What I Learnt From Analyzing the Sustainability/CSR Performance of 70 Notable Companies Around The World
Since end 2017 I have leveraged my personal passion for corporate sustainability, data analytics and digital media to extract pertinent data, present it in digital video format, and now analyze it to paint a picture of what some of the world’s most responsible companies report in terms of their sustainability/CSR performance, especially when matched with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This initiative was called Sustainimate and you can read more about it here.
While a more detailed white paper is forthcoming, I have presented below some graphical summaries of the profiles of the companies and reports I analysed, plus which SDGs were addressed by the reported data, primarily from the 2015-2017 period.
Note that I attempted to choose a sample of geographically and sector diverse organizations who had lately been recognized for their sustainability/reporting prowess by an independent body/publication. From among the plethora of useful information contained in their sustainability reports, I subjectively singled out what I considered to be relevant numerical data for easy incorporation into the short Sustainimate videos. I have analysed this dataset for the information presented below.
As is apparent from the above, the top 5 SDGs for which the most reported data was identified are:
1. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption & Production
2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities
3. SDG 13: Climate Action
4. SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth
5. SDG 5: Gender Equality
Below is a table map of the breakdown of each SDG data point identified versus the industry sector.
From the table above, it is evident that the Manufacturing and IT sectors have been focusing on reporting on their responsible consumption-production, community engagement and climate impact performance. The Manufacturing sector has also focused on the occupational well-being front, while the IT industry is actively deploying clean energy to service their energy-intensive operations, such as data centers. To a lesser extent, the Energy and Finance sectors have also prioritized addressing the afore-mentioned SDGs in their reports.
Knowledge Seeker/Distributor & Opinions/Posts are Personal
6 年Good parsing and showcasing of data. Link did not work. As I have particular interest in the OIC countries, where more acute need of implementing SDGs (esp 1 and 2),? did not see Malaysia, yet its neighbors, Thailand and Singapore (expected, but expected more) showcased. Only one (of three) OIC country in G20 appears, KSA, and Turkey and Indonesia missing. I believe there is a link between PLC in ESG indexes (by major index providers, like MSCI) and companies reporting SDG 'compliance.'
Climate Change and ESG Specialist
6 年Interesting insights Badar Farooq and many thanks for sharing. Also would be great to understand whether majority of the companies expressly identified the SDGs they focus on or are the findings based on matching their material impacts to the SDGs. This can help us understand how well SDG reporting has been taken up and how companies are innovative in incorporating this in their routine sustainability reporting through frameworks such as GRI. Looking forward to the white paper.
A self- starter, and a natural in developing businesses and building business structures for sustainable growth. An experienced professional in Impact Investing, ESG,Sustainability, SDGs, Green, Blue and Circular Economy
6 年Interesting
Sustainable Finance
6 年Very interesting look into the progress of SDG reporting indeed Badar Farooq thank you for sharing and looking forward for the white paper. The SDG focus across sectors is interesting to correlate to EHS coming of age. Would be great to compare it with overall sustainability score and structured reporting initiatives since then like integrated reporting or GRI.
Narrative studies | Political theory | Digital studies
6 年This is meticulous, well presented and full of insights. We need more of this so we can measure our SDGs progress. Great work Badar Farooq!!!