By Emilie Grossi & Juliana Rademaker
While the business community played an important role in drafting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and many large corporates have made use of them to align their sustainability strategies, most companies are not advancing toward the Global Goals at the speed or scale required. Reshaping business models and practices is challenging, and companies lack the tools and guidance to connect their activities and outcomes to the SDGs.
To meet this challenge Paul Polman, founder of Imagine, and Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone publicly launched the SDG Action Manager at the ChangeNow Summit in January. This unique new management tool is the fruit of research and development by an alliance of the UN Global Compact and B Lab. The alliance’s ambition in launching this tool is to create “a global movement of companies working to build a better world for people and planet by 2030.”
What is the SDG Action Manager?
The SDG Action Manager is a new online impact-management assessment tool that enables businesses worldwide to set objectives, track progress, and stay motivated on their actions contributing to the UN’s Agenda 2030. The tool enables every economic actor, regardless of size or activity, to understand their impact and take specific actions towards transformation. The tool was developed by B Lab and the UN Global Compact and incorporates B Lab’s Impact Assessment and the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact, drawing from their expertise.
What are the strengths of the SDG Action Manager?
The SDG Action Manager is the first tool that attempts to take the objectives of the SDGs and transform them into tangible metrics and results.
The tool simplifies the SDGs by providing a clear overview of the 17 goals with their corresponding targets. By presenting a general picture of the SDGs, each organisation is free to explore and dig deeper into the goals of their choosing.
The interface of the SDG Action Manager is designed to be straightforward to navigate. Tabs for reports that explore a company’s strengths and weaknesses and a section on planning and staying on track with your intermediate and final objectives are all accessible from a simple dashboard. Businesses can first get a clear view of how their operations, supply chain, and business model contribute to the SDGs and identify areas of risk attached to each goal. These results enable companies to set goals and track progress on each SDG. The tool allows collaboration across the company by inviting collaborators to contribute their expertise on a specific topic. It adopts an educational approach by challenging companies with thought-provoking questions and offering, in return, relevant resources and improvement guides.
How can my business use the SDG Action Manager for success?
The SDG Action Manager is a valuable enabler for integrating the SDGs into your company by first understanding the nature, scope and scale of your impacts. As a well-crafted assessment tool, the SDG Action Manager provides an objective and holistic basis for drafting a roadmap to guide a business through the necessary transformation to achieve the SDGs. Working with a team like New Angles can help you translate the methodology and strategic vision into concrete actions. New Angles was a beta tester for the tool and works closely with B Lab Corp and UN Global Compact. We can help you use this innovative mapping tool as a springboard for transforming your business and creating positive impact at scale.
With just 10 years to go until the SDGs deadline in 2030, now is the time for your company to embrace this framework to grow your business sustainably, no matter the nature or sector of your company.
Are you ready to take on this new adventure?
Discover the SDG Action Manager here and contact us to discuss the next steps on your sustainability journey.