The three-day event, titled ‘Green Industry for Sustainable Development”, aimed to help governments, industry leaders and related stakeholders to design solutions to promote sustainable development via greening of industry, as stated by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 of the 2030 Agenda.

Olson was part of the panel focused on the measurement framework for assessing the progress of people residing in different countries towards green industry, green economy, and sustainable trade while simultaneously measuring the impact of different policies and investment options.

In his presentation, Olson highlighted key findings from the 2018 Hinrich Foundation Sustainable Trade Index, specifically recognizing the emerging economy of Vietnam for taking the center stage in adopting sustainable trade. The US has been an underperformer relative to its income, he explained.

“Trading sustainably is not just a luxury for wealthy economies. Performance does not track income level. United States is a significant under performer. Vietnam is the champion performer relative to its income level,” Olson said at the event.

The panel also examined the challenges in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and the best practices that countries can be adopt for achieving SDG 9. Panelists included:

Stephen Olson, Research Fellow, Hinrich Foundation
Mia Mikic, Director, Trade, Investment and Innovation Division, ESCAP
Fulai Sheng, Head, Economic and Foreign Policy Unit, UN Environment
Ralph Luken, Senior Green Industry Adviser, Department of Environment, UNIDO
Peter Enoh, Coordinator, National Ozone Office Cameroon
Benjamin Tyler Smith, Lead, Knowledge Management and Partnership Outreach, Green Growth Knowledge Platform