United Nations 2030 SDGs adopted by JSEZA
THE JAMAICA Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA) has adopted the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are being targeted for attainment within 12 years in relation to a wide range of socialand economic-development issues.
These focus on addressing education, energy, the environment, health, hunger, poverty, decent work, and economic-growth.
The SDGs form part of the Special Economic Zones’ developmental framework in Jamaica and are thought to be pivotal to fulfilling the SEZ’s mandate.
This mandate focuses on developing a regime and environment in which globally competitive firms thrive while driving unprecedented growth and development for all stakeholders/interests in a logistics-centred economy, as articulated in the government’s SEZ policy.
The SDGs deemed directly aligned with the SEZ mandate are Goals 7 – affordable and clean energy; 8 – decent work and economic growth; 9 – industry, innovation, and infrastructure; 11 – sustainable cities and communities; 12 – responsible consumption and production; and 17 – partnerships for the goals.
Director of Investor Relations and Communications at JSEZA Kelli-Dawn Hamilton notes that the Authority needs to be in a position to determine whether a potential investment is consistent with the SEZ regime’s overall developmental objectives.
To this end, the entity must weigh the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of proposed projects by considering their potential to contribute to Jamaica achieving targets in the SEZ Policy, the Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan, the Logistics Hub Initiative Master Plan, and Industry Analysis, and SDGs.