The millennium development goals launched in 2000 to tackle poverty, education, health, hunger and environmental issues around the world. Some targets have been met, for example access to improved drinking water, while others, such as reducing maternal mortality rates, have been missed.

But as 2015 comes to a close their time is up and they are set to be replaced by 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), stretching to 2030. The private sector has been involved in devising the framework for the SDGs, and the private sector will have a hand in their delivery too.

Goal 2 for example seeks to end hunger and address nutrition. Goal 7 aims to increase the share of renewables in the global energy mix by 2030, and Goal 8 concerns the protection labour rights and promotion of safe and secure working environments. In each of these, business has a role.

But it's not just a case of what business can do for the SDGs. In setting the development agenda for the next 15 years, the SDGs give business a sense of what makes a smart sustainability plan and sensible investment.

Join the discussion

Join a panel of experts on Thursday 22 October between 3-4pm BST (10-11am ET) to discuss the SDGs and business. Questions we'll be exploring include.

• What impact will the SDGs have on business?

• How can companies integrate the SDGs into their business models?

• How can business play a key role in ensuring the new goals are met?

• How can business be persuaded to take the SDGs seriously and engage with them across their supply chains?

• What is business already doing around goals such as women's empowerment, clean energy, inequality and food security?

The panel

• Zahid Torres-Rahman, founder and director, Business Fights Poverty

• Elaine Weidman, head of sustainability, Ericsson

• Suba Sivakumaran, project manager, BCtA

• Claus Stig Pedersen, senior director, head of corporate sustainability, Novozymes

• Mark Didden, manager, Redefining Value, WBCSD

Join here: http://gu.com/p/4d97n/stw