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What are the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by every single UN Member State in 2015, is a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet by 2030.
These 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include themes covering all of the world’s most dire issues – improving access to quality education, preserving our oceans and forests, ensuring gender equality and providing renewable energy solutions. Member States can only do so much – it’s now up to us to help.
The corporations you invest your dollars in have the resources and scale to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals more quickly and effectively than countries and individuals alone. This is why the UN actively works to partner with the private sector to drive change forward.
In October 2019, the UN announced today that 30 influential leaders from the corporate world would work together over the next two years in a bid to free up trillions of dollars from the private sector to finance the Sustainable Development Goals – this includes CEOs from Bank of America, Citigroup, ICBC, Infosys, Investec, Santander, UBS, and other prominent international corporations.
How can I support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals?
It’s easy to feel helpless when faced with the most pressing issues impacting our society today, but each of us can play a part in moving towards a more sustainable future. We as individuals can commit to and actively support the UN Sustainable Development Goals in a variety of ways.
Here’s how you can help:
- Spread awareness of the UN SDGs by talking to your friends and family and sharing these goals on social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook.
- Become a more conscious consumer by researching and buying from companies committed to sustainable developments.
- Support companies that are promoting sustainable efforts more directly by investing in them.
You can even invest in them
When you make any purchase or investment, you’re making a statement with dollars. Now’s the time to do some research: Are your go-to brands committed to a sustainable world? Are there other companies that are working harder toward sustainable initiatives, and are you willing to make the switch?
Choosing to invest your money only in companies actively committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a solid way to support their achievement and make a positive impact on the world.
When investors, no matter how big or small, band together to keep their money away from lagging companies, it signals to these corporations that they need to keep up with the times and evolve their corporate consciences.
If corporations can’t step it up, investors may stop supporting less sustainable business practices and spend their hard-earned cash elsewhere, corporate leaders will take notice— especially when it impacts their share prices, and in turn their bonuses.
Whether you have never invested before, or you have an IRA or an investment account, anyone can get involved.
When driven by your values, changing your spending habits or making socially responsible investments can make a real difference in the world today and for future generations.
