The Business and Sustainable Development Commission has recently launched a flagship report “Better Business, Better World” that calls business leaders for action and seize the concept of sustainable development as the greatest economic opportunity of our time. The Commission encourages business leaders to strike out in new directions and embrace an economic model which is not only low-carbon and environmentally sustainable but also turns poverty, inequality, and lack of financial access into new market opportunities for smart, progressive, and profit-oriented companies. The report highlights that adopting the SDGs as the basis for businesses is not just a social responsibility but also a valuable opportunity in terms of return on capital. The research outcome explains that achieving the SDGs in the four economic systems food and agriculture, cities, energy and materials, and health and well-being opens up market opportunities adding up to 12 trillion US-dollars. Stressing the clear costs of inaction or “business as usual”, the report calls for board members, employees, consumers, and investors alike to take immediate action and promote “better business for a better world”.
Six actions recommended for business leaders:
1. Build support for the Global Goals as the right growth strategy
2. Incorporate the Global Goals into company strategy
3. Drive the transformation to sustainable markets with sector peers
4. Work with policy-makers to pay the true cost of natural and human resources
5. Push for a financial system oriented towards longer-term sustainable investment
6. Rebuild the Social Contract
Both the Executive Summary and the whole report can be found here.
Learn more about The Business and Sustainable Development Commission, find case studies, and learn how to get involved in their work here.