Business Models and Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, all 193 member countries of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the principle of “leaving no one behind,” it emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development [1]. The 2020 environmental, social and governance (ESG) scoring and reporting document from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes that sustainability investing has grown, primarily due to the number of funds and investors that have added ESG approaches to their overall agenda. Corporations, central banks and the public sector are placing a new emphasis on a greener environment and low-carbon economy [2]. The 2020s was to be a decade of action but progress has been slow, stalled or reversed in meeting the 17 SDG targets [3]. OECD’s quantitative analysis provides an indication of the progress made and challenges still ahead with regard to sustainable development. The wide variety of metrics, methodologies, and approaches indicate a high number of disparate outcomes that are open to interpretation [4].