Private Sector and the Sustainable Development Goals: Legitimacy or Greenwashing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14422/icade.i108.y2019.005Keywords:
Sustainable Development Goals, private sector, greenwashing, sustainability reports, socially responsible investment, SDG-linked bonds, green bondsAbstract
The objective of this paper is to analyze the legitimacy of reported private sector contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, and assess the level of greenwashing. To this effect it is important to distinguish between activities that can be “associated” with some SDGs from activities that “actually contribute” to their achievement. To make this distinction we will first analyze the SDG ecosystem, their participants and their motivations and the structure of the SDGs and their targets to understand why they are conducive to greenwashing. Within this context we will analyze the areas of reporting and financing the SDGs, considering examples in both areas, to propose five criteria that would give legitimacy to those contributions. We will also consider the negative contributions of many firms that tend not to be reported. Finally, we will call for institutional arrangements to monitor and report on fake contributions and to highlight the legitimate ones.References
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