Too small to influence?

2030 is fast approaching – eight years to go. Have we done everything we can, have we done everything we should?

Once the disaster is a fact, many people show a great willingness to cooperate and make a difference with joint efforts, whether it is an invasion, a virus or a natural disaster. In critical situations, we realize how dependent we are on each other, each other's resources and cross-border humanity. We can all make a difference, mitigate and at best prevent unwanted consequences by making decisions and acting in our everyday lives – by taking vaccines, donating money or opting out of the meat.

The 2030 Agenda of 17 Sustainable Development Goals aims to eradicate poverty and hunger, realize human rights for all, achieve gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls, and ensure lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. The Global Goals are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.

For the necessary measures to have the desired effect, the focus needs to be shifted from problem to solution and planning needs to be replaced by implementation. How can we speed up and at the same time be sure that what we do makes a difference? We believe that the solution lies in cooperation, which is also one of the objectives of agenda 2030 - Partnership.

We know that the goals are important, and we know that it is urgent. But knowing is not the same as acting and wanting to act is not the same as knowing in what way. This is where different forms of collaboration can make the difference and ideas become solutions.

As consultants, we are used to facing our customers' various challenges, questions and problems. A good and value-creating solution needs to consider various aspects such as laws and regulations, time, money, quality, previously made investments, but also the employees and the organization's conditions and ability to adapt. A good and value-creating solution should also be sustainable in accordance with the Global Goals – is it even possible to combine all this?

Finally among the Global Goals is Goal 17, the goal that stipulates the exchange of knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources. The partnership goal cuts like a shaft through the three dimensions and binds them together and is the toolbox for how all global goals can become a reality. We can all contribute and consciously influence through what is our expertise and invite collaborations where different abilities and expertise are combined. Together we are stronger, and we need to be strong to have the perseverance, focus, power and courage to jointly find the solutions that make a difference.

Do you think you are too small to make an impact? Try sleeping with a mosquito in the room.