The guide for business

action on the SDGs

Our planet faces massive economic,

social and environmental challenges.
To combat these, the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) define global
priorities and aspirations for 2030. They
represent an unprecedented opportunity
to eliminate extreme poverty and put the
world on a sustainable path.
Governments worldwide have already
agreed to these goals. Now it is time
for business to take action.
The SDG Compass explains how
the SDGs affect your business –
offering you the tools and knowledge
to put sustainability at the heart of
your strategy.

Developed by
TM
Why do the SDGs matter for business?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Covering a wide spectrum of sustainable development
define global sustainable development priorities topics relevant to companies – such as poverty,
and aspirations for 2030 and seek to mobilize health, education, climate change and environmental
global efforts around a common set of goals degradation – the SDGs can help to connect business
and targets. The SDGs call for worldwide strategies with global priorities. Companies can use
action among governments, business and civil the SDGs as an overarching framework to shape, steer,
society to end poverty and create a life of dignity communicate and report their strategies, goals and
and opportunity for all, within the boundaries activities, allowing them to capitalize on a range of
of the planet. benefits such as:
Unlike their predecessor, the Millennium Development   Identifying future business opportunities
Goals, the SDGs explicitly call on all businesses to The SDGs aim to redirect global public and private
apply their creativity and innovation to solving investment flows towards the challenges they
sustainable development challenges. The SDGs have represent. In doing so they define growing markets
been agreed by all governments, yet their success for companies that can deliver innovative solutions
relies heavily on action and collaboration by all actors. and transformative change.
The SDGs present an opportunity for business-led   Enhancing the value of corporate sustainability
solutions and technologies to be developed and Whilst the business case for corporate sustainability
implemented to address the world’s biggest sustainable is already well established, the SDGs may for example
development challenges. strengthen the economic incentives for companies to
use resources more efficiently, or to switch to more
As the SDGs form the global agenda for the sustainable alternatives, as externalities become
development of our societies, they will allow leading increasingly internalised.
companies to demonstrate how their business helps
advance sustainable development, both by minimizing   Strengthening stakeholder relations and
negative impacts and maximizing positive impacts on keeping the pace with policy developments
people and the planet. The SDGs reflect stakeholder expectations as well as
future policy direction at the international, national and
regional levels. Companies that align their priorities with
the SDGs can strengthen engagement of customers,
employees and other stakeholders, and those that don’t
will be exposed to growing legal and reputational risks.
  Stabilizing societies and markets
Business cannot succeed in societies that fail.
Investing in the achievement of the SDGs supports
pillars of business success, including the existence of
rules-based markets, transparent financial systems,
and non-corrupt and well-governed institutions.
  Using a common language and shared purpose
The SDGs define a common framework of action and
language that will help companies communicate more
consistently and effectively with stakeholders about
their impact and performance. The goals will help bring
Business is a vital partner together synergistic partners to address the world’s
most urgent societal challenges.
in achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals. Companies
can contribute through their core
activities, and we ask companies
everywhere to assess their
impact, set ambitious goals and
communicate transparently
about the results.
Ban Ki-moon,
United Nations
Secretary-General
What is the SDG Compass?

The objective of the SDG Compass is to guide The SDG Compass guide is organized into sections
companies on how they can align their strategies that address each of the five steps of the guide:
as well as measure and manage their contribution
01 Understanding the SDGs
to the Sustainable Development Goals.
As a first step, companies are assisted in familiarizing
The guide presents five steps that assist companies themselves with the SDGs.
in maximizing their contribution to the SDGs. 02 Defining priorities
Companies can apply the five steps to set or align To seize the most important business opportunities
their course, depending on where they are on the presented by the SDGs and reduce risks, companies
journey of ensuring that sustainability is an outcome are encouraged to define their priorities based
of core business strategy. on an assessment of their positive and negative,
current and potential impact on the SDGs across
The five steps of the SDG Compass rest on the
their value chains.
recognition of the responsibility of all companies to
comply with all relevant legislation, respect international 03 Setting goals
minimum standards and address as a priority all Goal setting is critical to business success and helps
negative human rights impacts. foster shared priorities and better performance
across the organization. By aligning company goals
The SDG Compass is developed with a focus on large with the SDGs, the leadership can demonstrate its
multinational enterprises. Small and medium enterprises commitment to sustainable development.
and other organizations are also encouraged to use it
as a source of inspiration and adapt as necessary. 04 Integrating
The SDG Compass is designed for use at entity level, Integrating sustainability into the core business
but may be applied at product, site, divisional or regional and governance, and embedding sustainable
level as required. development targets across all functions within the
company, is key to achieving set goals. To pursue
shared objectives or address systemic challenges,
companies increasingly engage in partnerships
across the value chain, within their sector or with
governments and civil society organizations.
05 Reporting and communicating
The SDGs enable companies to report information
on sustainable development performance using
common indicators and shared set of priorities.
The SDG Compass encourages companies to build
the SDGs into their communication and reporting
with stakeholders.
Where can I find the SDG Compass?

The full SDG Compass guide can be found on our

website along with resources that will help your
company align your strategy with the SDGs.
The website includes:
 The full SDG Compass guide, explaining the
five steps to implementation in more detail.
 A live inventory of existing business indicators
from relevant and widely-recognized sources,
mapped against the 17 SDGs and their targets.
 A live inventory of business tools mapped
against the SDGs.
 A two-page overview for each SDG, covering
the role of business, and illustrative examples
of business solutions, indicators and tools. www.sdgcompass.org

About us

Developed by GRI, the UN Global Compact www.globalreporting.org

and the World Business Council for Sustainable www.unglobalcompact.org
Development (WBCSD), the SDG Compass www.wbcsd.org
incorporates feedback received through three
consultation periods from companies, government
agencies, academic institutions and civil society
organizations worldwide. TM

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)