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Law360 (June 9, 2020, 11:35 AM EDT) -- Several top firms, including Linklaters, DLA Piper, Clifford Chance, and Slaughter and May have signed onto a letter urging U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ensure the COVID-19 recovery is guided by the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals.
The letter, which was coordinated by the U.K. Stakeholders for Sustainable Development and the U.N. Global Compact Network U.K. and signed by dozens of prominent figures, companies and other organizations, argues the country's recovery should use the SDGs to protect the well-being of the country's most vulnerable and keep the country on track to meet certain benchmarks, such as being carbon neutral by 2050.
"The COVID-19 crisis has shown that businesses, government, and civil society can and will work together to create lasting and positive change," the letter said. "We believe the SDGs should be used to establish the level of ambition for the U.K.'s pandemic-recovery and a future that ensures all people in our country live a good life, prospering on a healthy planet."
In addition to the half-dozen law firms that signed the letter, other signatories include large corporations such as Shell and HSBC Group and nonprofit organizations such as Disability Rights UK. There were also a dozen government officials and members of the nobility who signed as individuals, including the mayor of Bristol and the earl of Sandwich.
The sustainability goals referenced in the letter were devised in 2015 to succeed the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals, created in 2000. There are 17 such goals, including ending poverty and hunger, increasing clean energy, promoting peace and combating social inequality.
In 2019, the U.K. government reported it was doing well on certain goals, such as improving education, but still required more effort on others, including environmental goals, in order to hit the targets by 2030.
In the letter to Johnson on Tuesday, the signatories urged the government to incorporate the SDGs when planning for the COVID-19 recovery efforts. Rather than trying to invent a new framework to guide the recovery, the government should use the existing one, which already enjoys broad support from the public, the letter argued.
This was especially important given that the pandemic had exposed much of the inequality still present in the U.K., the letter added. The Sustainable Development Goals, which focus on improving life for all people in society, will also help the government put society's most vulnerable at the heart of its effort to rebuild, the letter argued.
"It is clear that many aspects of our lives will never be the same again," the letter said. "Some industries may never recover from this crisis. We must use this challenging situation as an opportunity to work together with our global and national partners alike, to build a stronger and more resilient economy with the SDGs at its heart."
The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
--Editing by Marygrace Murphy.
Update: This story has been updated with additional information about the letter and its signatories.
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