Sustainable development is no longer a theoretical concept only. Instead, it is becoming a practical phenomenon and an inseparable part of our reality, which both international organizations, such as the UN, and global leaders are aware of. By 2030, all UN member states, including Czech Republic, are obliged to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to help to create a new, better reality by securing world peace, preventing climate change, protecting the natural environment and health and alleviating hunger and poverty.
Today’s world is facing numerous issues and challenges. According to the World Economic Forum, the most serious global threats at present are growing cyber-security breaches, the economic impact of new technologies and lack of progress to protect the environment, as well as increasing geopolitical tensions.
NEW GLOBAL TARGETS
In September 2015, representatives of 193 member states of the United Nations signed a document entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ”, which defines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Figure: Sustainable Development Goals) in addition to 169 targets.
This represents a particularly ambitious challenge. By definition, the 2030 Agenda is universal. Implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires comprehensive partnership and cooperation not only at the international level but, most importantly, within each country. This is not a task for governments only but also for the business. Transforming the world towards sustainable development creates a tremendous opportunity for enterprises, not only those which operate internationally. SDGs create a natural space for engagement of businesses in sustainable socio-economic growth efforts as well as initiatives aimed to protect the environment and simultaneously allowing them to derive business benefits being the effect of implementation of new business models and innovations aimed to achieve the targets and goals defined in the 2030 Agenda.
POTENTIAL BUSINESS BENEFITS
According to the Business&Sustainable Development Commission, an organization embracing business leaders and representatives of the civil society, the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals may provide the global business with access to $12 trillion annually in four areas, namely:
Furthermore, the said organization of business leaders identified 60 key business opportunities relating to the achievement of the goals, such as eating habit changes, car sharing, energy storage systems or telehealth. Globally, all these actions may contribute to the creation of over 380 million new jobs.
In the Czech Republic, some companies have voluntarily joined the SDGs initiative and the Global Compact recently published an interactive map on activities related to SDGs progress launched by UN. The majority of the 27 Czech reporting companies are focused on “decent work and economic growth” initiatives and less active in “no poverty” commitments .
THE MAP OF CHANGES FOR THE CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech Agenda 2030 is implemented by the Czech Government Council for Sustainable Development and managed by the Department for Sustainable Development of the Office of the Government. CZ 2030 defines goals in six major areas that have been identified on the basis of development principles provided by key stakeholders: people and society, economic model, resilient ecosystems, municipalities and regions, global development and good governance.
Development of special indicators measuring development at the global level is the task of UN expert groups, which will also be responsible for monitoring the fulfilment of tasks undertaken by each country. Finally, each member state will come forward to present its current SDG implementation status at highest-level UN meetings.
Deloitte as a jury member in the SDGs Awards: Price for Siemens Czech Republic in the Reporting category
Though the SDG’s implementation is a voluntary commitment, companies perform a key role in leading this initiative to transform the Czech Republic. A-CSR , the Global Compact UN Czech Network, recently celebrated the second edition of the National SDGs Awards, which recognize the best sustainable development projects in the country. The Czech Republic became one of the first countries in the world which recognised the outstanding efforts of projects advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ceremony took place at Černín Palace on Tuesday, 12 June, 2018 and Deloitte took part as expert jury for the reporting category, rewarding SIEMENS Česká Republika for its 2017 report “In the Czech Republic, for the Czech Republic”. The jury recognised the merit of mapping Czech plans, strategies, challenges and priorities related to SDGs and the effort to show the company’s particular contribution to the economic and social development of the country. Other award winners included the non-profit organisation SIRIRI with its project Learning though play in the Central African Republic (Award of the Czech Development Agency), the Záchranka application (Award for Young Leaders under 30), MIWA (Business category) or the project Healthy School in the Public Sphere category, which uses an instructional programme to contribute to education and to improve the nutritional value and quality of food in school cafeterias.
Deloitte was invited for second time by the United Nations Czech Network to be part of the jury because of its reporting experience and expertise at both Czech and international levels. Deloitte became involved in the UN Global Compact initiative as sustainable development is part of its corporate strategy. The initiative aims to support companies in terms of achieving and meeting Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and provide them with assistance and universal approach to sustainability and corporate responsibility.
“We believe that the Sustainable Development Goals mark a challenging agenda for 2030, governments, non-profit and private enterprises have a unique opportunity to transform national realities, contributing to a better world. For companies that voluntarily commit to implement SDGs, the clear definition of goals, the true integration with the core business and the contribution to the national context are the basic issues to focus on. But to make those efforts meaningful, reporting and setting measurable objectives and showing progress against long-term targets play a key role on making that initiatives tangible” says Lenka Neuvirtová, Audit Advisory Director and Sustainability Leader, Deloitte.
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