BUS604: Innovation and Sustainability

The business case for sustainable development is strong already: it opens up new opportunities and big efficiency gains; it drives innovation; and it enhances reputations. With a reputation for sustainability, companies attract and retain employees, consumers, B2B customers, and investors, and they secure their license to operate. That's why sustainable companies around the globe are thriving and delivering attractive returns to shareholders. That is why over 9,000 companies around the world have already signed up to the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact, a guide to sustainable business behavior.

The business case for sustainable development as a core strategy gets much stronger as the world achieves the Global Goals. Our research shows achieving the Global Goals in just four economic systems could open 60 market "hot spots" worth an estimated US$12 trillion by 2030 in business savings and revenue (Exhibit 2). The total economic prize from implementing the Global Goals could be 2-3 times bigger, assuming that the benefits are captured across the whole economy and accompanied by much higher labor and resource productivity. That's a fair assumption. Consider that achieving the single goal of gender equality could contribute up to US$28 trillion to global GDP by 2025, according to one estimate. The overall prize is enormous.

Exhibit 2: 
60 biggest market opportunities related to delivering the Global Goals