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RUNNING HEAD: THE UN’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

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THE UN’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Hannah Hutchins and Dierrah McInnis

MGT 6570, Leadership in the Global Environment

June 19, 2023

Introduction

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations are a collection of 17 ambitious goals which include 193 members from all over the world who have agreed to pursue the SDGs that is aimed at ending poverty, protecting the environment, and ensuring prosperity for everyone. Each of the 17 goals is a blueprint for a better environment now and in the future and offers everyone an inclusive and sustainable future. They were established at a United Nations conference and adopted by over 178 nations to create a global partnership for sustainable development to enhance people's lives and safeguard the environment. Achieving these goals by 2030 would require immense investment, and the financial and legal sectors will be critical in providing the necessary funds and regulatory framework. Sustainable development requires stability, growth, peace, and justice for all, and the finance and legal industries can help achieve these goals by promoting responsible investment practices, adopting sustainable business practices, and ensuring that regulatory frameworks support the SDGs. The research described here intends to explore the relationship between the SDGs and the corporate world, as well as the financial and legal sectors, and the role these industries may play in encouraging sustainable development.

Sustainability in the Business World

Business sustainability is a proactive approach to ensuring a business's long-term viability and integrity by optimizing resources and reducing environmental impacts while not compromising product quality, competitiveness, or profitability. The idea of sustainability has gained wider recognition among most corporations. And business operations are conducted mostly under its guidance, i.e., satisfying our own needs without diminishing the chances of future generations. With the rapid development of the business economy, environmental concerns have become of paramount urgency for all corporations that are responsible for environmental problems. The issues are important to the future success of their companies, according to 99 percent of CEOs of firms with over $1 billion in annual revenues, and 88 percent of students in business schools place priority on learning about environmental and social issues in business (Geringer & McNett, 2020). Undoubtedly, the term "sustainability " poses new challenges for business activities to learn, grow, and stabilize. The SDGs were a powerful communication tool used by participants to help organizations and their boards understand their contribution to the future, what is sustainable within environmental limits, and how to meet unmet needs (Haywood & Boihang, 2020).  These goals help to ensure that our corporations are responsible and set forth the goals in their companies to help achieve a healthy environment now and in the future.

Effectiveness of the UN´s Sustainable Development Goals

When looking at the sustainable development goals and how they are used, you see many ways businesses and industries can make them effective. In some industries, it is harder to incorporate the SDGs because of economic and financial barriers. Economic and financial barriers require major changes in plans and strategies for industries. Companies that lack sustainability see these goals as an expense, not an opportunity to increase production. Implementing a new strategy will take time and resources, and industries are unwilling to spend the money to get there. Also, some industries are stuck in their ways and don't believe these sustainable development goals will help them improve. Looking at some of the industries that have implemented these goals into their work, we can see that they have saved more money in the long run and created a better environment for the future.

Airport Industry (Business Example)

The effectiveness of the UN's sustainable development goals in the airport industry can be seen in airport buildings and aviation around the country. When looking at the industry, it seems apparent that this industry would not support the UN's sustainable development goals, but they do. Airports have significant opportunities to invest in energy efficiency, replacing fossil fuel use with a clean electric grid or funding large-scale renewable projects (on and/or offsite) to offset emissions (Sperry & Bender, 2020). When these airline companies try to put profitability above the environment, it causes people not to want to fly anymore. Some aviation companies, such as Arup´s SFO office, have been working hard to implement the UN´s SDG goals into everyday business. SFO committed to four sustainability goals under its strategic plan: achieving zero net energy, zero waste, zero carbon, and a 50 percent reduction in GHG emissions (Sperry & Bender, 2020). To achieve the energy goal, SFO is working with an Arupled team on an energy-benchmarking initiative that includes a review of its design specifications and capital plans for opportunities to incorporate energy efficiency targets and strategies, wherever possible. With the work of this company and many other aviation companies, the industry will improve profitability, protect the environment, and have a reputation that helps among many rivals. 

Legal Industry

The effectiveness of the UN's sustainable development goals in the international judiciary system has not yet developed a coherent approach to cases involving sustainability concerns. Furthermore, sustainability has rarely influenced the ratio decidendi of decisions in a court. John Gillroy found that sustainability “has emerged as the core concept of the current environmental debate within international law.” He has pushed for the judicial system to continue to work sustainable inside building and within cases involving the environment. The courts have tried to include sustainability inside the trial court facilities. They have been working over the last couple of years to double energy efficiency savings in state buildings. The court system has worked closely to follow the UN sustainable development goals and had set their own national and international goals to improve sustainability across the globe. (Barta, S., Belanche, D., Flavián, M., & Terré, M. C.,2023)

Finance Industry

The effectiveness of the UN's sustainable development goals in the finance industry can be seen in the growing trend of sustainable and impact investing. In recent years, the finance industry has increasingly adopted its goals. The goals provide a framework for financial institutions to match their investments with long-term development goals while managing risks and satisfying changing stakeholder expectations. According to the UN, the annual investment necessary to accomplish the SDGs is anticipated to be between $5 and $7 trillion each year. This is a substantial sum that will need both public and private support.

Investors are increasingly looking for firms that show a commitment to environmental and social responsibility, and financial institutions are reacting by offering new products and services that promote sustainability. However, more effort must be done to guarantee that these goals are completely incorporated into the financial industry and have a substantial impact on long-term development results. (“The Sustainable Development Goals and the Financial Services ..”, n.d.)

Pros and Cons of UN's Sustainable Development Goals

There will always be some pros and cons to something in this day and age. The first pro is the SDGs incorporate a broad range of social, environmental, and economic goals with specific targets and indicators that can be applied in all countries. The second pro is that has hashtags for the 17 UN´s sustainable development goals have allowed more than 70% of the world’s largest companies to claim to contribute to the SDGs (Alvaro, 2022).

The third pro is that it can help financial companies identify new business opportunities, manage risks, and it can provide a framework for companies that will lead to better long-term financial performance. The fourth pro is that SDGs could encourage the development of new legal frameworks, and by stressing the objectives, many law firms can enhance their credibility and attract new consumers who value sustainability.

On the other hand, the UN's sustainable development goals are voluntary and not enforceable. This leads to the SDGs being misused and not taken seriously. A con is that some industries promote and say they use these goals when, they do not. Some financial companies, for example, might embrace the SDGs, but without substantial action, this may result in SDG-washing.

Another con is the overwhelmingness for any manager to embrace the expansive dimensions of the SDGs and design strategies that integrate them into activities (Alvaro, 2022). Also, a con that refers the legal system is the limited resources or capacity to effectively integrate sustainability into legal practice.

Conclusion

The business world as a whole has a critical role to play in financing sustainable development and achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. These industries can promote stability and growth by providing the necessary capital and regulatory framework to support sustainable projects and initiatives. Moreover, by adopting sustainable business practices, promoting responsible investment practices, and ensuring that regulatory frameworks support the SDGs, the industries can emphasize peace and justice for all. By working together, these industries can help create a more sustainable future for all and ensure that the SDGs are achieved by 2030.

Question:

What steps can businesses in your industry take to align their operations with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and what benefits can they reap as a result?

References

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The Sustainable Development Goals and the Financial Services . https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e5aa/bad26561ab67498417a7deae19a1d6cfce95.pdf

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