An estimated 62% of companies now include the SDGs in their annual sustainability reports.
The Global SDG Awards aim to foster the inclusion of new reporting metrics based on SDG indicators, and create a platform to recognize outstanding corporate efforts to contribute to the SDGs.
15 March 2018: The Global SDG Awards, the first international, private-sector focused sustainability competition based on the SDGs, were launched at the GLOBE Forum 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. The competition will be open to companies and social enterprises with sustainability programmes and business models geared towards realizing the SDGs.
David A. Klar, Global SDG Awards Executive Director, noted that, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, 62% of companies now include the SDGs in their annual sustainability reports. Despite this, he said that less than 30% of them have set specific SDG targets, and even fewer measure the success of their corporate responsibility programmes with SDG indicators. He explained that the Global SDG Awards were created to address this challenge, recalling that achieving the SDG targets will require estimated annual incremental investments of US$5-7 trillion.
By turning sustainability into a competition, the Global SDG Awards aim to increase private sector SDG investment, foster the inclusion of new reporting metrics based on SDG indicators, and create a platform to recognize outstanding corporate efforts to contribute to the SDGs. Submissions will be judged by panels of experts based on: positive impact, and results of corporate responsibility and sustainability programmes using relevant SDG indicators; potential for scalability, including financial performance, per capita or per dollar metrics, and plans for future programme expansion; and magnetism, namely evidence of programme impacts on stakeholders.
The Global SDG Awards will take place annually beginning in 2018, and will run through 2030. Finalists for 2018 will be announced on 1 November, and the winner will be announced in February 2019.
The GLOBE Forum, which serves as the leadership summit for sustainable business, convened from 14-16 March on the theme of ‘Disrupting business as usual’ and the sub-theme, ‘The state of our oceans.’ [Global SDG Awards Website] [Globe Forum Website] [Natural Capital Coalition Press Release]