Support for the SDGs is an integral, deliberate part of a leading company’s strategy

A leading company’s actions in support of the SDGs are an integral, deliberate part of its strategy. Support for the SDGs is incorporated into the long-term business goals of the company. It is an integral element by which it strives for value creation; manages its workforce, supply-chain and other inputs; and addresses risks. This must be driven from the highest levels of the company and involve a strategic vision to open up new ways to contribute to the SDGs.

A leading company’s level of ambition greatly exceeds prevailing levels of ambition, its actions are material in the context of its end-to-end operations, and it focuses on long-term outcomes

A leading company’s level of ambition greatly exceeds prevailing levels of ambition, is aligned with global targets where relevant, and inspires action by others. Leading action represents a step forward in contributing to the SDGs within an industry and across geographies. Targets are set based on science or accepted thresholds, implying a level of ambition that meets or surpasses what is required for realizing the SDGs. A leading company inspires peers to emulate its actions, including through audacity in challenging existing business practice and what is perceived to be possible. In doing so, the leading company has the potential to transform the way in which business is done beyond the boundaries of its own organization.

Ambition requires that action is material in the context of the company’s end-to-end operations. Small and medium-sized enterprises can be as ambitious as multinationals, despite each type of firm having different levels of absolute impact (negative and positive). In all cases, a leader looks beyond its own operations to its value chain, from suppliers to consumers, as well as to a wider group of stakeholders, to assess on which SDGs it has a material impact. Materiality in this sense extends beyond financial impact on the company itself to encompass all types of impact on people, planet and prosperity that the company may have.

Finally, ambition means a focus on action that will deliver long-term outcomes. A leading company does not focus primarily on inputs and outputs, but explicitly targets long-term progress while also ensuring shorter-term contributions to the SDGs.

Support for the SDGs is embedded across organizational functions and external communications

A leading company embeds support for the SDGs across organizational functions, making its actions and communication consistent. The focus on the SDGs is recognized across the business, including by all senior leaders. Top-level ethical behavior and commitment are embedded throughout the organization and underpin the performance required to advance the SDGs. It is particularly important that there is consistency between what the company says and what it does throughout its business, from advertising and marketing to corporate strategy and government affairs.

A leading company aligns its public voice and advocacy with its ambitions, strategies, and actions to support the SDGs. This requires internal and external transparency in line with the accountability quality. A leading company is consistent in the intention of its actions and approaches across geographies and over time, adapting them to contextual differences as appropriate.

Support for the SDGs involves partnerships, including with business, government, civil society and other actors

A leading company’s action on the SDGs includes proactive collaboration with others. Collaboration complements the leading company’s own capabilities so as to achieve the best possible outcomes for the SDGs. The company forges partnerships with other businesses, government, civil society organizations, academia, investors, and local communities. These partnerships are facilitated by the leading company publicly advocating SDG action.

Collaboration follows established guidelines and principles of engagement in the relevant areas. Partnerships should be co-owned and involve shared decision making. The legitimacy of the leading company’s use of its power in the context of its partnerships, especially in relation to government priorities in developing countries, must be guaranteed. In doing so, leading companies support SDG 16 by promoting effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.

A leading company is transparent, manages risk, seeks out meaningful engagement with stakeholders, and is accountable for adverse impacts.

A leading company understands and acts upon its responsibility to people and planet by holding itself fully accountable for the actions it takes and the impacts it has. It has systems to identify the impacts it causes, contributes and is linked to; risk management processes to prevent adverse impacts; and procedures to allow access to remedy, including through grievance mechanisms, for any remaining impacts that result from its actions or decisions.

Accountable leadership means being transparent and engaging stakeholders proactively on challenges and progress towards the SDGs. This fosters trust from government, investors, employees, customers and communities. A leading company knows and shows how it is improving its performance, allowing these stakeholders to make informed decisions. A leading company is not only transparent, but also actively seeks out the views of stakeholders and acts on them.

To be accountable, a leading company must act lawfully and align its actions with established international norms, including in cases where domestic law falls short. For example, it should continue to respect international standards even if these are not legally mandated in the country where it operates [see Box 1].