Everyone, including people with disabilities, has the right to a basic standard of living adequate for their own health and well-being and for their families including access to employment and decent work, financial services and economic resources, adequate food (freedom from hunger and access to nutritious food), clothing, clean water and sanitation (essential for health and hygiene), secure housing (safe, habitable shelter with access to services like water, sanitation and electricity and protection from displacement), health services (physical and mental well-being, particularly for vulnerable groups like children, mothers, and persons with disabilities), necessary social security (protection against economic shocks due to unemployment, disability, or old age) and services and education.

The human right to an adequate standard of living is a cornerstone of international human rights law, enshrined in multiple instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to ensure that all individuals have access to resources necessary for dignity and health, and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs") of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which were adopted by world leaders in September 2015 and went into effect on January 1, 2016, are intended to promote universal realization of these basic rights by mobilizing efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. The scope and expense of the activities associated with realization of these basic rights mandates that States act as the primary duty holders, particularly with respect to social security programs; however, businesses have an important role to play in these efforts and in so doing can foster innovation and stronger communities and empower women and members of other vulnerable groups.

Businesses can offer a unique set of resources that compliment and supplement the actions of States including financial support, human resources, technology and innovative problem-solving capabilities. This book focuses on the contributions that businesses can make to the achievement of the SDGs by persons with disabilities, a group that includes about one in five people worldwide.