Abstract
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demand unprecedented leadership on a global scale. It is not always obvious how to relate the Goals to business, yet the SDGs cannot be achieved without the private sector’s resources, skills, innovation, and economies of scale. Corporate commitments need to be fact- and evidence-based to avoid SDG-washing. Start with the Goals close to the core business to really influence step-change and transformation. However, substantive corporate actions are at their best when they succeed in delivering co-benefits or positive impact across multiple goals. Companies should also work proactively with governments to demonstrate on-the-ground ways to deliver on the SDGs. Scania, EQT, Ericsson, and mobile industry group GSMA show how they made the SDGs purpose-fit for business. Non-profits Norrsken Foundation, NetClean, and the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative illustrate the power of public-private partnerships to achieve the Goals.
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Henriksson, H., Weidman Grunewald, E. (2020). Making Business Sense of the SDGs. In: Sustainability Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42291-2_11
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