Sustainable Development and Sustainable Business: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Author:
Bhaskar Chakravorti

The UN General Assembly committed to “eliminate poverty in all its forms everywhere” by 2030, when it met in New York last year. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched with much fanfare, endorsed by heads-of-state, celebrities and CEOs. Thanks, to a campaign on Twitter, Instagram and the like, the SDGs launch was the top trending topic in the US during the assembly.

Now, the headlines have moved elsewhere. Heads-of-state have returned to other pressing matters. The celebrities who spoke up for the SDGs - Usain Bolt, Jordan’s Queen Rania and Beyonce - have moved on to other tweetable events.

A recent survey paints a sobering picture of business engagement with the SDGs. Only 37% of corporate respondents in the US said they were planning to engage with them.

Additionally, the top three goals of possible interest to business were: SDG 13: climate action; SDG 8: decent work and economic growth; SDG 12: responsible consumption and production - all classic public goods. My worry is that they are vulnerable to a tragedy-of-the-commons: each CEO, has a unilateral incentive to under-engage since the benefits are so diffuse and shared so widely.

The article's full-text is available here.

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