Scoping a Vision Towards Accomplishing the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Summary of expert perspectives from ENEL-GRI Collaboration Forum 2

December 2019

Facilitated by:

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from

394 participants from 56 countries
13 expert guest contributors from 11 organisations
3 hours of online, text discussion
845 individual contributions

expert guest
contributors

11 organisations

Forum 2 project impact

389
59

16 expert guest
contributors from
14 organisations

3h

1287

Online & text
discussion

Individual
contributions

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Table of Contents
Project overview......................................................................................................................................................................4
Introductions from Enel and GRI......................................................................................................................................5
Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................................................................6
Part 1- Strengthening the link between reporting and SDG contributions ................................................7
1.1 Key summary.................................................................................................................................................................7
1.2 Making reporting on SDG contributions more meaningful ....................................................................7
Part 2- Types of partnerships to deliver the SDGs..................................................................................................10
2.1 Key summary.................................................................................................................................................................10
2.2 Encouraging business and government collaboration..................................................................................11
2.3 Enabling meaningful business/business partnerships.....................................................................................13
2.4 Collaboration through business associations and multi-stakeholder coalitions ..............................16
Part 3- Corporate leadership and scaling-up business models to deliver impact ......................................18
3.1 Key summary.................................................................................................................................................................18
3.2 Corporate Leadership on the SDGs...................................................................................................................19
3.3 Scaling up sustainable business models .............................................................................................................20
Part 4- Financing SDG projects.........................................................................................................................................23
4.1 Key summary.................................................................................................................................................................23
4.2 Financing SDG projects ........................................................................................................................................23
Part 5- Accountability and monitoring...........................................................................................................................26
5.1 Key summary.................................................................................................................................................................26
5.2 Strengthening accountability and monitoring ...............................................................................................26
Appendix 1: List of expert guest contributors .........................................................................................................29
Appendix 2: Shared examples and resources..............................................................................................................30
Appendix 3: About GRI, Enel and GlobeScan.............................................................................................................32

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Project overview
In July 2019, GRI, the global sustainability reporting standard setter, and Enel, a global powercompany, announced a partnership to explore how the private sector can actively contribute to the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Forum 2 consisted of two 90-minute, global, real-time, online, text-based discussion sessions, heldon 14 November 2019, and was moderated by global insights consultancy GlobeScan. The event
attracted 389 participants from 59 countries around the world, and included 16 expert guest
contributors from 14 organisations, who were invited as multi-stakeholder panellists to help groundthe discussion.
This report summarises learnings across the discussions from Forum 2. A list of examples andresources relevant to this forum can be found in Appendix 2.

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Introductions from Enel and GRIThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established by the United Nations as theambitious roadmap toward a sustainable future. The success of the SDGs hinges on the ability toengage the private sector and unleash their innovative power.
From the inception of the SDGs, GRI has championed the participation of the private sector inmeasuring and achieving progress. And it is clear that by engaging in SDG reporting and embedding
this within corporate disclosures, businesses can change their ways of working through embracing
sustainable practices.
This exciting partnership between our two organizations will help us understand how this ishappening in practice and what we can do to encourage more companies to get on board. The
project also aims to trigger new national and global collaboration initiatives.
Our first forum in this series explored the current state of play on the role of reporting andpartnerships to drive corporate change in accomplishing the SDGs. The summary report shares thelearnings from this discussion and identifies key challenges and initial priorities for action.
In this second forum, our discussion built on the outcomes of the first and explored developing
a vision on what needs to be done to strengthen the role of future SDG reporting; to enhancesustainable business practices and actions; and to stimulate new partnerships and business models
to accelerate corporate SDG action.
The outcome of both of these forums will inform Enel and GRI’s development of solutions andallow us to continue the dialogue around the world in regional events throughout 2020. These
forums are only the starting point for future work centred on the SDGs.
We would like to thank GlobeScan for their expertise and moderation of the forums. Their
proprietary platform provides a space for expert stakeholders to come together to learn, inspire
fresh thinking and share best practice examples to turn ideas into collective action.
A special thanks to all the contributors for taking the time to join us and for sharing theirexperience and wisdom.

Marina Migliorato, Head Sustainability Stakeholder Engagement, EnelPeter Paul van de Wijs, Chief External Affairs Officer, Global Reporting Initiative

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Executive Summary
Sustainability reporting provides an important foundation for achieving the transformational change
and progress needed towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Strong reportingcan play a role in stimulating new partnerships, scaling sustainable business models andenabling new financial models.
Our forum discussion started with participants highlighting how to make reporting on SDG
performance more meaningful. Three key requests of business emerged: (1) prioritise SDGs
based on material issues and link Goal selection to corporate strategy; (2) report progress, where
possible, against sector-specific benchmarks; and (3) monitor and report on SDG impact regularly
to stakeholders.
Participants agreed that progress on Goal 17 “Partnerships for the Goals” must be accelerated
to deliver on the other SDGs. Partnerships can take many forms including business-government
collaboration, direct business-business relationships, and multi-stakeholder coalitions and businessassociations. A key first step to ensuring the effectiveness of all of these types of partnership is
articulating clear objectives on each side, so that shared goals can be established. Reporting on anorganisation’s vision and pathway towards achieving the SDGs provides a solid foundation.
Scaling up new sustainable business models is another crucial area where we need to see moreprogress if we are to achieve the Goals by 2030. The discussion highlighted several interconnectedfactors that will help accelerate new models, starting with the need for more long-term perspective,
both within companies and in the wider financial landscape. Meaningful reporting on the SDGs canhelp shift the focus from short-term profit to long-term environmental, social and economic impact.
In addition to reporting, this move towards long-term perspective within the current system –which is inherently designed to reward short-term performance – requires bold leadership frombusiness. Furthermore, we need businesses to embrace new finance models, such as social impact
bonds, and other actors within the finance sector to shift their thinking. For example, pension funds
engaging more deeply on the long-term potential of their investments, and governments specifying
long-term commitments against which companies can plan.
A theme running through the discussion was the need for overarching reporting systems,
frameworks or sets of benchmarks to guide organisations in reporting progress on the SDGs. The
benefits of this would be numerous. Adherence to the same standards would allow businesses tobenchmark progress while enabling greater accountability and allowing investors and governments
to compare the performance of companies and sectors. Participants further suggested that there
needs to be third-party monitoring or auditing of reporting against the SDGs, and highlighted theopportunities afforded by next generation technology such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.
The Enel-GRI-GlobeScan collaboration forum “Scoping a Vision Towards Accomplishing the SDGs”
highlights the central role of reporting in enabling transformational system change. The examples
and ideas in this report, from a wide range of influential stakeholders, provide a foundation fromwhich we can map out a pathway towards 2030.

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Part 1
Strengthening the link between reporting and
SDG contributions
1.1 Key summary
Businesses are still struggling to make the link between sustainability reporting and meaningful
contributions towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Some argue that adding theSDGs to the mix has complicated the reporting which also needs to reflect a company’s material
issues and business strategy. A common approach to reporting on the SDGs is not establishedand difficulty in collecting accurate data and measuring impact are some of the challenges listed.
Somehow that gap remains to be bridged.
The forum discussion indicated a variety of ways to make the reporting on SDG performance moremeaningful, which include: (1) outlining SDG-related goals that link to key performance indicators(KPIs); (2) using SDG-sector specific baselines; (3) disclosing SDG prioritisation based on materiality
assessments; and (4) monitoring progress and reporting on SDG impact regularly.
Overall, participants agreed that SDG selection and reporting must be aligned to a business’s
sustainability strategy, focused on material issues and, where possible, benchmarked against sectorspecific goals. An ongoing challenge, however, is how frequently a business can report on its SDG
progress to stakeholders and investors.

1.2 Making reporting on SDG contributions more meaningful
Reporting on SDG contributions can be strengthened by:
Outlining SDG-related goals that link to KPIs. A clear response towards sustainability is wherea business aligns the SDGs to overall business strategy and KPIs. This will help businesses better
communicate to stakeholder and investor communities the SDGs they are contributing towards andhow they will measure progress.

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“Companies should choose a few priority SDGs that they can make the biggest impact
on. SDGs should be aligned with a company’s KPIs and reporting on them should
follow. It is important that companies report on the impact they are making, so we canunderstand better their contribution to the society.”
Vanja Genetello, UCB
Nearly one third of the forum participants who responded to our first online poll said that goodreporting must outline and disclose SDG-related performance goals that are SMART – specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely (see chart 1).
Chart 1
Good reporting on the SDGs needs to outline, disclose, or report on:
Number of participants: 207
SMART SDG-related performance goals
Method/process used (identifying/prioritizing SDGs)
Impact quantification methodologies
Risks/opportunities
SDG-triggered innovations
Future plans
Other
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Setting SDG, sector-specific baselines. To make reporting on SDG progress more meaningful,business associations and reporting institutions (such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices(DJSI), and GRI) should establish sector-specific baselines. This will give businesses something tobenchmark against and provide clarity and direction on what reporting against the SDGs shouldlook like.
“Industry-specific guidelines will help in the possible prioritisation of SDGs and topics”
Juliette Gaussem, Signify
Prioritising SDGs based on materiality assessments. Materiality helps businesses andstakeholders to understand the most strategic, important issues of relevance to a business thatare linked to sustainability. Prioritising SDGs based on materiality can strengthen the selection,
demonstrating a business has thought about where they can make a net positive contribution, linked
to the business’s most material issues and aligned to SDG targets.
“I think it is critical to first get your priority topics identified (materiality) then link thisto the SDGs. It can then be explained to management about how specific materiality
items tie to the SDGs. Sometimes the SDGs seem very broad and may make people
stand off versus accepting that a portion of their business must address several SDGs”
Daniel Paterra, Paterra Management, LLC
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“When the company uses materiality, not just for reporting but to plan/strengthen thesustainability strategy, they succeed and get more impact. In this process the company
links its programs and defines indicators against the SDGs”
Cecilia Mora, RS Sostenibilidad
Monitoring progress and reporting on SDG impact more regularly. Businesses must
understand how to use the data collected on SDGs and equip themselves to report progress tostakeholders in a more regular and relevant way.
“It would be more meaningful if we could track the progress and report regularly to
our stakeholders, so we could walk our sustainable journey towards the SDGs witheveryone”
Vanja Genetello, UCB

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Part 2
Types of partnerships to deliver the SDGs

We recognise that the SDGs cannot be achieved unless there is ownership and shared
responsibility between all actors in society
Tim Mohin, GRI

2.1 Key summary
The majority of participants agreed that both business/government and business/businesscollaboration on the SDGs is extremely important and that more partnership is needed to scale
impact.
“I believe there is an opportunity to leverage the SDGs. There is evidence todemonstrate that the corporate and governmental world are impacted by the sameenvironmental and economic risks. Instead of competing for resources (throughcapitalism or regulation), they can align and work towards responsible management
and care for resources (human, financial, and environmental)”
Kari Solomon, Keolis America Inc
A key first step to ensuring the effectiveness of all of these types of partnership is articulating clear
objectives on each side, so that shared goals can be established. Reporting an organisation’s visionand pathway towards achieving the SDGs provides a solid foundation from which to start.
Specifically looking at how business works with government, the forum discussion revealed
three key factors to enable effective partnerships to achieve the SDGs: (1) devise a common
understanding between business and government of which SDGs are the priority at national orregional level; (2) traditional government mechanisms such as tax or other financial incentives; and(3) clear and robust impact measurement.
When discussing the potential for business/business partnership, forum participants highlighted
some ideas for how to ensure they are effective and meaningful: (1) leverage new systems andtechnology that provide easier ways to identify SDG partners, through certification or data sharing;(2) establish shared or complementary goals and a strong business case on both sides; and (3) sharetraining and education programmes.
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2.2 Encouraging business and government collaboration
To deliver on the SDGs, business and government collaboration can take the following forms:
Devising a common understanding between business and government of which SDGs
are the priority at national or regional level and measure progress. The SDGs are contextdependent and different countries will inevitably prioritise different Global Goals according to thesituation in their country.
“There is no one-size-fits all answer to this question, because there are such different
business and government contexts in different regions of the world. It is all dependent
on the context”
Tammy Mayer, MyImpact2101
Knowing the priorities of a government can help businesses get involved in specific SDG-projects
that are aligned with their business strategy and have the most impact potential in each location.
“The SDGs are interrelated, and the impacts are broad, but real partnershipand innovation comes from focusing; where companies and governments define
clear objectives, aligned with an SDG, they are more likely to make a meaningful(measurable) contribution”
Josh Bayly, PepsiCo“I think governments should turn their voluntary national reviews (VNRs) into SDG
road maps and make clear where they need support from companies and investors”
Kris Douma, PRI
Government-led consultations with businesses can also help clarify material issues, and what thecontext-dependent Global Goals are for a country; actionable plans can then be established foraccelerating progress.
“There needs to be a taxonomy that indicates SDGs that are material to specificcountries and those material to companies operating within those countries, alongside
those material to certain industries”
Emily Matthews, Arabesque S-Ray“I have experienced that city governments hold sustainability summits, inviting
residents, businesses, and other government entities at various levels and they
all commit to building actionable plans for SDG-tied impacts. They first share in
the understanding of the risks and opportunities, then build direction together todetermine common goals and resourced (particularly funding strategies)”
Kari Solomon, Keolis America Inc

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Traditional government mechanisms such as tax and financial incentives, andcorresponding measurement of progress. Financial incentives such as tax breaks and othermechanisms, coordinated by different levels of government, can be offered to the private sector to
incentivise SDG progress.
“SDG projects should have tax exemption and/or subsidies linked to them”
Mario Svigir, Financial Markets, Policy and Foresight Advisory (FMPFA)“Top-down and bottom-up incentives (taxes or financing mechanisms) andcoordination between all government bodies from ministries, regions and municipalities
is needed”
Aurelien Reynolds, Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB)
Tax incentives can encourage businesses to collaborate on SDG-linked projects; this is particularly
important for SMEs and entrepreneurs.
“Government could show more support by rewarding companies that are actively
addressing the SDGs in their operations. It could come in the form of exemption fromtax or other meaningful incentives”
Olusegun Otitoju, Ampak Nigeria Limited“Especially for smaller companies with less resources, monetary incentives could help
in undertaking SDG-related initiatives”
Daniel Howley San Sebastian, Nexio Projects
Clear and robust impact measurement. It is important to measure overall social impact andreport progress on the SDGs. Some argue that third-party audits would help to measure progress.
“There must be an SDG audit system in place, required by regulation from thegovernment, to ensure the full implementation of private sectors actions on the SDG
goals”
Chanchhaya Chhom, Green Move Consulting
Others suggested the local and global reporting institutions, like GRI, can act as an auditor to help
measure progress and advise on how to scale impact in specific countries.

12Business and government consultations could help set and define what national and regional SDG
metrics, and private sector metrics, to use to measure social impact. This could further help makereporting on the impact delivered more robust.
“The government and the corporations should have a framework in place to monitor
progress made. I would like to see real impacts from the implementation of the SDGs
that goes beyond reporting”
Mercy Denedo, Consultant.
“In the Netherlands governments have metrics regarding Social Return that they put
forward in their contracts with companies”
Ada Knol, ADP

2.3 Enabling meaningful business/business partnerships“I think in terms of designing for sustainability, companies across sectors cancollaborate and innovate in order to bring products to the market that are designedwith the SDGs in mind”
Grace Lövquist, Sustainto2030“We often only think in terms of market or state solutions. Some SDGs require
industry collaboration such as sustainable sourcing. Elinor Ostrom (Nobel Prizewinner) shows how sustainability issues (land use, water scarcity, over-fishing) can besolved through a ‘cooperative approach’ between all stakeholders”
Kris Douma, PRI
To deliver on the SDGs with impact, business/business collaborations could be enhanced by:
Easier identification of potential SDG business partners through certification or data
sharing. Establishing a universal SDG-labelling system would help identify potential partners. An
SDG certification-style approach could help businesses detect sustainable investment opportunities
by validating potential partners operating in the sustainability domain.
“An SDG label will be as viable as it is universally recognised and accepted in the same
way that government financial reporting and international financial reporting standards
are recognised”
Mario Svigir, Financial Markets, Policy and Foresight Advisory (FMPFA)
The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) has begun to develop a sector specific, transformative
benchmark that compares companies’ performance on the SDGs for instance.

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“Some initiatives, like the World Benchmarking Alliance, are going ahead withformulating performance metrics for companies, via multi-stakeholder consultations,and then scoring companies on their performance”
David D’Hollander - ISEAL Alliance
The B-Corp certification system is another mechanism that could be developed to include a ranking
for business performance against the SDGs.
“We have seen more and more large companies interested in becoming Certified B
Corps. This would help drive that type of transformation”
Dan Osusky, B Lab
Another approach that could facilitate businesses to easily identify partners is an open-access global
database using social network analysis, based on big data and artificial intelligence (AI). A platform
where businesses could identify potential matches for an SDG-related project, could help make thepartnerships formed more relevant.
“Leverage AI and big data to identify relevant partnerships, facilitate engagement andencourage knowledge sharing”
Keren Bitan, Tandem Impact
An open-access global database is particularly important from a financial perspective to help smallerorganisations and NGOs connect with others.
“At EGLA (European Green Lean Association) we have tried to create a global-accessdatabase platform, but it takes time and a lot of effort for a small NGO like ours”
Panu Hamari, European Green Lean Association
Establishing shared or complementary goals and a strong business case on both sides.
According to our online poll, 29 percent of participants said that complementary goals areimportant for attracting new partners (see chart 2).
Chart 2
Successful multi-sector coalitions depend on:
Number of participants: 150

Complementary goals
Scalable/transformative impact
Value-added (resources/capabilities)
Common language
Building trust
Growth opportunities
Effective practices/strong project management
Clear business targets
Access to funding
Access to new markets
Other
0

10

20

30

40

50

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CEO or senior leadership can play a role to create the buy-in needed and communicate how goals
are strategic in nature.
“It needs CEO involvement and must be linked to business strategy, performance andprofitability”
Deborah Webster, AMANIcircle“I think that the perception, attitudes, and behaviours (values of leaders) directly affectthe promotion of sustainability. If sustainability is something a leader values, they will
embrace the concept and ensure it cascades to lower level leaders in the business”
Rosley Sibanda, Organic Waste to Energy (Pty) Ltd
Businesses must have an awareness of their worth; they must understand their own capabilities andcommunicate these effectively to attract the right type of partners. The sharing of best practicecase studies is one way to create awareness and help to elevate the business case.
Sharing SDG training or educational programs. Entrepreneurs and SMEs may have thecapabilities required by a business to implement programmes but lack specific knowledge of the
SDGs. Businesses could offer sponsored SDG training or educational programs to attract partners
in these cases.
“Encourage and sponsor training within companies about the Sustainable Development
Goals, and how these companies can identify opportunities along their value chain.
Although there is a will, it is difficult to move forward without training”
Cesar Vargas, San Vicente Fundación15

2.4 Collaboration through business associations and multi-stakeholder
coalitions“I think that government and people involved in sustainability (entrepreneurs, advisors,
NGOs etc.) who join together and share ideas, best practices and KPIs can lead theway to succeed on the SDGs”
Alessandra Guatteri, Impresa Sostenibile
Business associations. Associations have an enabling role to encourage multiple companies across a
sector to commit to act and drive large-scale change in line with the SDGs. Through consultationthat includes research and technical know-how, they can identify landscape issues and clarify what
SDG issues are material to a sector.
“Associations could identify material SDG indicators and require all members to reporton these SDGs, similar to being a signatory to the PRI, but also now having to reportto the PRI to maintain signatory status”
Aurelien Reynolds, Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB)
They can also lead on developing voluntary industry guidelines to help with SDG target setting andon how to report SDG impact.
“Consider industry specific guidelines to assist business on what to link to, as not allcontent is equal in terms of what is relevant to business, depending on where they arelocated and which SDGs may be relevant”
Elmien Ballot, Coronado Curragh
Multi-stakeholder coalitions and initiatives. A cooperative approach, driven by umbrellaorganisations, can scale commitment to act on global issues (like plastics and the SDGs) among
multiple actors – businesses, organisations, institutions and the general public.
“Many interesting partnerships involve companies from different sectors andgeographies but look at specific issues or SDGs. For example, the Natural Capital
Impact Group and Natural Capital Coalition help combine know how, influence andimpact, and leverage this across global value chains”
Aris Vrettos, University of Cambridge,
Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)“On plastics for example, there has been a step change in the last couple of years with
NGOs and businesses working together to create common approaches to tackling theissue”
Josh Bayly, PepsiCo

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Multi-stakeholder coalitions can take many forms including those between businesses(KnowTheChain), businesses and unions (The Bangladesh Accord Foundation), NGOs andbusinesses (The Alliance to End Plastic Waste), or government and academia (Ellen McArthur
Foundation).
“KnowTheChain is a great example of multi-stakeholder coalition targeting theeradication of forced labour in the supply chain. Through a partnership model KTC
has developed, and published corporate benchmarks, and has helped companies andinvestors identify supply chain performance gaps and best practices among leading
global buyers”
Heather Lang, Sustainalytics“The Bangladesh Accord Foundation and what they managed to achieve for the
ready-made garment factories in Bangladesh (a.k.a. safety for millions of workers) isimpressive. The agreement was designed by Bangladeshi and international unions,
together with other labour groups, making it unique in being supported by all key
labour rights stakeholders, and signed by over 50 international brands and retailers they agreed on a five-year commitment to invest in safer factories”
Juliette Gaussem, Signify“The Alliance to End Plastic Waste is a cross-sector effort including 40 corporations
across chemical, packaging, consumer goods, food and waste removal sectors to help
end plastic waste through infrastructure, innovation, education, and clean up. This canonly be achieved in a multi-sector partnership”
Mario Svigir, Financial Markets, Policy and Foresight Advisory (FMPFA)“The Ellen McArthur Foundation has done some really good work in developing
toolkits for sustainability across a range of industry, especially to promote circularity”
Grace Lövquist, Sustainto2030

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Part 3
Corporate leadership and scaling-up businessmodels to deliver impact
A business model that considers all stakeholders (environment, society, governance)
will be more likely to benefit from goodwill and reciprocity. When every decision
at a company is made with CSR in mind, employees and customers engage with thecompany in a more integral way
Keren Bitan, Tandem Impact

3.1 Key summary
The recent boom in registered B-Corps reflects a growing number of businesses stepping up toleadership roles in the SDG space. Forum participants for instance, acknowledged large brands like
Unilever, Patagonia, Kering, Natura, ABN AMRO bank, The Body Shop, Tata Steel, Novozymes and
UBS bank are leading on the SDGs. Nevertheless, participants stated that demonstrating sustainable
leadership is not simple, especially for smaller organisations.
So, what makes a business a leader in the SDG space and how can leadership be made visible? Our
discussion revealed that a leading company in sustainability: (1) articulates a clear purpose and sets
long-term goals towards this purpose (2) integrates the SDGs into the corporate strategy aligned
to key material themes (3) has an adaptable approach to deliver on sustainability, and (4) links SDG
performance to individual compensation. Robust and transparent sustainability reporting underpins
each of these attributes of leadership.
Leadership was also a key theme once the discussion switched to focus on sustainable businessmodels and how these can be scaled up for more impact on the SDGs. We asked forum
participants this question and the vast array of ideas shared can be summarised into three themes:(1) a shift to more long-term perspective, both inside companies and in the wider financial
landscape in which they operate, (2) new finance models, such as green bonds or social impact
bonds, and (3) alignment of new business models with a company’s core competencies.

183.2 Corporate Leadership on the SDGs
To lead successfully in the SDG space, businesses must be able to:Articulate a clear purpose and set long-term goals aligned towards this purpose.
Sustainability leaders can articulate an awareness of the business’s impacts on environmental,
societal and economic areas, and define a clear business purpose beyond profit. Purpose-driven
leaders articulate long-term vision of the business.
“Imagine, if regardless of size, companies were purpose-driven from the core v. bolted
on goodness. I would challenge any company to dig deep to find a purposeful reason
for being, and build from there” - Marilyn Johnson, Consultant.

“SDG action is evidenced by having a sound vision, mission, tools, mechanisms, andpractical examples of collaboration. This demonstrates an ability to promote strong
corporate leadership, commitments and alliances to achieve the SDGs” - Sashwin Pillai,
Africa Vision Holdings.

“It must start with actions like top leadership purpose and embedding this acrossthe supply chain and getting involved to deliver solutions, helping the business moveaway from short to long-term results” - Marcos Teixeira, VIZY Sustentabilidade eCompliance.
Integrate SDGs into corporate strategy and align with key material themes. This isimportant to keep a business focused and partners engaged; it conveys how a business will create
value, and how the targets set are strategic in nature.
“Business can unlock and support the development of sustainable investment not
through reporting, but through a strategic planification that embeds and prioritises
SDG goals into new, inclusive and innovative business models”
Marina Migliorato, Enel

“Looking at SSE’s recent sustainability report, I was really impressed with how they
identified four SDGs which are highly material to its business, in the 2019 sustainability
report, provided a ‘Performance Summary’ for each, including quantitative disclosure:the priority SDG Targets, KPIs for each and its performance against those over the last
2 years - it then follows below that with a qualitative description of its performanceagainst the SDG targets”
Ian Woodcock, CERES

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Corporate leaders must have an adaptable approach to deliver on sustainability. Within
a company’s overall strategy, they must to able to deliver impact on the Global Goals in changing
contexts, which requires a flexibility of approach and implementation on the ground.
“An important key is flexibility. Each project is completely different from another,
the context changes. A strong corporate leadership must be based on continuous
adaptation and innovation”
Daniel Revuelta González, Gabinete de Recolocación Industrial
Linking bonuses to SDG performance. Some forum participants were of the opinion thatbusinesses that link bonuses to SDG performance, are more likely to deliver and demonstrate acommitment to act on the SDGs.
“Linking executive pay to sustainability metrics of which some can be related to the
SDGs is an important driver of action and performance”
Ian Woodcock, CERES“Metrics at a company need to be tied to social responsibility for it to be fully
integrated. A committed CEO taking this stance would make a huge difference for theculture at a firm”
Keren Bitan, Tandem Impact

3.3 Scaling up sustainable business models
A strong, sustainable business model that scales impact and delivers on the SDGs is facilitated by
the following approaches:
A more long-term perspective, within companies and in the wider financial landscape.
Several participants pointed to the need for financial systems, stock exchanges and investors inparticular to allow for more medium to long-term strategic planning and reporting by companies.
Action needs to come from two sides to facilitate this change: stock exchanges and investors
allowing more flexibility in areas such as quarterly results reporting, and companies themselves
talking to investors and explaining the rationale for this change. The latter requires bold leadershipfrom business and strong governance systems to help overcome the current short-term pressures.
“We’ll only address sustainable development issues if business thinks longer term.
Business needs to stand firm. Investors will and are changing”
Carol Adams, University of Durham

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“Less focus on quarterly reporting, and a focus on integrated reporting environmental profit and loss statements. It needs to be driven by investors and stock
exchanges alongside companies and regulation (i.e. mandatory ESG/CSR report whenbeing listed, corporate engagement by large asset owners, etc)”
Emily Matthews, Arabesque S-Ray“A fit-for-purpose governance model with designated board oversight is another lever(v. bottom-up) to drive executive’s management toward ESG/SDG goals”
Helen Hu, H2E Inc“I do not see management systems as part of the problem but the mindset and theview that results are always based on quarter instead of medium and long term”
Marcos Teixeira, VIZY Sustentabilidade e Compliance
Reporting on sustainability progress and the SDGs can help to support the shift to longer-term
thinking by providing accessible information to investors and other stakeholders on ESG factors,
beyond short-term financial data.
“The good news is that we at GRI are starting to make this happen. Across theworld, from the Nasdaq to the Philippines stock exchange, reporting mandates are
happening”
Peter Paul van de Wijs, GRI
Consistent with the need for bold moves by business to resist short term pressures, our pollquestion on this topic found that the most important factor for helping to scale up business models
is responsive and responsible leadership (see chart 3).

Chart 3Business models that drive action on the SDGs require:
Number of participants: 110

Responsive/responsible leadership
Unlocking economic opportunities
Multi-level governance
Horizontal coordination (dynamization)
Disruptive innovation
Innovative perspectives/ideas
Action at regional levels
Shape globalisation
0

10

20

30

40

50
21

“There is such a need for strong leadership to drive progress toward the SDGs, andthere is nothing better than to start at the top of the company hierarchy”
Tammy Mayer, MyImpact2101
New finance models, such as green bonds or social impact bonds. The need for businesses,
both small and large, to have access to finance in order to scale new business models was
mentioned frequently during the discussion. The most commonly cited examples of this were green
bonds and social impact bonds. Microfinance was also posited as a potential option, although moreat the entrepreneurial level.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for companies to open new revenue streams
via innovative product and service offerings targeting sustainability challenges. Greenbonds along with social/sustainable/SDG bonds are a great way for issuers to scalebroader impact with investor demand exceeding supply”
Heather Lang, Sustainalytics“There are many SDG-focused funds/bonds and other financial products being
developed, such as that by Credit Suisse and Lombard Odier who have jointly launcheda fund with a focus on responsible consumption”
David D’Hollander, ISEAL Alliance“The more a long-term view a business takes, the better understanding they buildof how their product or services impacts a variety of strategic considerations. This
generates implications on funding strategies and opportunities (crowd-sourced, green
bonds, etc)”
Kari Solomon, Keolis America Inc
Aligning new business models with a company’s core competencies. If a more sustainablebusiness model is to scale, then it must play to the strengths of the existing business. This can be
the case either by identifying new innovative solutions that complement current products andservices or, conversely, through identifying new models that reduce risk.
“Unless the company is a start up, the focus must be on the core competency of thebusiness. When I worked in the tech sector, we looked at sustainability needs as amarket. By applying our core competency, we prioritise issues like energy efficiency,
internet access, circular economy tactics and supply chain responsibility”
Tim Mohin, GRI“I worked in the supply chain at a tech company, and the initial business case that
resonated at C-level was brand/reputation risk. It was only after getting them on board
through the risk mitigation, that the door opened to dialogue on opportunity”
Jeff Keenan, Consultant

22

Part 4
Financing SDG projects

According to the Paris agreement, the finance system in the next five years should
guarantee finance only for sustainable investments. The link between finance andenterprise should help create a sustainable business model towards the SDG
achievements
Alessandra Guatteri, Impresa Sostenibile

4.1 Key summary
After talking about the importance of finance in scaling up sustainable business models, thediscussion moved to focus specifically on financing SDG projects and how strong sustainability
reporting can support this.
Forum participants suggested the following factors that would support more effective financing of
SDG projects: (1) governments must specify long-term sustainable development commitments; (2)businesses should consider reporting funding assigned to SDG projects in a technically robust way;
(3) traditional institutional investors should encourage businesses to invest in long-term SDG-linked
projects.

4.2 Financing SDG projects
The following actions by different actors in the system would help to encourage more effective
financing for SDG projects:
Governments should specify long-term sustainable development commitments. Businesses
require the certainty of a government’s commitment to act on sustainability related matters (suchas green energy) if they are to finance country-specific SDG projects.

23

“Making public commitments and setting bold targets forces organisations to takeaction. For instance, 80 percent of electricity in Poland is generated from coal; thisrenewable energy agreement is not only significant for a business to operate in the
country, but it plays a role in supporting Poland to reach its 2030 country goal (21%of overall energy consumed from renewable sources)”Juliette Gaussem, Signify
Communicating the long-term vision on sustainability is particularly important for governments ofdeveloping countries to source finance for SDG projects; a long-term vision by such governments isoften seen as lacking.
“I live and work in Brazil and Latin America. There are specific groups (companies,
associations, NGOs) driving good projects and practices, but there is a clear lack ofsupport from governments”
Marcos Teixeira, VIZY Sustentabilidade e ComplianceBusinesses should consider disclosing funding assigned to SDG projects and ensuring thatreporting is technically robust. Information on total spending aligned to SDG projects can act
as a measure of a business’ commitment to the Global Goals and attract new partners. Participants
voted this as key for a company reporting progress on Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
Chart 4
There are no clearly identified business indicators on SDG 17.
What indicators are most suitable to measure business contributions to this goal?
Number of participants: 91
Funding contributed to SDG-linked projects
Number of partnerships
Amount of funding for technology/knowledge transfer
Amount of funding committed to PPPs and civil society partnerships
Number of science/technology cooperation agreements
Transparency around taxes paid
Dollars invested in Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
Funding for financial and technical assistance
Other
0

10

20

30

40

50

Disclosing the overall financial value or return on investment of a businesses’ SDG performance
could help to attract investment. The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business offers amethodology for businesses to use.
“The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business uses its Return on Sustainability
Investment (ROSI). This applies a monetisation process to calculate monetary values
for the intangible and tangible benefits of sustainability practices. This methodology
could be used to measure the financial value of companies positive SDG performance”
Ian Woodcock, CERES
24

Investors need to be able to identify what SDG projects to fund from among the plethora of
information out there. A consolidated metric system that discloses the financial implications or
impact of an investment and is aligned to SDGs and corporate targets, is one way to achieve this.
“As investors, what we need most is reporting on comparable metrics, such as SASB.
New forms of reporting may help a company to unlock business opportunities, butthey won’t help investors compare a company to its peers if all the companies arereporting different metrics”
Sonya Hetrick, Wells Fargo
To improve the legitimacy of the data presented and attract finance, progress should be correlated
against outcome-based impact indicators.
“Reporting on ESG actions/initiatives and its direct correlation to better performanceon, say, water use, GHG emissions, energy consumption, shows active management at
the company level and is bound to be attractive to investors”
Aurelien Reynolds, Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB)“Companies are now able to leverage their ESG ratings for capital-raising purposes (tosupport the credibility of a green bond issuance, to link ESG ratings to loan margins,
etc)”
Heather Lang, Sustainalytics
Traditional institutional investors could push businesses to invest in long-term SDG-linked
projects. Institutional investors like pension funds often own a majority share and have a broad
stewardship role in getting businesses to curb excessive risk taking, given their beneficiaries’ interestin a longer-term investment return. They can help influence businesses to fund sustainable projects
that deliver long-term value.
“Pension fund and institutional investors are key stakeholders. Their own reporting
practices and thematic funds are tailored to the market and will contribute to making
sustainability reporting better aligned to strategy in companies. They become thesustainable investment opportunity”
Martin Kruse - Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies

25

Part 5
Accountability and monitoring

Mandatory reporting and assurance have the potential to force companies to lay thereporting pipes which will help them make better informed decisions. Transparency
will require a regulatory ‘nudge’ from the authorities
Guido Pieroth, Procter & Gamble

5.1 Key summary
One of the biggest challenges highlighted was the difficulty in monitoring the implementation ofmulti-sector partnership activities against agreed Global Goals; often, a large amount of time isrequired to conduct a sustainability audit and to collect data.
Subsequently the discussion turned to focus on how sustainability assurance and auditing can bestrengthened. The following was suggested: (1) establish an overarching global reporting standard to
improve accountability; (2) form a diverse multi-stakeholder SDG auditing body with academia at its
core; and (3) integrate next-generation technology, like blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), into
the process.

5.2 Strengthening accountability and monitoring
Participants shared the following ideas as ways to enhance sustainability accountability andmonitoring, focusing on assurance and auditing:
Establish an overarching global reporting standard to reduce fragmentation and improve
accountability. Sustainability auditing is important to make businesses accountable for their SDGimpacts. Data that comes in from different audits should, however, be aggregated and reported on
against a standardised, single standard.

26

“I think the key here is ‘standardised reporting’. Just as companies have to have financial
audits there needs to be a sustainability audit”
Deborah Webster, AMANIcircle“Accountability would be enhanced if all organisations were accountable to the same
reporting standard. This would help all governments, industries and businesses, large orsmall report effectively”
Leigh Carter, UL E&S“In my opinion it is very important to measure performance with a common andglobal standard - one methodology for all stakeholders”
Nicoletta Dante, Enel Green PowerForm a diverse multi-stakeholder auditing body for the SDGs to strengthen sustainability
assurance, with academia at its core. This is important for public transparency and keeping
businesses vigilant and responsive throughout the process. Recommendations at the end of anauditing consulting process, should be based on the input from all groups involved.
“There are companies that have good intentions and motives, but we cannot rely onthem alone to make the transition towards achieving the SDGs. An auditing body toassess the progress made on the SDGs could be a starting point”
Daniel Howley San Sebastian, Nexio Projects
Some suggested that universities could play a greater role given their expertise in the subject
matter; they can help define how businesses should report on ethical practices and SDG progress.
Their involvement is particularly important to reduce the associated costs of auditing, especially inthe fieldwork stage which smaller organisations and suppliers tend to struggle with.
“Working in a multi-stakeholder environment - universities and schools of management
can offer this - a collaborative learning environment can raise the bar and drive theneed and culture for honesty and transparency”
Manuela Brusoni, SDA Bocconi School of Management27

“I think it is costly just like financial audits. Sustainability audits require longer
observations and fieldwork more than normal auditing. We need to help companies
along the chain, some suppliers may lack the resources”
Yingru Li, University of Glasgow
Integrate next-generation technology, like blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI),
into the process. Blockchain and AI can radically transform and scale sustainability auditing andassurance processes (e.g., reduced costs, improve procurement).
“The role of data, AI and technology cannot be overstated. Our path to addressing
the SDGs requires us to move quickly, leveraging the power of data and technology isabsolutely necessary”
Marilyn Johnson, Consultant“I think experiments with innovative technologies (such as blockchain in supply chains)
can help deliver data in a more efficient/real-time manner. Perhaps this can set us on
the road of radical transparency”
Daniel Petrovics, GRI
It is also important to scale assurance, allowing businesses to closely track the activity of partners
and identify those plagued with ethical issues, and those working on sustainable issues.
“In the food industry, there are companies starting to use blockchain in working toassure food quality”
Yingru Li, University of Glasgow“This area could be a good use case for some emerging technologies such as
blockchain. We’ve been exploring a personalised AI that proactively identifies ‘SDGcompliant’ companies, so we’ve had to look into how to build the data”
Deborah Webster, AMANIcircle
Finally, it keeps auditors and assurance professionals informed of real-time developments and issues,
which is particularly important in developing and rural locations.
“Wearable technologies with real-time monitoring from afar will be life-changing formany in rural areas”
Marilyn Johnson, Consultant

28

Appendix 1: List of expert guest contributors
Thank you to the expert guest contributors who joined us for the forum and contributed theirinvaluable insights and perspectives.
\

Aris Vrettos, Director, Open and International Programmes, University of the Cambridge
Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)\

Carol Adams, Professor of Accounting, University of Durham\

Cecilia Mora, CSR Specialist, RS Sostenibilidad\

David D’Hollander, Associate Manager, Policy and Innovations, ISEAL Alliance\

Dan Osusky, Director of Standards, B Lab\

Heather Lang, Executive Director of Sustainable Finance Solutions, Sustainalytics\

Ian Woodcock, Senior Manager, Company Network, CERES\

Josh Bayly, Global Sustainability Strategy and Communications, PepsiCo\

Juliette Gaussem, Sustainability Reporting Manager, Signify\

Kris Douma, Director Strategic Projects, PRI\

Marina Migliorato, Head of Sustainability Stakeholders Engagement, Enel Group\Martin Kruse, Futurist & Senior Advisor, Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies\

Nicoletta Dante, Head of Sustainability Planning, Performance Management & CSV, Enel Green
Power

\

Peter Paul van de Wijs, Chief External Affairs Officer, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)\

Tim Mohin, Chief Executive, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)\

Yingru Li, Lecturer in Financial Accounting, Tax and Audit, University of Glasgow

29

Appendix 2: Shared examples and resources
Ways to improve the link between measuring and reporting on the SDGs:\

Examples of frameworks and impact management tools that help businesses pick out the most
relevant SDGs, and allow for measuring and reporting on progress against key indicators:
World Benchmarking Alliance; PwC SDG Selection; B Impact Assessment (developed with the
UNGC); EFQM Model;, SDG Compass; GRI and SASBE framework; GRI and UNGC Practicalguide; the G&A Institute Inc.

Governments scaling action on the SDGs with business:\\

Good examples of business/government dialogue and consultations corresponding to SDG
development: Costa Rica Ministry of Planning linked its National Development Plan to theSDGs; The Colombian government collaboration with GRI improves sustainability reporting at
the national level; The Spanish Network for Sustainable Development (REDS) Report outlines
how action on sustainable cities was scaled; Deprived Hoods addressed socio-economic andethnic segregation in neighbourhoods
Example of governmental based metrics to measure SDG impact: Netherlands government
metric on Social return on investment (SROI); and Minae which is a National Plan integrating
SDGs into business/government partnerships and contracts

Examples of business/business and multi-stakeholder collaborations leading the way on
the SDGs:\\

Good case studies on business collaborations that have scaled action on sustainability issues:
End Plastic Waste; Innovations for Poverty Action; and Aliarse
Good case studies of multi-stakeholder collaborations that have scaled action on sustainability
issues: UN Fashion Alliance; CommonWealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI); RE100;
Responsible Media Forum; and ChannelSight\

Good examples of businesses associations scaling action on sustainability: CEPE and Enactus\

Example on CEO leadership and SDG lobbying is reported on by CSR Europe

Examples of good leadership on the SDGs:
\
\

\

\

Businessfor2030 shares many examples of good SDG leadership
Examples of leaders with a clear purpose: Global Fashion Agenda (GFA); BAC Credomatic;
Business Roundtable
Examples of businesses integrating SDGs into corporate strategy: Majid Al Futtaim; Safaricomand SSE Plc; and Kering
Examples of businesses adapting to local contexts: SYKES scaled their SDG strategy from one
county into fourteen

30

Examples of good sustainable business models:\\\

Examples of business models with a built in long-term perspective towards sustainability:
UNGC report discusses how to implement inclusive business models; The Ellen MacArthur
Foundation has built a framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by
design; Google Labs focusses on regional business models to drive long-term sustainablechangeExamples of finance models: Credit Suisse and Lombard Odier launched a fund focussing on
responsible consumption; Xylem provides funds using technology to solve global water issues;
Apple Green Bond Framework is a good example of green bonds; ESG loans and the benefits
are discussed in a Greenbiz report
Examples of business models aligned to core competencies: B Impact Assessment (developedwith the UNGC) guides companies to integrate the SDGs into their business strategy; The
Body Shop is built on an ethical and sustainable business model

Examples of ways to encourage institutional investment:\\

UN Global Compact launched the CFO Network to support SDG financing and advance theSDGs through corporate strategy investments
An investment impact framework developed in cooperation between ‘The Investment LeadersGroup (ILG)’ and The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL),
helps quantify overall impact from SDG projects

Ways to improve accountability and assurance for reporting on the SDGs:\\\

Examples of reporting standards to reduce fragmentation and improve accountability:
Baldrige Excellence Framework is an example of an accountability framework; CSB ROSI™
Methodology, designed by the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, measures thefinancial value of companies’ positive SDG performance; An ESG Reporting paper provides aunified view on the convergence of standards to improve reporting on ESG data
Examples of improving disclosure and assurance processes: GRI and UN Global Compact’s
Action Platform improves sustainability disclosure with a robust methodology to measure
SDG progress; CPA Canada improved governance structures and assurance applications; The
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) consultation paper discusses ways
to improve SDG disclosure; Corporate Human Rights Benchmark improves auditing andassurance of business performance across a set of human rights indicators
Examples of integrating next-gen technology: Impact Cloud® is a ‘theory of change’ driven
platform for funders, mission-driven organisations, and sustainable organisations to measureand manage their social and environmental impact; World Wide Generation’s G17Eco platform
provides a combined monitoring and marketplace platform to collect and disseminate data tohelp accelerate financing and the delivery of the SDGs; Microsoft and its ‘AI for Earth’ uses AI
technology and cloud software to assist those working to solve global climate issues
31Appendix 3: About GRI, Enel and GlobeScan

About GRI

About Enel

About GlobeScan

GRI is an independent internationalorganization, based in Amsterdam
with a presence around the world,that helps businesses, governments
and other organizations
understand and communicate theirsustainability impacts.

Enel is a multinational powercompany and a leading integrated
player in the global power, gas
and renewables markets. It is thelargest European utility by market
capitalization and ordinary EBITDA
and is present in over 30 countries
worldwide, producing energy
with around 90 GW of managed
capacity. Enel is strongly focusedon sustainability and innovation. Its
renewables arm Enel Green Power
manages over 43 GW of wind,solar, geothermal and hydropower
plants worldwide.

GlobeScan is an insights andstrategy consultancy, focused on
helping our clients build longterm trusting relationships with
their stakeholders. Offering asuite of specialist research andadvisory services, we partner withbusiness, NGOs and governmentalorganizations to meet strategic
objectives across reputation,
sustainability and purpose.

For more information please contact:
Peter Paul van de Wijs
Chief External Affairs Officer
vandewijs@globalreporting.org

For more information please contact:
Luigi Cucca
Sustainability Stakeholders
Engagement
Luigi.cucca@enel.com

For more information please contact:
Caroline Holme
Director, GlobeScan
caroline.holme@globescan.com

32Facilitated by: