Photo taken by the United Nations
"If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there." This phrase could describe many of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives that were implemented when the concept was new. What do I mean by this? As this IDB publication highlights, CSR initiatives evolved from corporate philanthropy (for example, support for the arts, and grants to institutions advocating social causes) to corporate citizenship (for example, through the development of programs aimed at minimizing the environmental impact of the company). Those CSR pioneers - who managed to go beyond - achieved a valuable differentiation and brand recognition as is the case of the Brazilian cosmetics company Natura and the Chilean wood-board manufacturer Masisa.
From the MIF, we were able to witness the evolution of the CSR concept and the changing role of the corporate sector in this area: from the rural enterprise model pursued by Wakami, to the regional support for the development of shopkeepers as community leaders through our joint imitative with SABMiller. What was missing was, in my opinion, a major objective or goal to guide private sector action in a more systematic way. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be this compass and I’m not referring only to Development Goal 17 (Partnerships); rather, the SDGs explicitly recognize the important role that the private sector has in addressing the sustainable development and climate change challenges set forth in the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
What opportunities are created with the SDGs? Perhaps the most immediate one is the opportunity to change the perspective of how private sector companies can contribute to these goals: rather than by creating a stand-alone CSR initiative, the SDGs promote embedding a sustainability focus in day-to-day operations as is the case of coffee suppliers / exporters Mercon, Ecom and Perhusa that promoted the use of certifications and the creation of programs to boost organic farming and facilitate adoption of efficient agricultural technology among its smallholder supplier base. A second opportunity for private sector companies is the chance to come together and generate collective action responses - for example, the case of Champions 12.3, a coalition of institutions (including Tesco, Unilever, Oxfam and Nestle) that aim to reduce food waste and food loss worldwide, set as SDG target 12.3.
Finally, the SDGs allow all of us to understand that the real impact of inclusive businesses goes beyond poverty eradication to topics as diverse as health (Farmaenlace), gender (Firth Industries Peru) and inequality reduction (Rainforest Expeditions). Our Inclusive Business publication includes detailed descriptions of these cases and others that continue to push the envelope with initiatives aimed at achieving the "triple bottom line": be profitable as well as environmentally and socially responsible. The SDGs provide a strategic direction for companies to implement coordinated and systematic actions that will make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
In our next blog, SNV colleagues will comment on their participation in the Second Inclusive Business Asia Forum organized in Manila. The event includes a panel on experiences of inclusive business in Latin America where our publication will be discussed.