B Lab report: Companies need to do more to make real progress on the SDGs

Press Releases
September 1, 2021

NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Despite declarations of progress, business action and performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is not strategic or bold enough to achieve them by 2030, as shared in a report released today by B Lab, a global network of organizations transforming the global economic system.

This report examines usage data from over 1,700 companies that have used the SDG Action Manager, B Lab’s impact management solution for businesses to make progress on the SDGs.

“The 2030 Agenda is ambitious, but necessary in order to realize an economic system that benefits all people, communities and the planet,” said Dan Osusky, Head of Standards and Insights at B Lab. “We hope this report can provide proof of tangible steps businesses are taking on the SDGS, direction for targeted business action on the most impactful aspects of a business—its business model, supply chain and collective action efforts—and signal for the need for both more individual action and a broader shift to our economic system to one that benefits all stakeholders.”

Insights include:

When looking at the percentage of points earned by aspect of the business, companies performed better on their internal operations (41%) versus their business model (32%), supply chain (30%), or collective action efforts (29%).
Among the most frequent goals for improvement set across all SDGs is for a business to fundamentally shift their own governance structure to require the consideration of stakeholders in their decision making.

This report was developed with generous financial support from Generation Foundation, Emmanuel Faber, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Full release available here.

About B Lab: B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way. To date, our community includes 280,000 workers in over 4,000 B Corps across 77 countries and 153 industries, and more than 150,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager. To learn more and join the movement, visit www.bcorporation.net.