The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) established by the United Nations in September 2015 are a demand note for governments, society and companies to elaborate strategies for sustainability in order to make this planet livable and peaceful in the next century.

Photo Credit: Sustainable Development Goals - UN

In the case of Colombia, there have been outstanding efforts of politics as well as the private sector to accomplish the integration of the SDG’s. For example, the Colombian government has established an interinstitutional commission to ensure their integration in the National Development Plan – that happened in February 2015, even seven months before the SDG’s were officially announced, which makes the country a pioneer. Furthermore, Colombia has the largest number of companies publishing sustainability reports in Latin America after Brazil[1], and large national companies such as Nutresa and Argos are included in the exclusive Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, which measure and report the performance of the world's sustainability leaders every year.

Although large companies appear to be conscious of how urgent the adoption of the SDGs is, we must not forget that they only account for a very small part of the economy. In Colombia, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s) represent more than 95 percent of the total number of enterprises. In all of Latin America, their share is even higher with 99 percent[2]. The contribution of MSME’s will thus be crucial for the private sector to comply with the SDG’s. However, publications about how MSME’s may achieve this contribution are rare yet, even more in Spanish so that they could serve those enterprises in Latin America.

This is the starting point for the publication “Business and the Sustainable Development Goals – A guide for getting started”. Written by Innove, a sustainability-focused think and do tank based in Medellin, Colombia, the manual launched in Spanish and English equips MSME’s with the basic knowledge they need to start adopting and applying the SDG’s.

The document starts with an overview on the SDG’s, explaining how they differ from their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals and how they are interconnected. Since the issues that are relevant for an individual company can differ across industries and business models, the guide provides steps to help businesses identify which SDG’s are most applicable for them.

Photo Credit: Innove

They also learn how they might interact with other actors of their core business, the community and the public dialogue. Thereupon, the publication suggests how to approach the adoption of the SDG’s presenting an amplified version of the SDG compass launched by the Global Reporting Initiative, Global Compact and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in September 2015.

This guide is the kick-off for a series of publications related to sustainability and businesses that Innove is currently working on and which shall, altogether, give profound knowledge and support to the private sector to enable their transition to sustainability.  

Click here to download this first publication.