About the Sustainable Development Goals
From MDGs to SDGs
The Post-2015 Business Engagement Architecture
The Post-2015 Business Engagement Architecture illustrates the main building blocks necessary to enhance corporate sustainability as an effective contribution to sustainable development, creating value for both business and society. Each of these building blocks must be further strengthened and connected through a comprehensive and collective effort if they are to help take corporate sustainability to scale and turn business into a truly transformative force in the post-2015 era.
Getting started with the Goals
The SDG Compass
The SDG Compass guides companies on how they can align their strategies as well as measure and manage their contribution to the realization of the SDGs. The SDG Compass presents five steps that assist companies in maximizing their contribution to the SDGs: understanding the SDGs, defining priorities, goal setting, integrating sustainability and reporting. Watch a recording of our webinar series on the SDG Compass.
The SDG Action Manager
The SDG Action Manager is a new web-based impact management solution which has been developed by the UN Global Compact in cooperation with B Lab. The SDG Action Manager enables your company to learn which SDGs matter most to you based on your company profile, to get a clear view of how your operations, supply chain, and business model create positive impact, to identify risk areas for each SDG, to set goals and track improvement on the dashboard, to collaborate across your company and to see real-time progress through thought-provoking yet actionable assessment questions, benchmarks and improvement guides. Watch a recording of our webinar and live demo of the SDG Action Manager.
The Blueprint for Business Leadership on the SDGs
The Blueprint for Business Leadership on the SDGs aims to inspire all business — regardless of size, sector or geography — to take leading action in support of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It illustrates how the five leadership qualities of Ambition, Collaboration, Accountability, Consistency, and Intentional can be applied to a business’ strategy, business model, products, supply chain, partnerships, and operations to raise the bar and create impact at scale. The Blueprint is a tool for any business that is ready to advance its principled approach to SDG action to become a leader.
Reporting on the SDGs
Integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into Corporate Reporting: A Practical Guide
The Practical Guide outlines a three-step process to embed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into existing business and reporting processes. It helps business to better report their impact on the SDGs and address the information needs of relevant stakeholders. This Guide follows an approach that is aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the GRI Standards.
An Analysis of the Goals and Targets
This report is a first step towards a uniform mechanism for business to report on their contribution to and impact on the SDGs in an effective and comparable way. It contains a list of existing and established disclosures that businesses can use to report, and identifies relevant gaps, where disclosures are not available. It also lists illustrative actions that businesses can take to make progress towards the SDG targets.
Addressing Investor Needs in Business Reporting on the SDGs
Addressing Investor Needs in Business Reporting on the SDGs features recommendations on how corporate reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can best address investors’ information needs. By helping inform investors’ decision-making process, corporate SDG reporting can stimulate more investment in sustainable business solutions to help advance the Global Goals.
Advancing the Goals through innovative solutions, partnerships, and ambitious actions
The Action Platforms to achieve the SDGs
To achieve the ambitious and necessary goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN Global Compact has developed a portfolio of Action Platforms to advance responsible business activities and fill emerging gaps in meeting the Global Goals. Rooted in the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, each Action Platform will convene business, Global Compact Local Networks, leading experts, civil society, Governments and UN partners to solve complex and interconnected issues, explore new market opportunities and innovate around the Global Goals.
The SDG Industry Matrix
The SDG Industry Matrix is a joint collaboration between the UN Global Compact and KPMG. The matrix highlights industry-specific examples and ideas for corporate action related to the SDGs. Presented in a series of publications, each matrix presents bold pursuits and decisions made by diverse companies for each SDG. The SDG Industry Matrices are intended to inspire greater business pursuit of opportunities which create value for society, as well as for shareholders. This could be through sparking new innovative approaches, prompting companies to replicate successful activities in new markets, and catalysing new collaborations and increasing participation in existing collaborations.
The Global Opportunity Explorer
The Global Opportunity Explorer provides the global business community with direct access to the most innovative business solutions and emerging market opportunities to help achieve and understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), end extreme poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet. A joint project of DNV GL, Sustainia and the UN Global Compact, the Explorer is a digital platform that helps business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors connect with new partners, projects, markets and talents to deliver on the SDGs.
Global Compact LEAD
All of LEAD’s work aims to inspire and advance the full integration of sustainability into core business operations. In 2016 LEAD will play a critical role in leading, advancing and inspiring company action towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through core business and partnerships, exploring the need for breakthrough innovations business models and technologies, and continuing its efforts in shaping investor-company engagement and communication.
For a quick overview of the main tools available around business engagement with the SDGs, please see the Network’s Toolkit.
The Post-2015 Business Engagement Architecture
The Post-2015 Business Engagement Architecture illustrates the main building blocks necessary to enhance corporate sustainability as an effective contribution to sustainable development, creating value for both business and society. Each of these building blocks must be further strengthened and connected through a comprehensive and collective effort if they are to help take corporate sustainability to scale and turn business into a truly transformative force in the post-2015 era.
RELX SDG Resource Centre
You can also check out the Relx SDG Resource Centre which showcases the latest in science, law, business, events and more that can help drive forward the SDGs. The content on the SDG Resource Centre includes articles, reports, legal practical guidance, tools, webinars and videos and events, categorised by SDG and tagged with relevant topics and region.
National progress on the SDGs
Office for National Statistics’ SDG page
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for finding and reporting data for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG team report the data using the methodology agreed by the United Nations (UN). The data feed into the UN’s picture of global progress towards the SDGs.
Voluntary National Review
As part of the process for reviewing and monitoring progress towards the Goals, all UN Member States are expected to carry out a national review of progress towards the Goals at least once in the period to 2030. This process is called a Voluntary National Review, leading to a report that is then presented to the annual UN High-Level Political Forum. This is the first Voluntary National Review.
Report: Measuring up: How is performing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals
‘Measuring up’, shows how the performing on the SDGs for the first time. Measuring up is the most comprehensive review of the current situation in conducted to date. It tells us what is happening for people, the environment, and the economy.