Step one on SDGs. Be social - Currie

The world has a plan to end poverty, fight inequality and save the planet from climate change – the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs contain 17 goals and 169 targets. The plan sounds lofty and daunting, right? Even so, the SDGs are forming part of the DNA of business, government and civil society. For those leaders who are socially-minded the good news is that the first step towards choosing SDGs involves talking with people and organisations about sustainability risks and impacts. Talking about issues around people, planet and profit that influence the decisions of stakeholders is the starting point for knowing which SDGs are relevant to a company. These issues, together with the impacts of a company’s value chain on others, are part of a materiality assessment – work that identifies a company’s key material sustainability topics. A materiality assessment requires a company to be social. Stakeholder consultation underpins the principled prioritisation of material sustainability topics.  The AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standards set the bar for best practice in stakeholder engagement, as do the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Standards for doing a materiality assessment. By listening to a wide range of voices (stakeholders who are affected by the operations of a company, as well as experts and staff) a company can take that first step towards the SDGs. By knowing which sustainability topics matter a company can identify the SDGs that are most relevant to the risks for and impacts of the company and where it can align with the SDGs. Stakeholder engagement does not end once a company has prioritised the SDGs. Stakeholders will want to know what actions are being taken on the goals and whether progress is being made. Transparency and inclusivity are trademarks of corporate sustainability. Being sustainable often requires a company to be imaginative. Some of the best ideas for making a positive social, economic or environmental impact emerge from collaboration with stakeholders. This is because the complexity of sustainability problems demands a wisdom borne of multiple perspectives. So, beyond choosing the SDGs, it pays to keep being social. Stakeholder engagement is going to be more relevant in the coming years. The urgency for corporate sustainability is changing capitalism. There is a shift from shareholder primacy to stakeholder capitalism as companies recognise that they must serve shareholders and stakeholders — employees, customers, public schools, homeless and the planet. The secret to success in business is the same for sustainability. It comes back to who you know. Being social as part of a materiality assessment is a good first step towards picking the right SDGs.