Corporate Sustainability at Local Level for Achieving the 2030 Agenda

Localizing the SDGs: The Role of Local Authorities

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in
2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and
into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an
urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. Local
authorities and local actors in general should not be seen as mere implementers of the 2030
Agenda, but as policymakers, catalysts of change and the level of government best-placed to link
the global goals with local communities. In the context of the 2030 Agenda, it is the local and
regional governments that will be critical to ensuring that no one is left behind.1

The link between delivering services to the poor and improved health and educational outcomes
that increases the productivity is generally accepted. However, basic infrastructure is often not
accessible to the poor: water, and electricity are not provided to poorer neighborhoods, roads
are unfinished. This may lead to the poor paying more for substitute services such as tinkered
water and diesel generators.2 Local governments and municipalities are crucial institutions for
urbanization process as they have an interactive relationship with people at any level more than
the other institutions. In other respects; it is much easier for locals to reach and convey their
complaints to local governments so that local bodies are a bridge between government and the
people.

Municipalities need capacities in procurement, contract management, professional and often

unionized labor management, and ongoing expertise in capital and operating budgeting and
finance to provide better services. Municipality and community association demands a robust
social contract by considering fast urbanization process. It is crucial to acknowledge; it can be
formed a wide variety of shapes and sizes and operate at all level.

1
UNDP, Cities 2030: Implementing the New Urban Agenda
2
Ibid 26.
Finding ways to increase the financial capacity and financing instruments of cities around the
world appears as a critical issue that needs to be addressed to achieve these global agendas. In
this sense, increasing own-source revenues is key to improve cities’ capacity to meet the
increasing demand for services. Currently, most cities depend largely on central transfers or
revenue from property taxation and other service fee charges, while more lucrative sources of
revenue are collected by the central government.3

Municipalities getting Cooperated…

Individuals, organizations, and governments alike are all increasingly prioritizing sustainability as an
essential part of their policies. At a time where society is becoming more aware of their impact on the
environment, their collective movement towards a sustainable future is leading to huge changes in the
corporate landscape. The three pillars of corporate sustainability - economic, social, and environmental -
work together to help organizations strive for more sustainable practices. Businesses need to move from
an outdated sense of fast profits at the expense of the environment to a more mutual interdependence
and eco-innovation. Adopting sustainable practices not only helps the environment - corporations have
proven that sustainability initiatives lead to an improved brand image, reduced costs, happier
shareholders, increased productivity, and countless more benefits4

Why we need Corporate Sustainability for achieving SDGs :

Local Governments need to achieve sustainable sources of finance to be able to invest in urban
infrastructure and offer basic services. However, local governments face several challenges such
as insufficient and unreliable transfers from central government, poor tax collection, weak fiscal
management and other constraints that affect their institutional capacities.

3
http://financeforcityleaders.unhabitat.org/
4
https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/resources/corporate-sustainability/
TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE

Traditional business models have been based on the bottom line of profit and loss; taking into
consideration financial performance as a measure of success. Following the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development new discussions began around formulating
alternative business models that could integrate development and environmental concerns into
the profit based economic motivations. The “Triple Bottom Line” approach is concerned with
the trio of people, planet and profit all together; taking into consideration social wealth
creation and environmental responsibility in addition to financial performance.

PEOPLE – THE SOCIAL EQUITY BOTTOM LINE

PLANET – THE ENVIRONMENTAL BOTTOM LINE

PROFIT – THE ECONOMIC BOTTOM LINE

SOCIAL AUDIT – A management tool developed to facilitate the implementation and evaluation
of social wealth creation, environmental responsibility and financial performance through an
integrated approach.

Building upon the social audit tool, SEtoolbelt has created an open, online platform bringing
together resources and management tools used in social enterprises implementing the triple
bottom line approach.

http://www.setoolbelt.org/search/resources?filters=tid%3A304&retain-filters=1
Good Practices

City of Raleigh
All developers are required to build affordable housing to energy star standards and
include efficient LED street lighting in all projects.
Encourages sustainable infrastructure like, electric vehicle charging points, affordable
transit and greenway trails
Adopted sustainable purchasing policy, supporting re-investing locally and foster local
employment

Town of Cary
Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program, award grants to resident projects that
contribute to local development
Land use ordinance
Open space plan to preserve natural resources

Town of Huntersville
Mixed-use policy support to support self-sustained developments where commercial
and employment uses are in close proximity to residential uses
Encourage LEED practices in residential construction

Washington DC
Goals to grow and diversify business sectors for sustained economic prosperity
Requires all new homes to meet “Health by Design Standards”
Require certain amenities to be in 20 minutes walking distance of residences