25 September 2019 marked the 4th anniversary of the signing by 193 countries of the 2030 Agenda containing 17 SDGs and 169 tasks.

Objectives of the SDGs Workshop

Firstly, enabling SMEs to have a substantive discussion on the topic: “Are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals a chWszystkie/Allenge also for SMEs?”.

Secondly, introducing participants to the SDGs and sustainable development through a brief historical overview.

Thirdly, analysing how to build a sustainability strategy in SMEs, Business Responsible Strategy with 17SDGs (BRS).

Fourthly, familiarising participants with the Polish standard for reporting non-financial information SIN, based on GRI4.

Who was invited for the Workshop and why?

We invited those who are responsible for strategic management, as the theme of the Workshop is strategic change.

Nowadays, it is difficult to build a multi-year strategy because the business environment changes very quickly. However, change is taking place in the direction of sustainability. The Polish SDS strategy is a sustainable development strategy until 2020 with perspective to 2030, just like the 2030 Agenda.

A company’s global strategy, should be built as a sustainability strategy. This requires a new, innovative approach to management, production and services. It implies many changes.

The sooner we prepare for change, the longer we will be on the market. The change is about management policies, management style and the way strategies are built.

CSR strategies are no longer referred to as separate strategies to achieve social and environmental objectives. An integral sustainable development strategy with financial, environmental and social goals that take into account the SDGs is was i being talk about in nowadays.

The Accounting Act defines entities that have a legal obligation to report non-financial information, i.e. concerning the sphere of the company’s impact on the environment and society. Examples of such reports can be found on the Internet.

Conclusion

Although most SMEs are not legWszystkie/Ally required to produce a statement or report of non-financial information, they may be asked for such information by a bank before granting SMEs a loan. SMEs may be also ask for such information by a potential counterparty. A counterparty may also request such a report as a part of its reporting along the supply chain.

Piotr Soroczyński, Chief Economist of the National Chamber of Commerce, said: The goals written down in the 2030 Agenda are overwhelmingly indicative of the direction in which we would like the world to change and improve. The fact that they are concrete and broken down into smWszystkie/All steps makes it possible to tackle even big problems piece by piece. From the point of view of entrepreneurs – apart from fulfilling the natural need to improve the world – they are an excellent opportunity to implement new ideas and business strategies but also to find additional forms of activity, often also income. The elements of the Agenda which, when implemented graduWszystkie/Ally, will improve the effectiveness of the projects carried out, both by increasing efficiency and by reducing costs at the same time, are also not without significance.

It is worthwhile to familiarise yourself with the targets of the SDGs and the Polish standard for reporting sustainability strategy SIN. That is why is organised this Workshop.

A few words on reporting

We have a standard for reporting non-financial information, SIN. Indicators for business are being developed to report on how business is meeting its sustainability goals. They will be announced online following a press conference on 25 September 2019. These will be indicators showing the implementation of the SDGs by big business, according to adopted criteria. The results will be presented on the CSR Consulting website showing the implementation of the SDGs in Poland that will send the data to CSR Consulting. For the Opole business, we rather recommend using the SIN standard, especiWszystkie/Ally for entities that are on the stock exchange.

A few words on the SDGs

It is worth analysing what is the direct and indirect impact of an entity on achieving the SDGs. Are any new opportunities or threats for SMEs emerging due to the implementation of the SDGs? It is worth building a strategy integrated with the goals of the SDGs by creating a Responsible Business Strategy.

In a sustainability strategy, stakeholders play an important role in the success of the entity. Long-term success no longer depends on financial performance alone. The SDGs represent something of a moral compass. Ethics is becoming a tool for implementing sustainability in the supply chain. The SDGs provide business with opportunities and communicate risks. The benefit of business engagement with the SDGs is to lay the foundations for a long-term success due to creation of social and environmental entity friendly environment

You could say that the SDGs constitute a new roadmap for business. This is an opportunity to build a strong advantage against those companies that are not yet aware of the SDGs. If a company aligns its actions with the SDGs this gives confidence that by 2030 the company is on the right and widely accepted path.

The SDGs are cross-sectoral. For example, Goal 3 – Good health and quality of life – poses the chWszystkie/Allenge of polluted air, a chWszystkie/Allenge to which the energy, food, environment, health, fitness or media sectors should respond. The food industry, for example, needs to extend its supply chain to test for harmful substances taken from polluted air. The energy sector should not sell poor quality fuel to the public. And so on. Each sector has different tools and different tasks, but they lead to the same SDG goal. Moreover, the objectives are interrelated. And thus Goal SDG3 is linked to SDG7-clean and accessible energy, SDG9-innovation, industry, infrastructure, SDG11-sustainable cities and communities, SDG12-responsible consumption and production and SDG13-action in climate protection.

The country’s cross-sectoral Council 17 has selected only six Global Goals for Polish business: SDG4, SDG5, SDG8, SDG9, SDG11, SDG12.

A new chWszystkie/Allenge

In addition, a new chWszystkie/Allenge awaits us in the future. Not only will we analyse stakeholders in terms of the materiality of their impact on our operations and the impact of our operations on stakeholders, but we will also conduct an analysis of our supply chains as well as  be a subject of such an analysis. This is new in Poland, but it is already working in other countries. It is therefore worth preparing strategicWszystkie/Ally for this, since we will be investigating the direct and indirect environmental and social impacts of an entity, or product, in supply chains.