Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2025 – Fostering Collaboration for Shared Challenges and Sustainable Development

New York, USA, 25 September 2025 - At a pivotal moment for the global economy, the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2025 brought together more than 1,000 global leaders - including 70 top government officials, 22 heads of international organizations, 500 business executives and 125 civil society representatives - to advance action on inclusive economic growth, responsible technology, humanitarian crises and climate.

Held alongside the United Nations General Assembly and Global Goals Week, the meetings took place amid strained multilateralism and with only 17% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on track for 2030. Building on the Forum's track record of connecting leaders to catalyse action, they provided a critical platform for collaboration to shape more inclusive and resilient outcomes for people, planet and economies.

"We need to develop systems that foster both business and societal well-being, alongside ecological health," said André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman, Roche Holding, and Interim Co-Chair, World Economic Forum. "There is no prosperity without humanity, and there is no time like the present to find ways to protect sustainability and inclusive growth."

"At a crucial moment when our planet is facing complex challenges, we need to build resilience to ensure a sustainable and inclusive future for all," added Børge Brende, President and CEO, World Economic Forum.

"Humanitarian funding across the world is frankly running out. At the same time, we're seeing huge numbers of people who need humanitarian assistance, whether it's in places like Ukraine or Gaza or the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Amy Pope, Director-General, International Organization for Migration (IOM). "The need is at a scale we've never seen before. So there's just a tension between resources available and people who need them."

"In 10 years, there will be a mushrooming of alternatives, where you will have these regional and like-minded groups working together on different kinds of projects. It could be connectivity, climate, energy, or regional finance and development ideas," said Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation.

The meetings featured the release of key insights, including the Chief Economists' Outlook and reports on scaling carbon capture, managing climate-health risks to the economy and reducing the carbon footprint of digital trade. Online sessions complemented high-level dialogues anchored in the Forum's communities of purpose, covering geopolitics, US policy perspectives, the energy transition, growth under pressure, climate resilience and restoring trust amid the rapid rise of frontier technologies. The Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) explored cooperative pathways on global security, geo-economics and frontier technologies in a shifting geopolitical era.

Geopolitics and humanitarian resilience

In an era of shifting alliances, volatile economic policies and weakening multilateralism, sessions focused on steps to strengthen global security and stability.

"The United Nations General Assembly comes at a time when intense pressure is bearing down on the world's aid and development architecture. This is no moment for short-term fixes," said Sheba Crocker, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. "Leaders must seize the opportunity to rebuild for the long term, and this means bottom-up rethinking that creates real change."

"We, as Somalis, are now a bit surprised by the increased level of uncertainty in geopolitics," said Saleh Ahmed Jama, Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia. "We are firm believers in multilateralism, and we hope that multilateralism and a rules-based world order will be to the benefit of all."

"We might actually walk ourselves back to the brink of great power conflict if we are not talking about and managing all of these challenges together," said Victoria Nuland, Professor of Practice of International Diplomacy, Columbia University.

Inclusive economic growth

The latest edition of the World Economic Forum's Chief Economists' Outlook warned of weak growth and systemic disruption, with long-term shifts in trade, technology, resources and institutions, signalling the arrival of a new economic environment; global debt is forecasted to reach 100% of global GDP by the end of the decade.

The Forum also launched The Trade and Labour Pathways for Decent Work in Kenya's Digital Economy report, which explores how domestic legislation, business practices, trade policy and investment frameworks can be leveraged to address labour challenges in the digital economy. In addition, a newly released white paper provides insights on the urgent need to retain, upskill and reskill talent in a rapidly digitalizing world.

"The contours of a new economic environment are already taking shape, defined by disruption across trade, technology, resources and institutions," said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. "Leaders must adapt with urgency and collaboration to turn today's turbulence into tomorrow's resilience."

"In today's rapidly evolving landscape, business leaders can be catalysts for action around shared priorities across geographies and disciplines. They can forge practical partnerships and unlock innovation to address real-world needs and drive inclusive prosperity," said Mirek Dušek, Managing Director and Chief Business Officer, World Economic Forum.

"When G7 economies do not grow as fast, the rest of the world takes a bit of a hit," said Vera Songwe, Chairperson and Founder, Liquidity and Sustainability Facility. "There is a global collective going in the right direction. Growth and development are not linear. Out of difficulty comes good suggestions and solutions."

"In the next five years, the biggest challenge I think will be the geopolitical tensions. We have to be ready for everything that can happen, which means we have to be prepared, flexible, agile and resilient," said Ebru Özdemir, Chairperson of the Board, Limak Holding. "I always say that the last 100 metres of the race is a determined factor, and you have to be really running and you should never stop - all of us should be ready to win the race in the last 100 metres."

"Climate change is driving a profound transformation in the world of work. By equipping people with the in-demand green skills needed for emerging and evolving roles in fields like supply chain and manufacturing, we can unlock economic opportunity, empowering individuals and communities to thrive in a more sustainable future," said Allen Blue, Co-Founder and Vice-President, Products, LinkedIn.

Climate, energy and health

Amid intensifying environmental and economic pressures - from escalating extreme weather events to ecosystem degradation affecting 3.2 billion people - discussions among the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders and other leaders focused on innovative investment models and cross-sector strategies to scale nature-positive solutions for growth, resilience and innovation. Sessions also addressed the global energy landscape, reshaped by geopolitical unpredictability, shifting market dynamics and uncertainty around climate ambitions.

The Circular Economy Community emphasized the role of business leadership in advancing global collaboration on materials. Members underscored the need for shared standards and material data exchange across value chains to track progress in reducing material footprints, strengthening supply chain resilience and improving sustainability amid rising geoeconomic competition.

A white paper estimated that the health impacts of climate change could cost the global economy at least $1.5 trillion in lost productivity by 2050. Additionally, the carbon capture and utilization report revealed how the carbon abatement approach could enable industries to transform captured CO₂ into sustainable fuels, chemicals and building materials.

At the meeting, nine winners of Uplink's Nature Returns Challenge, which seeks early-stage investors transforming capital deployment for nature, were announced. The Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) also announced 10 winners of its Inclusive Plastic Action Programme 2025, tackling plastic pollution. The Dominican Republic unveiled its National Plastic Action Roadmap, supported by the GPAP, which sets a path to 53% circularity and 87% reduction in plastic pollution by 2040.

The report on Asia's carbon markets delved into opportunities, challenges and best practices for leveraging carbon markets to accelerate the green transition across Asia.

Board Members of the Global Alliance for Women's Health gathered to define pathways to deliver impact at global and country levels, including addressing breast and cervical cancer in Kenya, maternal health challenges in Nigeria and scaling innovations tailored to women's health needs globally. The community welcomed Oscar-winning actress, Halle Berry as the public ambassador to the board to continue driving impact of the alliance and improved health outcomes for women.

A white paper on finance solutions for nature provided guidance into 10 consolidated financial solutions available to mobilize capital for nature.

The Water Futures Community endorsed a joint roadmap for investment and partnership towards the 2026 UN Water Conference, committing to private sector-led initiatives and basin-level action to accelerate global water resilience.

"Ten years on from the adoption of the SDGs, the vision of improving lives everywhere in harmony with our planet is under unprecedented strain. Their creation was a milestone of global unity which stands in stark contrast to today's more divided world," said Sebastian Buckup, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.

"I'm excited to partner with the World Economic Forum's Global Alliance for Women's Health in our shared fight for the health of women in midlife and beyond. We will advocate together to close systemic gaps in knowledge, care, and treatment, working towards a future where women everywhere have access to evidence-based menopausal healthcare. Together, our future can - and will - be brighter," said Halle Berry, acclaimed actress, director, producer, advocate, and entrepreneur.

"This is the most important letter we have from the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders and this year we are zooming in on asking government leaders to help us remove the roadblocks for us to achieve a climate smart economy," said Jesper Brodin, Chief Executive Officer, INGKA Group | IKEA. "Climate smart means resource and cost smart and there are opportunities in the new economy," he said.

"Historically, wars were fought over salt, until there came the advent of refrigeration. It's not that the world doesn't use salt anymore; we actually use more of it, but because of technology now, there isn't such a strong hold," said Rebecca Boudreaux, President and Chief Executive Officer, Oberon Fuels. "It's the same thing with oil. It's not that we're getting off oil. It's about the diversification and having other options and breaking the stronghold of oil by having more options."

"The issue of affordability and the issue of energy security in these volatile geopolitical times have become even stronger," said Sumant Sinha, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, ReNew. "Those are actually driving the energy transition, if anything, in other parts of the world even faster."

"There is no manageable climate future unless we phase out fossil fuels, remove carbon and come back into the safe space of the planetary boundaries. We need the planet to help us continue buffer, so that we can come back after overshoot," said Johan Rockström, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).

Technology and innovation

As frontier technologies rapidly advance, discussions focused on building trust, supporting stakeholders and ensuring that technologies are deployed responsibly. The Forum announced the addition of 12 new innovative industrial sites to the Global Lighthouse Network, as they leverage digital technologies to deliver outstanding results in productivity, supply-chain resilience, talent, sustainability and customer focus. This brought the network to 201 leading production facilities and value chains.

The Human-Machine Collaboration initiative was launched during the meeting, introducing a framework for human-centric intelligent operations that boost productivity and empower workers.

"Building foundational models takes a tremendous amount of capital. We are fortunate in the US to have a handful of companies with that profile. However, many of the benefits are also going to come from smaller developers," said Joel Kaplan, Chief Global Affairs Officer, Meta Platforms. "That's one of the reasons we open-sourced Llama, giving opportunities for developers to build more functions and features on top of it."

The technology becomes less available to citizens, consumers and constituents if the regulatory framework is one that isn't enabling and encouraging companies, or whoever has the best technology, to deploy in that region," said Sebastian Niles, President and Chief Legal Officer, Salesforce.

About the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2025

The Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2025 took place from 22 to 26 September in New York, bringing together over 1,000 global leaders from diverse sectors and geographies. Held ahead of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, these meetings are part of the Forum's year-round work to accelerate progress on growth, resilience, and innovation through multistakeholder dialogues and action.

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All opinions expressed are those of the author. The World Economic Forum Blog is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around the key topics that shape global, regional and industry agendas.