How will your company contribute to the sustainable development goals? The time to make a difference is now.
Do you sometimes feel so overwhelmed when you watch the news? The disasters fly around you. Human rights violations in Qatar, natural disasters in Europe where you usually go on vacation suddenly come very close, floods in Limburg, and the events of recent times make many people, and companies think about the future.
Chances are that these events affect you, and you would like to contribute to a better world. But where do you start, as an individual or as a company, to do your part? One starting point is the 17 SDGs, or Sustainable Development Goals, "sustainable development goals", or "world goals". We received training on this from Dominique from Rippples to see what we can do ourselves as a company and how we can help our clients make even more of an impact.
As our MIM report also shows, people nowadays expect companies to take an active role in sustainability. We would say take advantage of this.
What are the SDGs?
The SDGs are the successors of the Millennium Development Goals. Countries affiliated with the UN are participating in achieving these goals. They are designed to ensure that no one is left behind and everyone gets better. They form a colourful, globally recognizable compass that anyone can use anywhere. This compass allows you to take very focused action. The 17 goals focus on the following themes, aiming to achieve improvement by 2030 in the areas:
1. No poverty
2. No hunger
3. Good health and well-being
4. Quality education
5. Gender equality
6. Clean water and sanitation
7. Affordable and sustainable energy
8. Decent work and economic growth
9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure are
10. Reducing inequality
11. Sustainable cities and communities
12. Responsible consumption and production
13. Climate action
14. Living in the water
15. Life on land
16. Peace, justice and political solid services
17. Partnerships for the goals
These are the SDGs: a colourful compass for a better world
You can see more about these goals in this video:
Do you get discouraged by this long list when you think about going to help achieve these SDG goals? Fortunately, we learned during SDG training you don't have to jump on everything but can thoroughly explore what will make the most difference for your company or industry.
The 5 SDG steps you can take to contribute are as follows:
1. Understand the SDGs
2. Prioritize: see which goals align with your business, and connect the SDGs with your mission and vision. Also, look at the SDGs where there are still opportunities for your company to improve.
3. Set goals. What difference can be made immediately today, and what will be the timeline for 2030? With the Theory of Change, you have a foothold.
4. Integrate: make everyone aware of the goals and the steps to be taken. There are valuable tools for this, such as the SDG Action manager.
5. Report & Communicate, for example, with an SDG Materiality Assessment.
What will your company do to contribute to the goals? We are curious because doing nothing is no longer an option when sustainability has become not a nice-to-have but a must-have.
