“How financial sector sustainability can improve Gender equality, Quality education, Good health and well-being, Industry-innovation and infrastructure, and Decent work and economic growth in Cyprus”

Abstract

The United Nations General Assembly in 2015, has adopted seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) to be achieved globally by 2030. This applied project examines the performance of five of the seventeen goals in Cyprus which are the good health and well-being, the quality education, the gender equality, the decent work and economic growth and the industry innovation and infrastructure. In addition, it will also explore how the financial sector contributes to improving the performance of the above objectives. For the purpose of this paper, thirty-two participants, all working in the financial sector in Cyprus, in institutions such as the Hellenic Bank, Bank of Cyprus, Central Bank of Cyprus, KPMG, EY, and other financial and accounting companies, with more than one year of experience, were recruited to participate in this study by answering a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of four introductory questions and twenty-eight key questions that revolved around the five goals mentioned earlier. A survey was conducted focusing on the problematic aspects of each goal, in order to clarify the current prevailing view on the issue. Based on the results, conclusions were proposed that could improve the performance of the goals, focusing on how the financial sector could contribute to it.