Last week marked Global Goals Week at Expo, hosted in association with the United Nations to highlight the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were established under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015.
The UN SDGs provide a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and planet, based on the principle that ending poverty and injustice must go hand-in-hand with strategies to improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth, while simultaneously reversing climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
According to the Division for Sustainable Development Goals in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), “In order to make the 2030 Agenda a reality, broad ownership of the SDGs must translate into a strong commitment by all stakeholders to implement the global goals.”
This means that all of us, from the public to the private sectors, must commit to these objectives. The battle to prevent global warming lies not only in the hands of the world’s nations, but also depends on the commitment of the corporate world to spearhead an even more ambitious series of climate strategies. All businesses should integrate the UN SDGs into their corporate policy if they are to consider themselves responsible corporate citizens.
A multifaceted approach
As a company offering solutions for water, waste and energy management, Veolia is uniquely positioned to contribute towards many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially with regards to areas like clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) and affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), for example. However, there are many ways that businesses of any kind can support sustainable development outside of utilities and resource management.
Companies should go beyond the traditional CSR approach and instead adopt a multifaceted strategy that aims to create shared value. A company’s success is founded in its usefulness to all its stakeholders: clients, shareholders, employees, suppliers and the current and future generations living in the different locations where it operates.
Ongoing dialogue and interactions with all these stakeholders are essential to building a solid foundation of mutual knowledge and understanding, ensuring that the company can best serve the various needs of these different groups.
It is important for companies to be committed to a multifaceted performance, dedicating the same level of consideration and commitment across their economic, financial, commercial, societal and environmental performance, with established and measurable KPIs across each of the relevant areas.
To ensure transparency, the CSR performance of a company should be regularly audited and measured against these KPIs by independent bodies such as the Global Reporting Initiative or the International Standards Organisation.
For example, what is your company’s approach to alleviating poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2) by creating value in the markets in which you operate? Do you hire local talent to ensure that wages are redistributed into the local economy rather than being sent overseas? Do you support education within your community (SDG 4) through internal training programmes and external support such as internships and scholarships for promising local talent?
Companies can also contribute by committing to responsible consumption (SDG 12) by reducing resource depletion through energy and water-saving fittings and fixtures in offices and facilities, or by implementing recycling policies that divert waste from landfills.
These are just a few examples of the many actions which can contribute towards sustainable development in an economy. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide a comprehensive framework in which we can all work together towards ensuring a healthy and prosperous future for generations to come.
Sebastien Chauvin is the CEO of Veolia Middle East
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