Sustainable

Development Goals
Shaji Joseph
Historic developments towards
SDGs
• In June 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than 178
countries adopted Agenda 21, a comprehensive plan of action to build a
global partnership for sustainable development to improve human lives and
protect the environment.
• Member States unanimously adopted the Millennium Declaration at the
Millennium Summit in September 2000 at UN Headquarters in New York.
The Summit led to the elaboration of eight
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.
• The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Plan of
Implementation, adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development
in South Africa in 2002, reaffirmed the global community's commitments to
poverty eradication and the environment, and built on Agenda 21 and the
Millennium Declaration by including more emphasis on multilateral
partnerships.
Ctd..
• At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012, Member States adopted the outcome
document "The Future We Want" in which they decided, inter alia, to launch
a process to develop a set of SDGs to build upon the MDGs and to establish
the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The Rio +20
outcome also contained other measures for implementing sustainable
development, including mandates for future programmes of work in
development financing, small island developing states and more.
• In 2013, the General Assembly set up a 30-member Open Working Group to
develop a proposal on the SDGs.
• In January 2015, the General Assembly began the negotiation process on
the post-2015 development agenda. The process culminated in the
subsequent adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with
17 SDGs at its core, at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in
September 2015.
CTD
• 2015 was a landmark year for multilateralism and international
policy shaping, with the adoption of several major agreements:
• Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (March 2015)
• Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development (July 2015)
• Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
with its 17 SDGs was adopted at the
UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York in September 2015.
• Paris Agreement on Climate Change (December 2015)
• Now, the annual
High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development serves as
the central UN platform for the follow-up and review of the SDGs.
Indices to measure
sustainability
Environmental Measures

These assess the impact on natural resources and ecosystems.

• Carbon Footprint: Total greenhouse gas emissions produced directly and indirectly.
• Ecological Footprint: Measures the land and water area required to sustain a
population’s resource consumption and waste assimilation.
• Water Footprint: Total volume of freshwater used to produce goods and services
consumed.
• Energy Consumption: Amount of renewable vs. non-renewable energy used.
• Biodiversity Index: Measures species richness and ecosystem health.
• Air and Water Quality Index: Tracks pollution levels and environmental degradation.
Water footprint of a mobile
• The water footprint of a mobile phone refers to the total volume of freshwater
used (directly and indirectly) throughout its life cycle — from raw material
extraction to manufacturing, usage, and disposal. This is a form of virtual water,
as most of the water is consumed during production stages, not during use.
• Approximate Water Footprint: 12,000 to 16,000 liters (for a smartphone)
2. Economic Measures
• Focus on long-term economic viability and responsible resource use.

• Green GDP: Adjusted Gross Domestic Product that accounts for environmental
degradation.

• Resource Productivity: Output per unit of resource input (e.g., GDP per unit of energy
used).

• Sustainable Investment Indicators: Proportion of investments in green technologies or

businesses.

• Circular Economy Metrics: Measure recycling rates, reuse, and waste reduction.
Green GDP of India

•In 2013, a report titled “Green National Accounts in

India: A Framework” was released by the Expert
Group led by Partha Dasgupta.
•It estimated that India's Green GDP could be 2.5%
to 5% lower than the conventional GDP, depending
on the year and environmental factors considered.
For instance:
If India’s GDP was ₹150 lakh crore, the Green GDP
might be around ₹142.5 to ₹146.25 lakh crore.
Sustainable investing indicators
• Environmental Indicators: Focus on how investments affect natural ecosystems and climate.
• Social Indicators: Evaluate investments in terms of their societal impact and inclusivity.
• Governance Indicators: Assess transparency, ethics, and accountability in business practices.
• Financial Sustainability Indicators
• Show whether an investment can remain viable while being responsible.

• Many ESG rating agencies (e.g., MSCI, Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good) combine these indicators into a single
sustainability rating or score to aid investor decision-making.

• Broad guidelines.

•Align portfolios with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

•Reduce long-term risk
•Promote ethical and responsible growth
Social measures
• Assess equity, well-being, and community resilience.

• Human Development Index (HDI): Combines life expectancy, education, and income.

• Gini Coefficient: Measures income inequality.

• India ~0.35 – 0.38 Moderate inequality
• USA ~0.41 – 0.45 High inequality
• Access to Basic Services: Includes health care, education, water, and sanitation.

• Labor Rights and Fair Wages: Indicates social justice in the workforce.

• Quality of Life Index: Measures subjective well-being, safety, and social cohesion.
Integrated or Composite Indices
• These combine multiple dimensions into a single framework.

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index: Tracks countries’ progress

toward the 17 UN SDGs.
• Environmental Performance Index (EPI): Ranks countries on environmental
health and ecosystem vitality.
• Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI): Adjusts GDP for social and environmental
costs.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): Corporate sustainability reporting standards.
• Triple Bottom Line (TBL): Measures organizational performance across people,
planet, and profit.
Corporate and Institutional
Sustainability Metrics
• Used by organizations to measure sustainability in business operations.

• ESG Metrics (Environmental, Social, Governance): Used in responsible

investing.

• Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP): Corporate climate disclosure standards.

• B-Corp Certification: Measures companies’ social and environmental

performance.
• Triple bottom line:
• People profit and planet - 3P
• Environment, social and Governance - ESG
• Enterprise Risk management - ERM
SDG goals
• There are 7 targets
• $1.25 (daily earning)
• Reduce poverty by half
• Social protections..
• Kottayam Dist. in Kerala-
First district to declare
Hunger free
The witch-hunt
and health
Poor infrastructure

concentration in a
few states

a general decline
workers welfare.

Increase in
contract/seasonal
labourers
Overall progress displayed by the
nations in achieving targets
activity
• Keeping in mind the experiential learning project identify one SDG
target and explore more.
Triple bottom line
ESG framework
THE TRIPLE BOTTOM-LINE

Sixty Percent of the Fortune 500

companies within the next few years
will expand their strategic goals to
reflect Triple Bottom-Line issues
THE TRIPLE BOTTOM-LINE

A survey by consulting firm Arthur D. Little:

83% of global business leaders believe they
can deliver significant business value by
implementing sustainable development
strategy and operations.
• The Economist magazine cites environmental issues as
one of the most important of this century.
The Moral Case (the ‘social
contract’)
The moral case for environmentally sustainable
business practices:

‘It’s the right thing to do’ (utilitarian approach)

Business has a duty to be a good corporate citizen

(Starbucks/Google p6-7)

In return for its ‘licence to operate’, business has a moral

obligation to operate honourably, provide good working
conditions and be a good environmental steward (BP p.10).
The Business Case*
The exercise of CSR and environmental responsibility is good for
business:

 Leads to increased buyer patronage

 Reduces risk of reputation-damaging incidents
 Lowers costs & enhances employee recruiting and workforce
retention
 Generates opportunity for revenue enhancement
 Are in the long term interests of shareholder

*Thompson et al (2013)
The Business Case
In summary:

Socially responsible strategies that create value

for customers and lower costs can improve organization profits and shareholder
value at the same time that they address other stakeholder interests.

Review of 135 studies show a positive, but small, correlation between good corporate
behaviour and good financial success; only 2% of studies showed harm to shareholder
interests (Margolis et al 2008)
 Unilever Sustainability Living
Plan
Unilever is third largest consumer goods company in the world with over 400 brands, 173,000
employees and total revenue of €51.32bn in 2012. Unilever products are used by 2 billion
consumers every day in over 190 countries (Unilever website)

Launched ‘Sustainability Living Plan’ in 2010

Winner of ‘Britain’s most admired company’ 2010
CEO Paul Polman has transformed Unilever into world’s most innovative corporations. Did away
with earnings guidance and quarterly reporting (HBR Interview 2012).
2011 launched plan to double revenue by 2020 while halving company’s environmental impact.

Is it possible to mange the paradox of profits vs responsibility?

Are Virtuous firms built to last?*
Divgi Warner
Divgi TTS Ltd is an auto parts manufacturing company located in the Chakan
MIDC areas. It has about 250 employees and has an annual turnover of
about 270 crore rupees (From 70 cr in 2015-16). Its major customers are
Tata Motors and WolksWagon. It was until recently that Divgi had aa Joint
Venture with a US based company called Warner and earlier it was known as
Divgi Warner
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