Abstract
As global environmental and humanitarian issues exacerbate, leaders and nations are striving hard to tackle these challenges at a global level collaboratively. With the setting of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its 2030 Agenda, the role of business in economic, social and environmental development has never been more imperative. In fact, companies have connected sustainable development (SD) practices to their own business initiatives. To support this trend, the Organization for Economic Co-ordination and Development (OECD) has recently developed a set of guidelines for the private sector to initiate responsible business practices. Globally, the trend points to businesses being more accountable, responsible and putting more emphasis on sustainability. Motivations to engage in sustainable practices vary. When companies integrate sustainability into their business, the management of these initiatives needs to be integrated as well. Certain tools and guidelines exist for companies to help support the internal management of sustainability, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). However, there is little research on how companies formulate their SD goals and objectives, set priorities and measure the impacts of these initiatives. Doing so would increase their transparency and help convey meaningful information to their stakeholders. This chapter provides a critical analysis of how companies from five different countries integrate SDGs into their business activities. Each of these countries faces different, as well as similar types of sustainability challenges. The five countries that have been included in this research project are as follows: Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Australia and Malaysia. The authors conclude that the private sector lacks strategy when they plan for integrating sustainability.
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Pillai, K.V., Slutsky, P., Wolf, K., Duthler, G., Stever, I. (2017). Companies’ Accountability in Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of SDGs in Five Countries. In: Servaes, J. (eds) Sustainable Development Goals in the Asian Context. Communication, Culture and Change in Asia, vol 2. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2815-1_5
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