The guide for businessaction 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 theworld on a sustainable path.
Governments worldwide have alreadyagreed 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 ofyour strategy.

Developed byTMWhy do the SDGs matter for business?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
define global sustainable development priorities
and aspirations for 2030 and seek to mobilize
global efforts around a common set of goals
and targets. The SDGs call for worldwide
action among governments, business and civilsociety to end poverty and create a life of dignity
and opportunity for all, within the boundariesof the planet.

Covering a wide spectrum of sustainable development
topics relevant to companies – such as poverty,
health, education, climate change and environmental
degradation – the SDGs can help to connect businessstrategies with global priorities. Companies can use
the SDGs as an overarching framework to shape, steer,communicate and report their strategies, goals andactivities, allowing them to capitalize on a range ofbenefits such as:

Unlike their predecessor, the Millennium DevelopmentGoals, the SDGs explicitly call on all businesses toapply their creativity and innovation to solving
sustainable development challenges. The SDGs havebeen agreed by all governments, yet their successrelies heavily on action and collaboration by all actors.

Identifying future business opportunities
The SDGs aim to redirect global public and private
investment flows towards the challenges theyrepresent. In doing so they define growing markets
for companies that can deliver innovative solutions
and transformative change.

The SDGs present an opportunity for business-led
solutions and technologies to be developed andimplemented to address the world’s biggest sustainable
development challenges.

Enhancing the value of corporate sustainability
Whilst the business case for corporate sustainability
is already well established, the SDGs may for examplestrengthen the economic incentives for companies to
use resources more efficiently, or to switch to moresustainable alternatives, as externalities becomeincreasingly internalised.

As the SDGs form the global agenda for thedevelopment of our societies, they will allow leading
companies to demonstrate how their business helps
advance sustainable development, both by minimizing
negative impacts and maximizing positive impacts on
people and the planet.

Strengthening stakeholder relations andkeeping the pace with policy developments
The SDGs reflect stakeholder expectations as well as
future policy direction at the international, national andregional 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 ofrules-based markets, transparent financial systems,
and non-corrupt and well-governed institutions.

Business is a vital partnerin achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals. Companies
can contribute through their core
activities, and we ask companies
everywhere to assess theirimpact, set ambitious goals andcommunicate transparently
about the results.
Ban Ki-moon,
United Nations
Secretary-General

Using a common language and shared purpose
The SDGs define a common framework of action andlanguage that will help companies communicate moreconsistently and effectively with stakeholders about
their impact and performance. The goals will help bring
together synergistic partners to address the world’s
most urgent societal challenges.

What is the SDG Compass?
The objective of the SDG Compass is to guidecompanies on how they can align their strategies
as well as measure and manage their contribution
to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The guide presents five steps that assist companies
in maximizing their contribution to the SDGs.
Companies can apply the five steps to set or aligntheir course, depending on where they are on thejourney of ensuring that sustainability is an outcomeof core business strategy.
The five steps of the SDG Compass rest on therecognition of the responsibility of all companies tocomply with all relevant legislation, respect international
minimum standards and address as a priority all
negative human rights impacts.
The SDG Compass is developed with a focus on large
multinational enterprises. Small and medium enterprises
and other organizations are also encouraged to use it
as a source of inspiration and adapt as necessary.
The SDG Compass is designed for use at entity level,but may be applied at product, site, divisional or regional
level as required.

The SDG Compass guide is organized into sections
that address each of the five steps of the guide:
01 Understanding the SDGs
As a first step, companies are assisted in familiarizingthemselves with the SDGs.
02 Defining priorities
To seize the most important business opportunities
presented by the SDGs and reduce risks, companies
are encouraged to define their priorities basedon an assessment of their positive and negative,
current and potential impact on the SDGs acrosstheir value chains.
03 Setting goals
Goal setting is critical to business success and helps
foster shared priorities and better performanceacross the organization. By aligning company goals
with the SDGs, the leadership can demonstrate its
commitment to sustainable development.
04 Integrating
Integrating sustainability into the core businessand governance, and embedding sustainable
development targets across all functions within thecompany, 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 withgovernments 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 reportingwith stakeholders.

Where can I find the SDG Compass?
The full SDG Compass guide can be found on ourwebsite along with resources that will help yourcompany align your strategy with the SDGs.
The website includes: The full SDG Compass guide, explaining thefive steps to implementation in more detail.
 A live inventory of existing business indicatorsfrom relevant and widely-recognized sources,mapped against the 17 SDGs and their targets.
 A live inventory of business tools mappedagainst the SDGs.
 A two-page overview for each SDG, covering
the role of business, and illustrative examplesof business solutions, indicators and tools.

www.sdgcompass.org

About usDeveloped by GRI, the UN Global Compact
and the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD), the SDG Compass
incorporates feedback received through three
consultation periods from companies, government
agencies, academic institutions and civil society
organizations worldwide.

www.globalreporting.org
www.unglobalcompact.org
www.wbcsd.org

TMThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)