Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires redefining the purpose of business and scaling up their impact. However, there are challenges such as the gap between good intentions and real actions; conflict between the current economic system and SDG thinking; limited understanding of how business is embedded in society; and capacity constraints in developing countries to take full advantage of emerging business opportunities. We propose that the leaders of the G20 take necessary action in four areas: a) encourage corporates to embed SDGs into their core business strategies and operations; b) reshape the economic system around the common good; c) create a “sustainable ecosystem” for shaping a beneficial environment for all stakeholders; and d) upgrade the enterprises and policy/regulatory capabilities of developing countries to maximize the potential benefits of their participation in Global Value Chains.
Ohno et al. (Fri,) studied this question.