With only 17 percent of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on track for their 2030 deadline, the UN is urging businesses to act now. Achieving these goals – an ambitious plan for a more resilient and prosperous world – won’t happen without major investment and innovation from the private sector, says UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
At the University of Sydney Business School, around 30 researchers are exploring unique solutions to tackle issues like hunger, inequality, and building more inclusive institutions. Here, three researchers share their insights.
Goal 2: Zero hunger
Ranjit Voola (GradCert Higher Ed '08), Associate Professor of Marketing, focuses on how business strategies can alleviate hunger, poverty and global wealth inequality.
"Business needs to reframe a societal problem – such as ending hunger – as an opportunity", he says.
"Making profits and doing good can be mutually reinforcing goals. Ending hunger requires approximately US$40 billion every year until 2030*. Historically, countering hunger has been the concern of governments and charities – and progress has been slow."
"Business is the only part of society focused on profit and developing innovative solutions. So, unless this sector is engaged, particularly the food and agricultural industries, this SDG won’t be achieved. Business needs to have the ability to reframe a societal problem or challenge – such as zero hunger or eliminating poverty – as an opportunity."
*Source: UN World Food Programme 2021
How can you profit ethically from hunger?
"Instead of operating solely for profit, big businesses could engage with the poor, not through donations, but by collaborating as partners. For example, by selling better quality seeds and improved machinery to small-scale farmers in low-income countries to help them to address low productivity and access competitive markets, while boosting food security. If the product has value, farmers or potentially governments will pay them for it."
"Another example is Mastercard, which launched the 2Kuze digital platform in 2015, with a focus on financial inclusion. It enables farmers in Kenya to buy, sell, and receive payments for agricultural goods via their mobile phones. They can connect directly with buyers and agents to secure the best price and receive payments securely, without having to walk for hours to markets. So, it could be consumers, other businesses or governments paying for these initiatives. At the end of the day, societal challenges are what big governments do, and they can’t do it themselves. This kind of thinking is what is required of business."
"Businesses need to ask themselves, 'Where does my passion meet the world’s greatest need, at a profit?'. Then they'll be able to combine profit with purpose, a characteristic that will define the leaders of the future. The traditional assumption of the purpose of business is to make money and do nothing unethical – but here we're saying we need not just to do no harm, but to do good as well."
Next-generation business leaders
"Consumers also expect businesses to proactively do good for society. I see a clear desire in students to learn how they can change the world for the better through business. When looking for employment, they’re also seeking companies that are making a difference."
"Universities also have a critical role in rethinking the role of businesses and shifting their mindset towards sustainability by developing students as responsible future business leaders and senior executives."
Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Chris F Wright (BA (Hons) '05), Professor of Work and Labour Market Policy, is investigating barriers to fair work conditions in global supply chains.
"Business is global and so are human rights", he says.
"Advanced technology and reduced transport costs have made it easier for global fashion brands to send their operations offshore to countries with lower labour costs and weaker worker protections."
"But tragic events like the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh highlight the dire consequences when global firms exploit these gaps in governance. More than 1000 workers and their children in an onsite nursery were killed when the building, which housed garment factories collapsed."
"Consumers who shopped at retailers like Zara, Benetton and Walmart were forced to recognise the conditions that enabled low-cost clothing."
Addressing the gaps
"My focus is on how to build effective institutions to address the 'governance gaps' that present barriers to decent work. Following Rana Plaza, international regulations were introduced requiring global companies in Bangladesh and Pakistan to meet basic health and safety standards. These reforms, coupled with strengthened labour laws in Australia and the EU, demonstrate how transnational collaboration can work."
"Similarly in farming, migrant workers may be exploited due to pressures from retailers and supermarkets. I have advised on a project with industry associations and growers which led to improved measures, such as higher wages, to prevent companies from engaging in a 'race to the bottom' on labour costs."
"Systemic change really has to happen at the company and production systems' level – I’m involved in informing government policy, international orgnisations and peak bodies, as an effective way to drive change. However, individuals also need to be aware of their role as consumers by buying sustainably produced goods."
Business is global and so are human rights.
Professor Chris F Wright
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Leanne Cutcher (PhD '04), Professor of Management and Organisation Studies, has a particular interest in alternative businesses and organisations in First Nations communities.
According to Professor Cutcher, "profit alone is not the only measure of success for Indigenous business ventures."
"For many successful First Nations businesses, the bottom line is not about profit alone – developing skills and delivering services in local languages are also important measures of performance. We need to firstly recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know what their communities need and can deliver those services."
"These organisations generate more than $16 million annually to the economy and employ over 116, 000 people – so we need to ensure that they are offered more support."
Ways of doing business
"I'm currently partnering with Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, exploring how they combine cultural practices and kinship systems with mainstream service delivery, in a viable and culturally appropriate way. For example, Bara Barang on the NSW Central Coast trains and mentors Aboriginal apprentices in manufacturing. It also runs cultural awareness programs for employers, fostering supportive environments for First Nations employees."
"Cooperative business models are also delivering services in First Nations communities, such as banking, childcare, suicide prevention, and housing. The Traditional Credit Union (TCU), for example, operates 14 branches in the Northern Territory, employing local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff. As a cooperative it does not have to deliver shareholder dividends, surplus funds can be reinvested in the business, which can develop other culturally informed services. TCU’s initiatives include becoming a registered training organisation, to equip community members with job-ready skills."
Supporting First Nations businesses
"My call-to-action around this Sustainable Development Goal is to ask ourselves, how can we become effective allies in assisting First Nations business ventures to succeed? People can help to shape their organisations' reconciliation action plans to bring about change in concrete ways. They can consider how they might procure a certain percentage of their services from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and support those businesses by investing in training opportunities."
"Aboriginal entrepreneurs are innovating in so many ways. Smart businesses should be looking to partner with them. There are many ways that this burgeoning sector can grow, which will have flow on impacts on intergenerational wealth, health and wellbeing of communities."
Goals 11 and 12: Sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production
Alumni expert view
Based in New York, Sustainability Director Leela Shanker (BCom '00, LLB '02) leads the Design Lab for WAP Sustainability Consulting.
"I began exploring sustainable lighting as an in-house designer at WeWork", Shanker says. "I then founded an international incubator with the GreenLight Alliance, analysing the environmental impacts of typical lighting designs. The goal was to help lighting designers and manufacturers to gain insights and make better informed decisions about their designs."
"Now, as lead of WAP Sustainability’s Design Lab, I help firms – from the built environment to finance – to navigate decarbonisation goals and complex data insights. My hope is for the industry to shift from compliance to performance, recognising sustainability as a source of business value and an opportunity to redefine how we experience our urban environments."
Leela Shanker (BCom '00, LLB '02) wants sustainability to be recognised as a source of business value.
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