Article
Five Ways to Unlock SDG Progress
Time is running out for achieving the SDGs. But action at scale in these critical areas can unlock rapid progress.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Are Not Out of Reach
September 11, 2023
The United Nations set the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 with an aim to deliver on them by 2030. We are at the midpoint, and the news is not good. Not one SDG has been achieved, and progress on most is too slow. But there are ways to accelerate the pace. We spoke with six BCG experts on how we can change the SDG trajectory. Here’s what they said.
Wendy Woods
Mobilizing the Private Sector for Sustainability
Companies can advance the SDGs while simultaneously expanding their business, bolstering the bottom line, and managing risk. It’s time to double down on the opportunity.
Maikel Wilms
Digital Can Accelerate Progress on the SDGs
Digital technology has the potential to advance sustainability efforts in a powerful way. To seize that opportunity, countries need to develop a comprehensive digital strategy.
Qahir Dhanani
Closing the SDG Financing Gap Requires Collective Creativity
There is a nearly $4 trillion annual shortfall in SDG-related investments. New approaches—including ways to unlock private sector investment—can close the gap.
Zoë Karl-Waithaka
Rethinking Collaboration to Power SDG Progress
Public-, private-, and social-sector players need to cooperate to achieve the SDGs—but such collaborations often come up short. Here’s how to make them pay off.
Dave Sivaprasad
We Can’t Meet the SDGs Without Adaptation and Resilience
The impacts of climate change—including increased floods, droughts, and fires—may put the SDGs further out of reach. That’s why investments in A&R are so vital.
Meet the Experts
To identify how your company can lead authentically on environmental and societal impact, find the intersection of capability, conviction, and opportunity.
The UN’s SDGs have a targeted completion date of 2030—but achieving them will take more work and greater investment. To accelerate action, governments need to think big, start small, and scale fast.
Time is running out for achieving the SDGs. But action at scale in these critical areas can unlock rapid progress.
Achieving ESG goals and building sustainability as a competitive advantage requires integrating technology and data from the beginning.
The field of climate finance has come a long way in recent years, but questions remain about the market for investment in climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience—even as demand for capital continues to grow.
Companies can advance the SDGs while simultaneously expanding their business, bolstering the bottom line, and managing risk. It’s time to double down on the opportunity.
BCG and INSEAD are partnering over the next several years to study how boards are approaching the governance of ESG issues today and how they need to adapt for tomorrow. Read about the inaugural survey results here
A new report by The Rockefeller Foundation and Boston Consulting Group finds that without standardized taxonomies, it can be difficult—if not impossible—for catalytic investors to trace financing flows and pinpoint gaps that they can meaningfully target.
Telcos’ five-year performance record in terms of total shareholder return and value creation is below average—but an analysis of the top-ranked players shows how companies can overcome the industry’s challenges.
Digital technology has the potential to advance sustainability efforts in a powerful way. To seize that opportunity, countries need to develop a comprehensive digital strategy.
TMT was hit hard by market volatility in 2022—but AI and other technologies are setting the scene for the next wave of value creation.
In a rough year for markets, telecom operators held up comparatively well, despite continuing to face some fundamental challenges, while infrastructure companies cooled considerably.
The imperative for adaptation and resilience investment has always been clear. Now, finally, so is the business case.
There is a nearly $4 trillion annual shortfall in SDG-related investments. New approaches—including ways to unlock private sector investment—can close the gap.
A new report by The Rockefeller Foundation and Boston Consulting Group finds that without standardized taxonomies, it can be difficult—if not impossible—for catalytic investors to trace financing flows and pinpoint gaps that they can meaningfully target.
The continent is rich in youthful, entrepreneurial energy. Well-planned investments now can help Africa transform itself into a global center of technological and ecological innovation.
Worldwide consumption of refined grains contributes significantly to diet-related disease and malnutrition. Production of these grains creates serious environmental damage. A powerful antidote to these problems is fortified whole grains.
Public-, private-, and social-sector players need to cooperate to achieve the SDGs—but such collaborations often come up short. Here’s how to make them pay off.
To combat climate change in Africa effectively, investors, governments, and companies must collaboratively develop and finance sustainability-driven ventures that can grow rapidly across the continent’s business ecosystem.
Efforts that focus on increasing subsistence farmers’ yields have achieved scant success. It’s time for a radical rethinking of food policies on the continent.
The impacts of climate change—including increased floods, droughts, and fires—may put the SDGs further out of reach. That’s why investments in A&R are so vital.
The green revolution is taking off, but the transition must be managed thoughtfully to be as fair and inclusive as possible. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get it right.
These strategic steps can help companies in developed and developing countries alike realize their decarbonization commitments.
Climate change is a global problem. But its effects can vary by community, even within the same region—as will the optimal solutions.
