According to Adecco Group’s campaign message, “It’s crucial, now more than ever, for labour market stakeholders to come together and realise the tremendous opportunity, and responsibility, they have to create a more sustainable future”. The world of work is a common denominator for all the United Nations’ SDGs, connecting all social partners and a key driver for a sustainable development. Here below are depicted the main points of contact between the world of work and the SDGs:

Those with the most immediate connection are the following: SDG 7 'Affordable and clean energy', SDG 9 'Industry, innovation and infrastructure', and SDG 13 'Climate action', but the campaign highlights how all of them, even if in a less direct way, have an impact on the labour market.

For example, SDG 14, aiming at conserving and sustainably using ocean resources, and SDG 15 at protecting the terrestrial ecosystem, are both connected with the businesses transition towards more sustainable business models in order to reduce overfishing or deforestation, with a big impact on labour markets and the required skills.

As reported in the article on “Climate emergency, work and employment law”, the rising temperatures to workplaces promises to impact on employers in the years ahead, as well as designing buildings to use less energy for heating and cooling will be an increased feature of workplace design. Moreover, employers will have to face with the risk of places in which they operate to rising sea levels

and will have to adopt employment policies aligned to their climate goals.

Only an adaptable labour market will ensure the so-called "green transition".

At the end of COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, countries agreed to strengthen their 2030 targets for cuts to carbon dioxide (CO”) emissions in 2022, seeking to try to keep temperature rises within 1.5 C.

As reported in this related article, The International Organisation of Employers (IOE), as an official observer organisation to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), actively participated in the COP26. IOE Secretary-General, Roberto Suárez Santos, took part in a high-level business dialogue, together with leading business experts, government delegates and representatives from multilateral institutions, calling for plans on sustainable economies to also focus on employment creation, coordination with the private sector and appropriate skills frameworks.

Some countries have already implemented measures aiming to fight climate change: in France, for example, according to a recent law, employers have to inform and consult with their Social and Economic Committees on the environmental implications of business decisions affecting the workforce.

Climate change is a global challenge and other countries are expected to soon adopt labour policies that address it and strive for a new sustainable economic reality.