MARTIREZ, SOFIA ANNE NICOLE S.

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

 Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by world leaders in
September 2015 at a historic United Nations Summit and underpinned by 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (sdgs) and their associated 169 targets, began on 1 January 2016.
 The SDGs were developed following the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
in 2012 (‘Rio+20’) and build on the Millennium Development Goals (mdgs) adopted in September
2000 as part of the un Millennium Declaration.
 The SDGs provide a more holistic and integrated approach to development than the MDGs, thus
continuing the legacy of the Brundtland Commission (un, 1987) and the Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development (un, 1992).
 They are designed to be universal and therefore apply to all countries – poor, rich and middle-
income alike – and to all segments of society.
 The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is one of the leading organizations working
to fulfil the SDGs by the year 2030.

The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs)

GOAL 1: No Poverty: End poverty in all its form everywhere

 Set and enforce strict non-discriminatory policies

 Recruit, train, and employ local community members, including those living in poverty,
and integrate them in your value chain

GOAL 2: Zero Hunger: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote
sustainable agriculture

 Support and encourage small-scale farming, practice farm-to-table or 'farm-to-office

snacks' sourcing from local entities whenever possible
 Demonstrate transparency in the agricultural supply chain
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at
all ages

 Offer employee health benefits

 Make investments in health a priority in business operations.

GOAL 4: Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all

 Create programs (e.g., internships, work-study programs, traineeships, etc.) that give
students earlier access to the corporate environment

 Provide employees with continuous opportunities to improve their (job) skills for their
current and future employment

GOAL 5: Gender Equality: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

 Pay equal remuneration, including benefits, for work of equal value

 Support access to child and dependent care by providing services, resources, and
information to both women and men

 Establish a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of violence at work, including verbal/
and/ or physical abuse

GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water
and sanitation for all

 Prioritize water efficiency by installing best-practice technologies for water conservation

 Educate employees about the importance of water efficiency

 Prohibit the use of chemicals and materials that can be particularly detrimental to water
quality if improperly disposed
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and
modern energy for all

 Pursue efficient certifications, like LEED or Energy Star

 Prioritize energy efficiency across all operations, preserve light, heating, cooling, etc.
whenever possible

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

 Offer apprenticeship opportunities

 Foster entrepreneurial culture and invest in/mentor young entrepreneurs

 Install a firm policy against unfair hiring and recruitment practices

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Build resilient infrastructure, promote

inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

 Establish standards and promote regulation that ensures company projects and initiatives
are sustainably managed

 Promote innovation by giving all stakeholders the opportunity to offer creative solutions
to sustainability challenges

GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality: Reduce inequality within and among countries

 Invest in business-driven poverty eradication activities (e.g., develop living wage policy)

 Partner with civil society networks to provide education and entrepreneurial skills training

GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: Make cities and human settlements inclusive,
safe, resilient and sustainable

 Jointly develop and/or participate in a sustainable community that brings together relevant
stakeholders through a common and neutral platform to jointly analyze, discuss, and act on
urban functionality, resilience, and sustainable development

 Support and utilize public transportation services

GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and
production patterns

 Reduce manufacturing impacts by substituting virgin raw materials in products with post-
consumer materials through recycling and upcycling

 Significantly reduce waste and ensure that any unavoidable waste is utilized to the fullest
degree (e.g., organic waste as fuel or fertilizer)

GOAL 13: Climate Action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

 Retrofit the lighting systems of the company’s facilities to energy-efficient LED lighting.

 Understand climate risk and build resilience into the company’s assets and supply chain.

 Expand sustainable forest management through responsible sourcing practices and product
substitution.

GOAL 14: Life Below Water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development

 Track the life cycle of products and materials to understand how they are disposed and
which products could likely find their way into marine environments.

 Record and disclose information on the chemical and material usage within products,
packaging, and processing systems to facilitate closing the loop.

 Prevent waste mismanagement or littering that could pollute the marine environment.

GOAL 15: Life on Land: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt
biodiversity loss

 Measure, manage, and mitigate impacts on ecosystems and natural resources.

 Scale up best practices for land-use planning and management.

 Commit to and implement responsible sourcing practices beyond compliance – applying

environmental and social safeguards – for all raw materials and commodities.
GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for
sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and
inclusive institutions at all levels

 Comply with laws and seek to meet international standards; require and support business
partners to do the same.

GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal: Strengthen the means of implementation and
revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

 Partake in SDG-related partnerships like the UN's Make the Global Goals Local campaign,
the SDG reporting initiative and locally based sustainability initiatives

https://www.business.com/articles/un-sustainable-development-goals-for-small-business/

https://council.science/cms/2017/03/SDGs-interactions-framework.pdf

BUSINESS PROMOTING SDGs:

GOAL 1: No Poverty:

 Visa
 Visa brings financial services to the underserved.

GOAL 2: Zero Hunger:

 General Mills gives meals to local food banks.

GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being:

 Kaiser Permanente invests in healthy communities.

GOAL 4: Quality Education:

 LEGO
 LEGO funds children’s play, learning, and creativity

GOAL 5: Gender Equality:

 Participant Media teaches students worldwide about Malala.

GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation:

 Kimberly-Clark recognizes that toilets change lives.

GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy:

 Panasonic
 Like many companies on this list, Panasonic has ambitious energy goals, both in
terms of efficiency and renewable, and it also focuses on making environmentally
friendly products. They’re also partnering with several companies to make a
demonstration Sustainable Smart Town in Japan centred around sustainability.

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth:

 Microsoft YouthSpark
 Microsoft YouthSpark helps young people develop computer skills.

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure:

 Qualcomm
 Qualcomm brings wireless technology to underserved communities.

GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality

 Citi
 Citi sees diversity as a source of strength

GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities:

  Siemens celebrates communities that foster green and sustainable economic
solutions.

GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

 Nike
 Nike uses recycled materials in most of its gear

GOAL 13: Climate Action:

 JetBlue teaches customers and crew about climate change.

GOAL 14: Life Below Water:

 Discovery Channel supports clean oceans.

GOAL 15: Life on Land:

 The North Face protects outdoor areas.

GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions:

 AirBnB
 AirBnB helps provide refugee relief workers with places to stay.

GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal:

 TripAdvisor
 TripAdvisor partners with GlobalGiving to identify and support locally-driven
nonprofits with SDG-focused missions.

https://sdgfunders.org/blog/how-17-companies-are-tackling-sustainable-development-goals-and-your-
company-can-too/