In the midst of the nonsense that is Brexit, it is sometimes important to get back to the big picture.  My grandchildren are now aged 6 and 3 and the world they will inherit will be subject to more pressure than it was when I was their age. In the early 1950’s, the war was a recent memory and rationing was only just on the way out. Austerity was a reality for most families, not just a name for a Government policy. But there was a great deal of hope for a bright future as we moved forward into what was to be a prolonged period of peace.

The effect of human activity on the world’s climate and our environment was not yet understood. The possibility of a global catastrophe through nuclear war was there alright, but once even the fiercest rivals realised that the cost of such a war was indeed MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction), those fears too calmed down. As a teenager I was worried about inequalities in the world and third world poverty but there did seem to be the possibility of bridging the gap between rich and poor to some extent.

Since then, a lot has been achieved on the world stage. Asia for a large part has moved out of poverty and is joining the so called ‘developed world’. The global communications revolution has brought all the nations so much closer together and troubles in any part of the world are brought to our attention and often cannot be ignored. Despite many problems and imperfections, the United Nations has developed its capabilities and effectiveness in peace keeping and relief of poverty, though there is still a long way to go. World leaders have attempted to get together to tackle global issues of climate change and sustainable development and businesses and individuals are beginning to take the issue of saving the planet very seriously indeed even if some governments are not.

What has received less publicity is that in 2015, at the United Nations World Assembly, world leaders signed up to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - to be achieved by 2030. The logo containing the 17 goals can be found here. An effort is now being made to engage businesses in the work of achieving the SGDs. They amount to nothing less than an aim to transform the world and eliminate many of its problems. Some might feel that this is such a big task that it is hardly worth starting the road. However, when I started to look at what we are doing as business, I realised that we are playing our part but could do a lot more.

Take Goal 8, decent work and economic growth, this is the reason we are in business in particular, if we value our staff and put them at the heart of what we do. Goal 3 about health and well-being is one of our internal programmes to ensure that staff keep healthy although there is still always more that we can do. Goal 4, quality education, is something we are taking forward in our Training Academy. Goals 10, reducing inequality, and 16, Peace Justice and Strong Institutions, is at the heart of much of the legal work that we do. Goal 1, no poverty, is something we work towards through the work of the Jackson Lees Foundation.

So perhaps it is the time for us as a business to start working with others (Goal 17), in partnerships to see whether we can make a positive difference (#MAPD) in achieving sustainable development in our own society and further afield. Jackson Lees can’t achieve everything on its own, but working with others, there is chance of providing a more sustainable environment for our world, not only for the sake of our nearest and dearest children and grandchildren but for the sake of humanity as a whole. That is thinking big but that is what we all need to do.