New research by Corporate Citizenship reveals that although business awareness of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals has increased in the past year, tangible action to address the Global Goals has been slow to follow.
One year on from the launch of the goals, the research reveals a trust-deficit between the expectations of millennials – the largest generation alive today – and the realities of business action when it comes to solving the world’s most pressing social, environmental and economic challenges.
The research findings show:
- A majority of companies surveyed are not yet taking action to address the Sustainable Development Goals
- 81 per cent of millennials said they believed that the private sector has a very important role to play in achieving the Global Goals
- Building partnerships with government and regulators, investors, and suppliers are critical to accelerating progress on the SDGs
As the largest and potentially most influential demographic – entering into their prime spending years and set to inherit over $40 trillion in assets – Millennials also want companies to take the lead in solving the world’s most pressing challenges.
This presents a real challenge as the expectation of Millennials is clearly for business to raise the bar, and transform the way commerce is conducted. But the majority of businesses surveyed by Corporate Citizenship have not yet moved beyond the planning stages in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals.
In order to close the trust-deficit, we need more companies to consider the Global Goals as a business opportunity to build trust with stakeholders, accelerate innovation on products and services that address societal concerns whilst building resilience for the future.
Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals: Business Action and Millennials Views’ can be downloaded here.
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