Our Ever-Evolving Values: Sustainability, SDGs and More

“Sustainable.”? A variation of this word is everywhere.?

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We sell sustainable products.

We are sustainable.

We must become sustainable.

Our products are sustainably sourced.

Shop sustainably with our products.

Become more sustainable – buy our products.

Are you sustainable?

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But what is the meaning of this term and when did “sustainable” become our communal metric and goal??

Pursuant to the Merriam Webster dictionary, “sustained” is defined as being maintained at length without interruption or weakening.?The meaning and use of the term has evolved over time:?

• 1713: “Sustainable yield” was used in a German forestry handbook regarding the harvesting of trees, and the term was later used in regard to other industries.?
• 1972: A series of scientific papers argued the industrial way of life is not sustainable.?
• 1987: The United Nations (UN) issued a report on the issues of development and environment, where the organization defined “sustainability” as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”?In this report, the UN linked economic, social and environmental issues to the concept of sustainability.
• 2005: Sustainability was recast to encompass People, Planet and Profit at the World Summit on Social Development.?
• 2015: The UN published the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with its major focus areas of People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership.?

The 2015 UN SDGs consist of the following 17 goals “to transform our world:”

1.????No Poverty

2.????Zero Hunger

3.????Good Health and Well-being

4.????Quality Education

5.????Gender Equality

6.????Clean Water and Sanitation

7.????Affordable and Clean Energy

8.????Decent Work and Economic Growth

9.????Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

10.?Reduced Inequality

11.?Sustainable Cities and Communities

12.?Responsible Consumption and Production

13.?Climate Action

14.?Life Below Water

15.?Life on Land

16.?Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

17.?Partnerships to achieve the Goal

The SDGs continue to have a strong influence across the world.?Governments, international organizations, NGOs, and private actors often rely on these 17 wide-ranging SDGs to set goals and to measure and encourage progress.?

However, a close examination of the SDGs, which encompass wide-ranging issues such as world hunger, poverty, carbon emissions, toxic pollution, peace and equality, leaves one with many questions.?First, the lack of progress regarding each SDG is stark and, in many ways, overwhelming.?Each one of the 17 SDGs is far from its targets, and the recent COVID 19 pandemic has only widened existing gaps.?

When examining the SDGs, other questions which arise include:?

Why did we select these 17 goals??

Who selected these goals for the world?

How do we prioritize progress between and within these goals?

Can we ever achieve these 17 wide-ranging goals?

Can my company make real contributions towards achieving these 17 goals?

Can I make any make real contributions towards achieving these 17 goals?

How do we move forward in a concerted effort to achieve these 17 widespread SDGs??

The SDGs were published in 2015 as an effort to put forth modern human rights goals incorporating our more expanded and inclusive view on human rights.?To understand the role of these goals one must first examine how we got to this point.?The evolution of our communal values can be broadly categorized into four distinct phases:?

1. Pre-1900: The first phase of human rights recognition lasted centuries, and mainly focused on discrete rights of the individual on a national level.?Beginning with the Magna Carta which protected economic liberty, other key documents followed with increasing aims of protecting innate human rights.?Among these are the English Bill of Rights and the US Bill of Rights, each of which outlined protections of individual rights.?
2. 1919-1986: The second phase of human rights recognition began after WWI and emphasized the right to peace and previously unseen international cooperation.?The first attempt to achieve international cooperation towards global peace was the League of Nations.?The second and more successful attempt at international cooperation followed WWII with the creation of the United Nations (UN).?Early UN efforts to protect human rights are guided by key documents such as the UN Charter (1945) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).?These documents represented efforts to put into practice the values upon which the League and the UN were founded - beginning with the universal human right to peace and security.
3. 1986-2015: The third phase of human rights evolution is largely characterized by the recognition of the fundamental human right to development as set out by the UN Millennium Development Goals.
4. 2015-Present: In the fourth phase, which continues today, we have expanded the right to development to incorporate notions of sustainability.?The Right to Sustainable Development is set out by the UN SDGs and incorporates our expanded human rights definition, including the right to a healthy environment and planet.

Recognizing the ever-evolving nature of our values, we can see the important opportunity presented today.?Our globalized world is more connected and more technologically capable than ever.?Our collective values continue to expand and raise expectations for ourselves and each other.?The interests of consumers, employees, business leaders, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), and broader communities have aligned in many ways behind the objective of societal progress and balancing our own needs with the needs of others (both in present and future generations).?

These notions already influence the decisions we make every day as consumers, business professionals and leaders.?An increasing percentage of society seek to analyze information presented and to balance people, planet and profit in each decision.?Looking to the future, imagine if we had greater visibility to the real impact of our decisions on people and the planet.?The power of the market, driven by individual decision-making, could drive progress all over the world and in every key human rights area.

We dream of a more sustainable world, but there are no clear instructions or roadmaps.?Goals, standards and metrics continue to arrive in the form of government regulation, international agreements, industry-specific collaborations or otherwise.?Yet, the truth remains that we all live in this uncertain world together. ?In this same vein, and as we have seen throughout history, we can continuously grow and evolve together.?

Market-driven progress provides a practical solution to the ever-evasive notion of a sustainable world. In other words, the individual, seeking to balance their own interests with the interests of the global community, can factor in positive and negative human rights impact behind everyday marketplace decision. And the collective impact of these individual decisions can drive that widespread progress towards a more sustainable world.

This post is adapted from The Trade Impact Foundation white paper, Our Ever-Evolving Values: Defining Sustainability and the Opportunity for Market-Driven Progress. Read the full paper here.

This article was written by Sara Schoenfeld. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization. Legal disclaimer: Nothing contained in this article constitutes legal advice. Information is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice from any party.