“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership.” – The UN
The SDGs address a broad spectrum of social, economic and environmental imperatives, and aim to achieve positive outcomes in improving or eradicating the challenges encapsulated in the goals by 2030. Failure will be to the detriment of business and society alike. Success in achieving the goals requires action from a variety of actors in the value chain, including business.
A successful contribution by business is dependent on proper reflection about which aspects are most material to the organization, integrating action plans into business strategy and ensuring quality disclosure on progress, to enable investors and other stakeholders understand the risk and opportunity. Integrated reporting (reflecting integrated thinking about all the imperatives contained in the goals) is a key tool in achieving the quality disclosure that is needed.
“The International <IR> Framework (IIRC, 2013) provides an opportunity for organizations seeking to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to get board level attention for integrating them into strategy and reporting.” – The IIRC
Some links and resources
FAQ: Reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Integrated Report
The Corporate Reporting Dialogue’s perspectives on the SDG’s and the future of reporting
Sustainable Development Goal Disclosure (SDGD) Recommendations
United Nations SDG Knowledge Platform