Honorable Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished guests,

Today’s world is full of challenges, but as we know - with challenges come opportunities.

And we need to find the opportunities in the challenges, take a longer and more holistic view, and use more of the resources and technologies available to us.

Our answer to our common global challenges cannot simply be more of the same. We are in a new era of development, with the sustainable development goals providing a framework - and a window of opportunity to rethink traditional approaches to persistent global challenges.

It is truly encouraging to see that so many people from all over the world have come together in Copenhagen to discuss the role of public private partnerships and the importance of accelerating these partnerships; for the creation of a better and more sustainable world for current and future generations.

The last years’ international developments have clearly shown that divides and inequalities, in some areas, have become more apparent. But, let us not forget that there is so much more that joins us, than what divides us.

I believe that a gathering such as this reflects our recognition of the global nature of the challenges we face and of the enormous investment required to tackle those challenges.

As I just said, the Global Goals provide a framework or a blue-print for the world’s development – guiding us, the people of the world, on our way to a better tomorrow.

But, they are more than just a framework for development they are also a framework for innovation and the creation of business opportunities and employment.

The universal nature of this Agenda is its strength; it applies to all countries, all peoples and all segments of society and it acknowledges the interconnection of the global challenges facing the world, and the gaps that exist between and within countries.

Another strength was the setting of a 15 year time-frame. This time-frame creates a sense of urgency and a strong push for concerted action.

NO one knew when the goals were set, how they could be achieved.  But, once the goals were set, the clock to find solutions started ticking.

We are now more than 3 years into the life of the Agenda and how far have we come?  I think that some would answer ‘not far enough’ and others that ‘progress is lagging’.

We must ensure that the momentum and the will to act that led to the adoption of the SDGs does not fade but grows and strengthens in purpose.

As I am sure we all agree here, our journey has just begun. And we have embarked on a long and challenging journey.

A journey that requires;

• Governments to ensure broad implementation and monitoring of progress.
• One that requires all the innovation, new ways of thinking and new ideas that humankind can imagine.
• A journey that requires the involvement and investment of the private sector as a key driver of development like never before – and recognition that it’s ok for businesses to do well, while at the same time doing good.
• The journey will also require new and innovative partnerships across continents, regions and countries and between the public and private sectors, organisations and civil society and the designing of solutions to persistent global challenges.  We need to work together like never  seen before.
• And the journey will require a wider sharing and exchange of knowledge and best-practices to occur globally – establishing what is and what isn’t working and what has scalability potential.

It is a journey we cannot choose to take, it is simply one we must take.

And we have to take full advantage of the power of conveying - that gathers regions, countries and stakeholders, for example P4G, to strengthen unity and action toward achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Realising the Sustainable Development Goals is far from an easy task. No ‘one’ of anything – governments, organisations, companies, individuals - can do it alone.

Collaboration is part of Denmark’s’ – of our - DNA.  We have a long tradition of working in partnerships, creating a shared value - a collective impact.  For us, it’s about working towards the common goal.  And I would like to share with you an example of a strong public-private partnership in a Danish context.

In 1972, Denmark developed the world’s first industrial symbiosis with a circular approach to production.

The “Kalundborg Symbiosis” is a partnership between nine public and private companies. In an industrial symbiosis, one company’s residue becomes another company’s resource.

Water, energy and material flows from all parties, are included in this symbiosis.

For example; Biogas and fertilizer potentials from residual biomass from two companies is exploited and realized at a biogas plant within the symbiosis. At that plant, biogas is produced and upgraded to natural gas. And the Natural gas then goes to local companies and eventually to end consumers via the national gas grid. And sulphur is collected during the process and reused in fertilizer products together with other residuals.

The full resource utilization within the symbiosis not only reduces resource consumption and production costs; it also strengthens competitiveness and is crucial for the maintenance and creation of new jobs. And most importantly, it makes growth possible without an increase in the use of resources or further impact on the environment and climate, which of course is an important contribution to the realisation of the SDGs.

To me this Danish example illustrates what P4G is all about; building and scaling public private-partnerships that can translate global commitments into workable solutions.

The future will require new business models and new ways of thinking – it will demand new business solutions that are both commercially viable as well as delivering value to society. In fact, the global goals present a wide spectrum of opportunities for visionary companies, organizations and individuals.

Our global journey is towards a sustainable economy; that; 

• protects and conserves our planet and its richness,
• where there is no poverty or hunger and all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality, and
• where peaceful, just and inclusive societies are fostered that are free from fear and violence.

P4G is a new initiative and together with my husband I am very pleased to take part in this first summit with all of you. I hope the partnerships we celebrate here today as global examples of excellence, serve as inspiration, to accelerate our common journey.

So, I see it as an honour to present the very first P4G State-of-the-Art Partnership Awards.

The nominated partnerships are found within the five P4G tracks – food and agriculture, water, energy, cities, and circular economy.

All these partnerships are outstanding examples of innovative and sustainable answers to challenges in these key sectors.

They have demonstrated success with measurable impacts that are contributing to a more sustainable world.  They show the value of collaboration between the public and private sectors and are role models for the many more partnerships we need to accelerate in our transition to a green economy.

I want to thank each of you and the panel of “friendly” dragons who participated in the discussion and selection of the five P4G State-of-the-Art Partnerships.

The five finalists selected are:

From track ‘Food and agriculture’: Courthauld Commitment 2025

From track ‘Water’: Strategic Water Partners Network

From track ‘Circular economy’: Next Wave Plastics

From track ‘Energy’: The District Energy in Cities Initiative

From track ‘Cities’: Global Industry Partnership on Soot-Free Clean Bus Fleets

And now, it is my distinct pleasure to announce that the 2018 P4G State-of-the-Art Partnership of the Year; is awarded to.. Courthauld Commitment 2025.

Congratulations!