Promote the SDGs and You’ll Build Your Business – Unilever Get’s It

Following up on my two earlier posts about promoting the Sustainable Development Goals as a means to build your NGO or business success, the other day I came across a column in The Huffington Post by Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever and chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, on this important global topic.

Unilever, perhaps among many corporations worldwide, understands the long-term value of the SDGs. While it is certainly a giant among corporations, Unilever’s corporate sustainability culture offers many doable ideas for small businesses and civil society.

Polman pointed out that humanity today is being offered a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a giant leap in improving the lives of everyone on earth for generations to come.

He said this opportunity exists in all facets of our lives – trains and other forms of transportation, offices, and the energy that powers our homes.

“But it’s also an opportunity for us to decide what we value, as we make decisions that determine the fate of the world’s natural infrastructure, from forests that clean our air to the soil that produces our food,” Polman wrote.

Unilever’s Polman is not unique among corporate leaders that display an acute sense of corporate social and community awareness. The United Nations Global Compact members and participants of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development undoubtedly include scores of likeminded executives. In their quest to improve the quality of life on this planet and, yes, to grow their businesses, they understand that the SDGs provide beneficial opportunities for everyone regardless of their beliefs, preferences or prejudices.

“Only sustainable infrastructure – one that refuses to trade long-term sustainability for short-term gains – will bring about the transformative change we need,” Polman continued. “It is key to our ability to deliver the promises of prosperity and sustainability at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

With the adoption last week of the Paris Agreement on climate change, the global community proved its “collective ambition to further limit global warming and preserve our future,” he wrote.

Indeed, as with the SDGs, sometimes called 2030 Agenda, which was adopted a year ago, and the work that has transpired since then, global organizations, national leaders and multinational corporations have demonstrated their understanding for the need to promote all 17 SDGs. (Click to see all of them: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/).

However, this understanding must trickle down to hometown officials, civil society and small businesses for it to become truly effective and useful. Only after the SDGs are universally embraced by all vestiges of humanity, will there be a chance for their successful attainment.

Polman wrote there is an explicit link among a sustainable infrastructure, development and climate change, and investing in them will yield greater global results but choosing an opposite path, he warned, will lead to economic, social and environmental losses.

The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate report, cited by Polman, estimates that, across man-made and natural infrastructures, the need for investment stands at $90 trillion in the course of the next 15 years – the UN’s deadline for implementation of 2030 Agenda. Two-thirds of that sum has been earmarked for emerging markets, he added.

As with many projects, Polman pointed out that money alone isn’t enough. The report talks about a commitment and an action plan that is based on a partnership of public and private sectors – another prominent buzzword of the SDGs.

“We must tackle price distortions, including fossil fuel subsidies. We must have the right policies and institutions if we want to create the right conditions for investment. That will facilitate investments in clean tech. And, crucially, we must accelerate the greening of the financial system,” Polman suggested.

He wrote that land is a great example of how the international community can manage and invest in a sustainable infrastructure for economic, social and environmental gains. “Its use – and misuse – is at the heart of the challenge for food, fuel and fiber,” he underscored.

Highlighting the interconnectivity of the SDGs – as I wrote in my past two posts – that offer something for everyone, Polman noted that the land issue alone addresses Goal 2 to end hunger, Goal 8 for those who depend on land and forests for their livelihoods, and Goal 15 to protect, restore and promote ecosystems and forests.

“If we know that land is key to a prosperous and equitable future, we also know that our current approach is not sustainable,” he cautioned, alluding to current mistakes.

Polman elaborated that for developing countries land use remains the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, making agriculture a key focus at the United Nations climate change meeting in Marrakesh in November 2016.

“With the right policies and institutions in place, we can fill the $150-250 billion gap needed to restore and conserve agricultural land and forests,” he wrote.

Polman warned that governments have only two to three years to make the right decisions regarding land, forests, cities, energy and transportation because interest rates are currently at record lows, and affordable financing is available and technology is rapidly changing. That means, the advantageous window of opportunity, even for hometown officials, small businesses and civil society, while still open, could suddenly close to the detriment of all.

Polman said this is also a critical time for Unilever, a multinational diversified corporation with interests in food, and similar companies. Its ability to operate in the long run, source water, energy and commodities to produce goods depends on today’s decisions.

“Indeed, the type of infrastructure we choose to invest in today will determine our future for the next decades. We could be locked in to drastically different scenarios, impacting every aspect of our societies and economies, from how we source our energy, food and water, to how we value the environment and the people who depend on it. By investing in sustainable infrastructure we can choose a sustainable future,” Polman explained.

Decisions made today by global organizations and civil society, national governments and hometown officials, and multinational corporations and small businesses will affect sustainability and the lives of humanity and our neighbors for generations to come. There’s an obvious trail of interconnectivity that substantiates my outreach premise: Promote the SDGs, and, in turn, you will promote your NGO or business – and improve the wellbeing of your communities and neighborhoods.

By exhibiting an interest in humanity’s livelihood, humanity will return the favor by exhibiting an interest in elected officials, civil society and big and small businesses.

Unilever has wisely cast its fate on the side of sustainability. There are probably other companies such as Unilever and I’ll bring their stories to you in future posts.

Meanwhile, as you launch your SDG projects and campaigns, promote your efforts via social media. You will build followers and awareness of your valuable work. If you share the information with me, I’ll promote it as well.