Partnerships Officer in Trinidad and Tobago

“If the UN and other development actors in a country were a soccer team, my position would be the central midfielder: The one who has a feel for what the other players are doing, and who makes linking passes so that the team works better as a unit and scores more goals.” says Mark Thomas, the Partnerships Officer in the Resident Coordinator’s Office in his native Trinidad and Tobago.  Mark supported the Resident Coordinator to help the UN in engaging the country’s private sector to become active partners in advancing country’s ambition towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  He brought together relevant UN entities, government bodies, and the American Chamber of Commerce – one of the largest business groups in the English-speaking Caribbean.  Mark played a key role to help these partners create a set of guides and tools on the environmental and social governance (ESG), which were endorsed by the 276 members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the country.  With additional training provided to help companies incorporate ESG principles into their business practices this UN initiative has facilitated the Government and the American Chamber of Commerce to start developing the ESG framework for Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region respectively.