Make it your business:
Engaging with the Sustainable
Development Goals
Foreword
2015 is a momentous year for change. It could be a pivotal year in human history turning
the tide on the major social, economic and environmental issues of our times. With the
ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the way we do business has
the potential to fundamentally shift. A new demand for assessment and accountability
could drive real change across the business community, with a sense check against the
impact on society.
Driven by the UN, the SDGs
are a set of global goals that
governments are expected to
adopt. When they sign up to
them, they will look to society,
and business in particular,
for help to achieve them. It
will herald a major change
for business. Governments
will want to measure and
monitor progress and manage
the effectiveness of their
interventions. In turn, business
will need to assess its impact
on the SDGs and review its
strategy accordingly. It will
need to collect, assure and
report new data, evolving its
reporting too.
It would seem sensible that a
CEO will want to know if their
business operations (across its
value chain) support or detract
from the government’s goals.
This just seems to be commonsense
if a CEO wants to be
on the receiving end of ‘fair’
regulation and a welcoming
licence to operate. It’s not
about business implementing
the SDGs - it’s about business
having a strategy that, at
the national level, is goalcongruent
with government
ambition.
Equally, there is real
opportunity here. The SDGs
put a spotlight on some of the
world’s biggest issues and our
ability to shape our impact on
them, for good or bad. To my
mind, this represents a catalyst
for innovation and new market
opportunities for the savvy CEO
to embrace and drive growth.
So how can government get the
best from business? There is
no clear request for support as
yet, it is early days. But when it
comes, it needs to be pitched to
business in a way that resonates
and can be easily interpreted
and incorporated into normal
business operations. No NGO
speak or political rhetoric, but
practical guidance on how
to engage and the business
benefits of doing so. After
all, the investment involved
for business should not be
underestimated. Determining
requirements, accessing the
right skills and developing
the right tools, will be top
priorities to understand and
deliver impact assessment, goal
setting, strategy development,
operational change and
reporting in this new world.
Business will also need to
rethink its strategy and change
behaviours to evidence its
contribution and, hopefully, be
seen to contribute positively
to the government’s goals.
http://nacoesunidas.org/consumidores-brasileiros-preferem-empresas-que-apostam-nos-objetivos-globais-da-onu-afirma-pesquisa/
