Challenges

According to UNIDO’s SDG 9 Industry Index scores, the average score for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region decreased from 0.286 in 2000 to 0.237 in 2018, indicating limited progress made by countries compared to the rest of the world.

Manufacturing – embedded in SDG 9 – plays a key role in the region, with current sustainability and technological intensity challenges needing to be addressed urgently to mitigate the impact of production expansion on the environment and to increase skilled employment. The COVID-19 outbreak hit all manufacturing businesses hard regardless of size, however, small enterprises faced greater challenges due to their vulnerability and limited financial resources.

Toward a Solution

To address the challenges above, UNIDO is implementing the SDG 9 Accelerator initiative. This initiative will increase awareness among policymakers and key stakeholders in the LAC region on the challenges and opportunities derived from the achievement of SDG 9 and build partnerships to leverage efforts on priority industrial sectors in the region. The SDG 9 Accelerator enhances the exchange of information, such as statistics on national SDG 9 performance, available tools, funding and capacity building offers to support countries in the achievement of SDG 9.

The SDG 9 Accelerator directly supports the achievement of inclusive and sustainable industrialization in the LAC region, which in turn drives sustained economic growth, decent jobs and income creation (SDG 8); helps reduce inequalities (SDGs 5 and 10), while increasing resource and energy efficiency (SDGs 6, 7, 11, 12) and reducing greenhouse gas and other pollutant emissions, including from chemicals (SDGs 13, 14, 15).

Through three components, a regional network of contacts, a knowledge sharing platform (www.sdg9accelerator.org), and partnerships through South-South and triangular cooperation, UNIDO’s SDG 9 Accelerator consolidates a regional network of policymakers and key national stakeholders to exchange knowledge, discuss common challenges and identify collaboration opportunities, maximizing the use of available resources in the region to achieve sustainable and inclusive industrial development.

In 2021-2022, the SDG 9 Accelerator, in cooperation with Costa Rica’s Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce, delivered a pilot Training Programme on Circular Economy for small- and medium- sized enterprises in the plastics sector in Costa Rica. This initiative involved a series of webinars with national and international experts, through which participants gained a deeper understanding of the relevance of the circular economy among plastics entrepreneurs, the industrial sector, governments and key stakeholders in Latin America, enhancing the promotion of solutions and opportunities offered by the circular economy and highlighting its contributions to the SDGs.

Notably, private sector representatives of the plastics industry working on sustainable initiatives found an open space to exchange knowledge and perspectives with colleagues and national governments. This programme will be used for capacity-building activities in other countries and as an information source for the region since all sessions can be viewed on the SDG 9 Accelerator platform, allowing participants to contact organizers and experts.

This initiative held within the innovative mechanism of the SDG 9 Accelerator illustrates a successful joint effort between UNIDO and the LAC countries to engage in South-South cooperation and promote regional knowledge and experience sharing, thereby fostering progress by innovation. Following UNIDO’s Member States requests to replicate this pilot project, other international cooperation activities will be organized.

Meanwhile, national ministries of industry and economy are exchanging  key policy documents in areas that can accelerate their actions towards the achievements of SDG 9 using the SDG 9 Accelerator platform. International entities, development agencies, national industry chambers and education institutions are sharing   their technical cooperation offers and knowledge products within the SDG 9 platform as well to achieve a more significant impact in the region. This multistakeholder knowledge network is the first in the LAC region entirely dedicated to a Spanish-speaking audience.

In 2022, UNIDO is implementing a tripartite mechanism to deliver South-South and triangular technical cooperation to promote the exchange of knowledge and expertise on industrial development in LAC. As part of the pilot experiences, governments and companies will be selected to participate in the exchange of best practices and knowledge transfer.