As a first of its kind partnership between the United Nations and the global family business community, UNCTAD and The Family Business Network (FBN) jointly developed the Global Initiative “Family Business for Sustainable Development (FBSD)”. Its ambitious package of deliverables aims at mobilizing business families and their firms to embed sustainability into their business strategies, thereby committing to concrete, measurable contributions towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Key components of the FBSD Initiative include, among others, the family business sustainability pledge and the adoption of transparent and comparable core sustainability indicators for family firm reporting.

The Family Business Sustainability Pledge is a joint FBN and UNCTAD global statement, prescriptive in its vision and strategy as well as actionable and deliverable in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It builds upon the experiences of the initial FBN pledge and is the outcome of broad-based consultations to ensure an inclusive approach to engage all family business actors.

The pledge is a global call to action for business-owning families, their firms and the wider family business ecosystem to adopt a more purpose driven business model therefore contributing to global sustainable development, inclusive growth and prosperity for all.

Signatories pledge to promote sustainable growth, environmental stewardship, social inclusion and good governance.

Once you have signed the pledge, if you are a family business, download the indicator framework and start assessing your sustainability performance.