We all have a hugely important part to play in this Decade of Action. With 193 governments agreeing to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, great change lies ahead and we need everyone to take action.
In order to successfully contribute towards the SDGs businesses must address them in tandem with one another and understand where goals intersect. As a society we must work together in less fragmented approaches if we are to create meaningful change.
The latest SDG report indicates that despite some progress being made over the past four years across most goals’ efforts slowed down or even reversed. It’s time to shift our efforts up a gear by working together and collaborating with our industries and peers.
At a quick glance the 17 goals, 169 targets and 247 indicators can seem rather daunting, but no matter the type or size of business, everyone can contribute to the SDGs in meaningful ways.
Here are our 4 simple steps to SDG success:
1. Get to grips with the goals:
Take time to acquaint yourself with the goals and understand the meaning behind each one of them and where they work powerfully together. Talk to your people, investors and communities about them to understand their opinions, hear their perspectives and gather their expectations. Investing time and resource in this stage will help you create a strong strategic plan later.
2. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize:
It is crucial to understand the goals that are most material to you so that you can concentrate your efforts and resources to create the most impact. Although the goals have been made so that any business in any sector can adopt them, you might find that some of the goals do not actively correlate with your business.
3. Proactively plan:
How will you reach your goals if you don’t have a map to get there? From ideas to action, this is the step where you can create positive impact. Our robust and holistic approach to strategy development involves integrating the SDGs at every stage of the process. It is critical that we set long term goals that align with the SDGs alongside yearly, trackable targets and appropriate KPIs.
4. Communicate your progress:
Regular communication builds trust, ensures knowledge building within your industry and enables you to openly celebrate your achievements with the world. Develop a communications plan that transparently reports on both your successes and challenges faced. Understand who your priority audiences are when communicating on the SDGs and use this opportunity to get creative.
To address systematic problems, change the status quo and sustain positive impacts we must choose collaboration over competition. Discover how you and your business can help solve some of the world’s biggest problems by getting in touch with us at hello@justone.uk
Lindsey Matejczyk is a Senior Sustainability Consultant at JustOne.
Image downloadable from https://www.globalgoals.org/resources/