pact. Social protection, financing, and labour policies are deeply interconnected and cannot be addressed in silos. Business associations stressed that meaningful, scalable partnership requires fewer but clearer and better-coordinated entry points; partnerships must be time-bound, results-oriented, and scalable; and engagement must be co-created around a focused set of shared priorities anchored in realistic country-level mechanisms.
Fragmentation, Multiple Entry Points & “Summit Fatigue”
- Business actors described a maze of overlapping entry points for issues like AI governance. This has resulted in companies and business groups struggling to identify which UN process is the most effective entry point on a given topic.
- While a single “entry point” sounds attractive, there was recognition that a single central hub can become a bottleneck if not carefully designed.
- There is growing fatigue from the proliferation of summits, forums, and high-level announcements. The same small group of private-sector representatives is often expected to attend multiple, duplicative events with limited follow-up.
Scale What Works, Sunset What Doesn’t
- Business representatives urged the UN to adopt this more disciplined, results‑oriented approach and ensuring mandates do not expand indefinitely without resources or relevance.
- Rather than generating new initiatives, the UN should scale proven partnerships, pilots, and models that already work.
- A positive example highlighted was the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation’s customs streamlining partnership with UNICEF, targeted technology collaborations, and successful regional initiatives on skills and SDG acceleration.
- Participants encouraged using existing country-level mechanisms that bring together employers, workers, civil society, and youth, instead of creating new bodies or parallel structures. The aspiration is to avoid parallel tracks and instead build integrated spaces where different actors engage on Pact implementation together.
- Even in an era of donor fatigue, clear, measurable, time-bound initiatives have secured sustained or increased funding.
- Partnerships that are well-designed, limited in scope, and structured to end or evolve are more attractive and avoid institutional bloat.
Prioritizing Co-Creation
- Participants stressed the urgent need for clarity, prioritization, and realistic pathways for private sector participation. Employers noted frequent exclusion from the design of UN initiatives, inconsistent communication, and limited national‑level entry points, even though private sector is being expected to help deliver the Pact’s outcomes. Participants agreed that engagement must be co‑created, not imposed.
- Words like accountability used in a punitive tone are seen as off-putting. Employers respond better to “sustainable enterprises,” “skills,” “entrepreneurship,” “digital inclusion,” and MSME growth.
- Employers argued that they are often brought in at the final stages of initiatives instead of being part of co-creation from the beginning.
- A regional perspective from Asia noted that employers often learn about UN programs from the media rather than through systematic engagement.
- A regional perspective from Africa added that although collaboration with the UN Resident Coordinators can sometimes be challenging at the national levels, there is a strong potential for deeper engagement.
- In going forward participants floated the idea of focusing on 3–5 priority areas where private sector engagement has particularly strong leverage. For example, employers from Africa emphasised that advancing social protection and addressing informality will be essential steps to successfully implementing the Pact. Much is already being accomplished through private-sector engagement and commitment on the Pact. However, this needs to be documented and leveraged so that it is clear what needs to be identified as a shortage but at the same time recognizes achievements.