SDG Insights Report 2021
The Sdgs Insights Report 2021, published by B Lab (B Corp), the non-profit organization that manages the accreditation of B Corp, provides very unsatisfactory data on the action of companies.
The data comes from companies (not limited to B Corporations) that already have a focus on SDGs and are not representative of the companies as a whole. The report points out that the action of companies to reach the Sdgs is at risk of stalemate and that companies show little ambition for improvement. The report shows that companies tend to focus their efforts on internal operations, rather than on aspects of their business where change is more difficult to achieve, but more impactful. These include their supply chain, business model and taking steps to work collaboratively with other stakeholders.
The authors of the Report underline that, despite much talk of commitment, action and performance are not strategic or bold enough to reach the SDGs. The efforts of individual companies must go beyond marketing and reporting on SDGs, until actual change. The report also recommends that companies work for wider systemic change.
It emerges that companies are contributing more to the SDGs objectives of poverty eradication, quality education, responsible consumption and production, decent work and economic growth. Companies contribute less to marine issues, clean water, sanitation and clean energy at affordable prices. The research also measures, separately, the risk of a negative business impact on Sdgs, recognizing that companies can contribute to achieving one or more SDGs while simultaneously having a negative impact elsewhere. From this point of view, the SDGs most at risk of negative impact are gender equality, climate action, decent work and economic growth.
B Lab also highlights a negative compromise between social and environmental impact as some results seem to indicate a correlation between some SDGs focused on social impact at the expense of SDGs focused on the environment.
