At first glance United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) appear to be a call for businesses to transform and contribute to improving society and the environment.

Launched in 2015, the program includes 17 goals that address the world’s most pressing challenges, from climate motion to poverty eradication. These goals are the major pillars discussions on global politics and so they became buzzword for corporations willing to demonstrate its commitment to social and environmental sustainability.

However, the reality for a lot of corporations could be very different: the SDGs are increasingly used to reinforce existing practices moderately than to truly solve social problems.

Supposedly, the Sustainable Development Goals provide a worldwide framework that aligns and engages key stakeholders to achieve common social and environmental goals. Supporters of the Sustainable Development Goals for business is struggling to constitute a comprehensive social contract that pays attention to sustainable development, and supply a system to help managers implement them.

However, corporations are free to use the SDG framework, logos and colours of their communications without external verification. That means they will easily use them as an easy signal of excellent intentions without having to take them seriously.

Political textbook strategies

Our latest research article examines how corporations use these goals to not only contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, but additionally lobby governments for favorable treatment and shape the processes and outcomes of political decision-making.

We did this by conducting a case study of 4 subsidiaries of Western European multinational corporations in Indonesia, where the government is decentralized and sometimes interferes with the activities of personal sector corporations. especially foreign multinational corporations.

We have observed that the SDGs influence fame – project integrity, responsibility and commitment – ​​for corporations to be strategic moderately than altruistic. Businesses are using the SDGs to strengthen relationships with policymakers, influence policy discussions and advance their very own interests under the guise of sustainability and the common good.

Rather than making meaningful change, there’s a risk that the SDGs will likely be hijacked by corporations to improve their public image, while perpetuating the practices they claim to address.

While the cozy relationship between business and politics is nothing recent, our research shows that corporations are using the SDGs not only to “do good,” but additionally to gain political access and influence government regulation.

Our research found that corporations were using SDG-related strategies to strengthen their ties with governments and shape policy agendas that ultimately benefited their financial performance. In particular, we identified three strategies: cross-sector partnerships, conflict management and constituency constructing.

Cross-sector partnerships

The first strategy that corporations used to advance their policy agendas using the SDGs was to develop cross-sector partnerships. Traditionally seen as a cornerstone of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, cross-sector partnerships bring together government, industry and nonprofit partners to achieve a typical goal.

Such partnerships are often an invite to a seat at the table for dialogue on sustainability and related policy discussions. Due to the financial power of huge corporations, these partnerships tend to shift towards supporting corporate interests.

By participating in such partnerships, corporations gain legitimacy through a visual connection to governments, nonprofit entities, and the common good. This, in turn, builds social capital that might be used to further influence. example of that is the paradox that a few of the biggest polluters often rank high in environmental, social and governance (ESG) rankings.

The electoral district constructing

The second strategy utilized by corporations was constructing an electorate, i.e. creating support amongst local communities. This involves directly supporting government priorities – reminiscent of farming communities – to help alleviate tensions between businesses and native governments.

Its aim is to create a support base for corporations. Thanks to this social support, corporations can gain access to and support from local politicians who resolve whether to grant or extend factory licenses.

This strategy encourages the mobilization of stakeholders to advocate on behalf of corporations. Constituency constructing may play a big role in shaping decision-maker sentiment during conflicts reminiscent of union strikes or labor rights disputes. This strategy often complements other strategies.

Conflict management

The third and final strategy corporations used was conflict management, which focused on constructing the support needed to resolve political disputes. The SDGs were used to enhance efforts to find common goals amongst a spread of stakeholders.

Building social capital and credibility in such situations was irreplaceable for corporations. Significant social investment can improve public perceptions and supply businesses with bargaining power during conflicts, serving as a tool to ease tensions. This strategy isn’t any different from the strategy used for individuals who: put your conscience comfy by purchasing carbon offsets for air travel.

All three strategies – cross-sector partnerships, conflict management and constituency constructing – have helped corporations operating abroad reduce nationalist bias, face fewer bribe requests and improve their relationships with host governments.

While investing in the SDGs is a greater alternative to paying bribes, our research warns that these strategies may have negative effects by empowering political actors. For example, political figures may find a way to maintain or consolidate their power through increased corporate investment.

Beyond the company’s fame

The use of the SDGs by the private sector must be rigorously examined, as not all SDG initiatives can serve the common good. Our research, together with other people’s researchfound that corporations put money into corporate social responsibility initiatives to improve their relationships with host governments.

Greenwashing — when corporations exaggerate or misrepresent their environmental efforts — and the manipulation of sustainability rankings are well-documented issues. As our research shows, the same applies to the use of sustainability claims for political purposes. These issues indicate that the SDGs may change into tools to maintain the established order moderately than driving meaningful change.

Canada lags behind in global rankings of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. To reverse this trend and speed up progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Canada needs higher mechanisms to hold businesses accountable, ensure compliance with the intended goals of the SDGs, and take a serious – even perhaps altruistic – approach to addressing social and environmental challenges.

An necessary step on this direction can be for the private sector to adopt the SDGs, not for the sake of corporate fame, but as a part of a real commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.

Keith Lee is helping out one other family-owned restaurant together with his latest food review. Lee went to Tacos Y Mariscos Ofelia in Warner Robins, Georgia to advertise and provides advice to small businesses.

Lee returned to the Peach State after a TikTok video of a family restaurant struggling to survive went viral. In the video, the owners described the difficult moments that they had recently experienced.

@keith_lee125 #stitch with taste test @Tacosymariscosofelia Tacos Y Marisco Ofelia 💕 would you are attempting it? 💕 #foodcritic ♬ original sound – Keith Lee

“It’s very difficult for us to stay open. We just reopened yesterday after being closed for two weeks and almost no one came. Please come and help. We are a small Mexican restaurant specializing in birria,” they shared on TikTok.

Seeing that the video was going viral on the social media app, Lee headed to the area. He drove about 100 miles south of Atlanta to review the restaurant and get some information.

“When my family and I saw this movie for the second time, we booked a two-hour flight and drove two hours from the airport to try this food and see for ourselves why (business) is slow,” Lee said.

Lee described his experience eating at a Mexican restaurant that claims to focus on birria. He noted that the entire family helped with the surgeries, including the teenage children.

In his criticism, Lee also stated that the restaurant’s location in a small town in Georgia, marketing efforts, and the younger family working there can have contributed to its dismal success so far. Despite this, he rated most of the food an “8 out of 10”, meaning the meals weren’t an issue.

The charity influencer also donated money to the family to cover the rent for the next three months.

“We met the whole family and paid another three months of rent. So they don’t have to worry about staying open for now… We left $900 to pay whoever comes after us,” the content creator explained. “As always, I pray after this and hope that they reach their intended audience.”

Thanks to the additional funds, courtesy of Lee, customers were able to dine at the restaurant free of charge.

Shark Tank investor Daymond John is hosting the fifth annual Black Entrepreneur Day this yr and has pledged to support small businesses with $100,000 grants.

John began organizing Black Entrepreneurs Day at the peak of the racial justice movement following the death of George Floyd. This yr grants that will probably be rewarded for Black-owned businesses, would require no sacrifices in equity and can deal with providing financial support “without any strings attached.” reports.

Grant applications will probably be open until November 1, and John told Inc. what he wants in a great candidate. He explained that a very powerful thing they’re looking for is someone who has a transparent vision of what they need.

“If you can articulate that vision,” he told the outlet, “who you are solving the issue for, why you are the one solving the issue, and why you, in the event you get these funds, they’ll be put to good use and I’ll enable you, I believe that is all you wish.

Black Entrepreneurs Day will probably be held on November 22 in Atlanta on the Fox Theater. The event, which celebrates black business, will probably be free. Big names equivalent to Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles, media personality Charlamagne tha God and rappers Flavor Flav and 2Chainz are expected to take the stage.

John explained: “We don’t come from a heritage background. We don’t get as much education as I think we need… We pay more interest on things. We are always the last to hire and the first to fire. I think it puts us behind, in a very bad situation, and being an entrepreneur is hard enough as it is.”

He continued: “Through social media and technology, things are becoming democratized. There is information about what works and what doesn’t. … Add to that funding and inspiration (and) I think we have a better chance now than ever before.”

The Shark Tank investor has began putting efforts into changing the mentality of public enterprises “from watching communities burn businesses to enabling them to build them.”

John spent a while praising the organizations and firms that support their cause.

John said: “Many large corporations and organizations who believed it should be done then no longer believe it should be done now. And I don’t disrespect them for that reason. I love talking about the organizations that support us and that think this is still a very positive and necessary thing, even when the spotlight is dim.”