Global Goals That Work
Over the last decade, there has been a proliferation of sustainability indexes and frameworks. This report attempts to bring greater alignment between actors and better ways to measure progress using our planet's health and people's well-being as the yardstick, rather than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or profit alone. Read the report to learn how sustainability is measured at government, business, and societal levels, and how it can be aligned to the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) and the SDGs.
In Short
The Solutions
The good news is that there are multiple initiatives underway to fill the gaps, align frameworks and connect institutions. The SDG framework now offers the opportunity to galvanize and bring coherence to these efforts.
Based on consultation with diverse stakeholders, and in different parts of the world, Measure What Matters (MWM) has collected practical examples of how stakeholders are integrating the SDGs into their decisions across 5 principles. We hope these principles and examples can provide some guidance for taking action:
We see how businesses and governments are using the SDGs to Set the direction by benchmarking their strategies and national plans against the framework. The 15 year SDG timeframe is helping stakeholders to think in the long term and reassess their current metrics to assess real 'value' beyond profit and progress beyond GDP.
We document how governments are using the SDGs to Connect and collaborate with their citizens through nation-wide dialogues on 'what matters': connecting the 'users' and the 'suppliers' of data to build a collective picture of success.
We find that the new opportunities to Share data between different stakeholder groups is not only helping governments make better decisions, but is also alerting businesses to what consumers, investors, or other stakeholders need.
We track how Integrating environmental, social, and economic goals into government departments and corporate strategy, is helping decision makers to become better equipped to see the interdependencies between different issues, and more able to grasp opportunities and ward off risks.
We highlight different strategies for Communicating progress so that it both connects to individuals and organizations, but can also tell a macro picture of change.