Measuring and Managing the Impact of Business on the SDGs
International Business and Sustainable Development Goals
ISBN: 978-1-83753-505-7, eISBN: 978-1-83753-504-0
Publication date: 31 July 2023
Abstract
Sustainable development requires businesses to improve their positive and reduce their negative impacts. This chapter discusses how the impact of business on sustainable development can be measured and managed using the sustainable development goals (SDGs). First, it introduces two complementary approaches for measuring impact: a top-down approach that departs from the economic activities that companies undertake; and a bottom-up approach that defines the impacts of individual companies. Second, it argues that companies can manage their impacts on the SDGs through a nexus approach. Instead of treating SDGs as isolated silos, a nexus approach aims to advance multiple SDGs simultaneously (creating co-benefits) while reducing the risk that contributions to one SDG undermine progress on another (avoiding trade-offs).
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Declarations
The author is employed by Robeco, an asset management firm with its headquarters in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The views expressed in this chapter are not necessarily shared by Robeco.
Citation
van Zanten, J.A. (2023), "Measuring and Managing the Impact of Business on the SDGs", van Tulder, R., Giuliani, E. and Álvarez, I. (Ed.) International Business and Sustainable Development Goals (Progress in International Business Research, Vol. 17), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 31-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-886220230000017003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023 Jan Anton van Zanten