5 Ways for Small Businesses to Meet UN Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all".

Jacoba Gundle

Co-Founder/Operations

Mindful Proteins  

Many small businesses find the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to fight climate change overwhelming. After all, trying to meet these 17 worthy goals can seem challenging for the small business leader who fills so many different roles.

But when whittled down to five simple action steps that same small business leader can see how easy it is to join the fight to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

1.      Choose the goals you want to focus on.

There are seventeen distinct goals outlined by the United Nations, each covering different areas of focus. While they all are admirable causes, trying to tackle them all might be too much to handle. We suggest trying to focus on three to five goals where you can really see an impact. Choose the focus that means the most to you, your business and your stakeholders to get started!

2.      Align policies and procedures to focus on these goals from the beginning.

If you are just starting your business, this is a great time to align with the SDG’s. As you write your policies and procedures for your new business, keep these goals in mind and integrate them into all written documents This will ensure that focus on working towards these goals will become a key component of your business. 

3.      Track progress on these goals.

One easy way to track progress towards your goals is to report consistent KPI’s (key performance indicators). Choose what information is important to you for each goal, assign it to a team member to track and report out to the rest of the group on a regular basis. These can be weekly, monthly or quarterly. By reporting out to the rest of the team, it keeps each team member accountable and a great way to see the progress being made.

4.      Revise your actions.

Not seeing the progress or changes that you want to see? It is okay to revise your goals, actions or KPI’s. In fact, goals should be reviewed on an annual basis to make sure that they are achieving the desired outcome and to accurately reflect your small business’s intentions.

5.      Share your successes and strategies with colleagues.

We are all in this fight together as we have one world and one climate. If you see success in implementing one or more of the UN Sustainable Development goals, share your news! Share how you are seeing success and let other businesses and partners follow in your footsteps. The more of us that are working towards saving our climate, the better off we will all be.

By taking these five steps and aligning with the UN Sustainable Development goals, we can see real progress in our fight to stop climate change. There are over 30 million small business owners in the United States, just think of the possibilities!

To learn more, visit https://mindfulproteins.com/sustainable-development-goals/

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