Enabling Transition

Sustainability enablers facilitate development in a way that protects productive resources – the planet, people and capital – without depleting natural resources or having harmful impact now or for future generations.  The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda represent universally approved policy visions that anticipate and require cooperation and collaboration on sustainable development at all levels of government, the private sector, and civil society.

The enablers of the sustainable development and operation of the built environment are the change agents who provide the necessary resources and solutions for sustainability.  They comprise the individuals, businesses, public institutions, and civil society organizations that take stake in the communities and contribute to a more sustainable socioeconomic ecosystem.

Where government policies regulate business and provide enabling sustainable development environment, business develops and delivers the solutions.  Civil society monitors the progress of the public- and private-sector enablers to ensure the achievement of the SDGs and the circularity of the economy.

Government institutions and private-sector organizations identify, measure and value their direct and indirect impacts and dependencies on social capital and human capital, and natural capital.  Nearly all of the 17 Goals, 169 proposed Targets and 231 recommended indicators rely directly or indirectly on public officials for their implementation.

For businesses, the most powerful contribution to sustainable development is to embed respect for human rights and the environment in their activities and across their value chains.  They must focus on the potential and actual impacts and harm done to people and the environment – the greatest opportunities for positive contributions.

The private sector is key to achieving the SDGs, which requires funding and cooperation on an unprecedented scale.  Investors and other development financing and funding sources support the adoption of ESG and SDG principles in business models and operations of their investments.

Making Progress

Enablement triggers positive multiplier effects across the development spectrum and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Increased awareness of the SDGs among policymakers triggers the dynamics to integrate the SDGs into their policies and plans for the required systemic transition.

Concrete regulatory, financing and enabling measures introduce minimum performance standards that trigger the transformation of the building sector.  Transformation of the built environment and the buildings and construction sector requires greater collaboration among policymakers at all jurisdictional levels as well as with urban planners, architects, developers, investors, construction companies, and utility companies.

The SDGs call for companies to actively engage in the social, economic and environmental transformation process.  Business contribution to the SDGs requires integrating the SDGs into their core competitive strategy, organizational culture, and business model.

Incremental change is not putting communities on track for sustainability, equity and prosperity.  Actionable toolkits provide a methodology to help policymakers embark on a circular economy transformation for the sustainability of their communities.

Digital transformation and the increasing sophistication of digital supply chain technologies play a major role in the evolution of supply chain sustainability.  Big data management, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and security tools have brought about unprecedented visibility and SDG accountability to global supply chains.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently reported that climate breakdown is happening more quickly than anticipated and warns that much of the planet will soon become uninhabitable. The science-driven report emphasizes the urgent need for radical climate action to stay in a climate safety zone and to accelerate transformational adaptation measures.

BuildAction is a unifying platform for the exchange of experience, insights and knowledge to accelerate the transformation towards the sustainable development of the built environment by all stakeholders.  Together, we accelerate the transformation in line with Sustainable Development Goals.

Progress Standards

Companies demonstrate their commitment to the SDGs in their evaluation of enterprise value and investment decision-making.  For this, several factors are considered, including supply chain management (SCM), human rights, climate change, safety, and environmental risks.

Sustainability self-assessments, project green certifications, sustainability reporting and ESG (environment, social and corporate governance) ratings are the popular means for companies to demonstrate their sustainability and the performance of company supply chains.  However, there is no global definition of ESG or standardized ESG ratings metrics nor are the proprietary rating models of the rating agencies target-oriented or process-focused.

The UN SDGs are a globally accepted framework of standards with clearly defined indicators and goal-oriented recommendations that enable criteria-unbiased sustainability assessment.  To be an effective global standard for comparative analysis and sustainability reports, policymakers must agree on pragmatic, actionable targets leading to the creation of clear, consistent technical standards and benchmarks.

The SDG Impact Standards guide businesses and investors on a path to embedding sustainability and the SDGs.  They are voluntary internal management standards designed to help businesses and investors embed sustainability and the SDGs into their management systems and decision-making practices.  The Standards provide a decision-making framework to make sense of existing relevant principles, frameworks and tools, while also filling gaps in current market practices that undermine progress towards sustainability and achievement of the SDGs.

The Ten Principles of UN Global Compact serve as the minimum criteria to be fulfilled by organizations for program participation.  The UN Global Compact is a voluntary initiative open to any company that commits to work towards implementation of the UN Global Compact principles throughout its operations and sphere of influence and to communicate on its progress.

The UN Global Compact participant Communication on Progress (CoP) on BuildAction expresses the commitment of profiled Enablers to sustainability and the SDGs.