Marge Lippincott
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
David Cooperrider
Keep this story going! Share below!
PwC launched an initiative to simplify for business:
1.) Integrating the SDGs in corporate strategy
2.) Partnering with host countries on their prioritized SDGs
3.) Creating reports of progress on the SDGs for all stakeholders.
In 2015, PwC launched an initiative to simplify for business: 1.) Integrating the SDGs in corporate strategy, 2.) Partnering with host countries on their prioritized SDGs, and 3.) Creating reports of progress on the SDGs for all stakeholders.
PwC’s first step was to survey stakeholders about their awareness and attitudes of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Results of the 2015 SDG Engagement Survey show that 71% of companies surveyed plan to respond to the SDGs but only 13% have identified the tools to aid them in the process.
In the summer of 2015, PwC’s Sustainability team pondered:“Wouldn’t it be great if we could create something really useful which could make the 17 Global Goals more relevant to business.” They focused on aiding a business with understanding the data related to the SDGs. The Sustainability team worked with their colleagues in International Development and mapped relevant data from 195 countries to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and the associated 169 targets and 230 indicators. This mapping system was combined with PwC’s Total Management and Measurement (TIMM) which measures the social, economic and environmental impact of a business. The result of these efforts is the Global Goals Business Navigator which includes over 56,000 data points in its base data.
Part of the Global Goals Business Navigator is a questionnaire developed for internal use in a company which identifies how well a company’s policies and practices support each of the 17 SDGs. There are questions and scoring within the questionnaire that cover the supply chain. Louise Scott, COO of Global Sustainability, explained: “The results adjust the business at risk calculation that PwC has already performed – based on economic studies predicting the effect on GDP if a country’s SDG commitments are not achieved and translating this into a predicted impact on a company’s GVA.”
Global Goals Business Navigator can:
The business community was embraced through-out the development of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of the United Nations. Two-hundred and six businesses and investors participated in the UN Private Sector Forum 2015 where SDGs were redefined.
The PwC Sustainability team was inspired to address the need to help businesses to engage with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. “Business is critical and will make the difference,” observed Scott about reaching the SDGs. “It is urgent and compelling....We are not living within the boundaries of our planet at the moment. If we don’t start to change, we are in trouble.” She quoted the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “There is no Plan B because there is no Planet B.”
Global Goals Business Navigator
The biggest impact of the Global Goals Business Navigator is it aids a business in taking the first step in engaging with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs and the associated targets and indicators become real for each country and each work sector. Embedding the key links for each of the SDGs highlights their interconnectivity. A business can now see a path where they can contribute in a positive way to reach the prioritized SDGs of a country and see its broader impact on linked SDGs. A business can also see opportunities for growth, and the risks if a host country’s SDG commitments are not achieved.
“Our influence is with working with our own organization and our clients in partnership with governments.” observed Scott, “Success is engaging our clients to make a difference.” PwC’s clients represent some of the biggest corporations in the world: 418 companies in the Fortune Global 500, and 443 in the FT Global 500.
Practical Business Guide
PwC created a practical business guide: Navigating the SDGs: a business guide to engaging with the UN Global Goals. It introduces each SDG within the context of the global challenge that it is addressing. Case studies depict what business is doing and what suppliers are doing to make a positive contribution. It illustrates the usefulness of the Global Goals Business Navigator in creating a path for a business to positively impact reaching the SDGs. “Business has a massive influence all the way down the supply chain,” noted Scott. The practical business guide, Navigating the SDGs, can be found at: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/sustainability/publications/PwC-sdg-guide.pdf
SDG Business Challenge
PwC can act as a convener and encourage private and public sectors to work together, and create business and community engagement. The SDG Business Challenge will create cohorts of people who can share and tell what they are doing and share best practices. There will be local competitions with a judging panel and related events in each country. The Challenge will help everyone to be aware of the SDGs and expect governments and businesses to keep their commitments.
Through the use of the Global Goals Business Navigator, PwC is supporting its clients with engaging with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Benefits to a business include being able to:
The Global Goals Business Navigator provides a business a quick and efficient way to integrate the SDGs in its corporate strategy and supply chain. The social and environmental benefits are stated in the targets of each SDG. The Global Goals Business Navigator makes it clear that every business decision and action can be a positive contribution to reaching one or more of the SDG targets. By giving business an early start to engage and align with the SDGs, there is the possibility that the SDGs can be reached by 2030.
Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
Louise Scott, COO Global Sustainability
