Providing decent work and ensuring economic growth are still South African business’s first priorities when it comes to fulfilling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),.
This is the word from Dr Achieng Ojwang, executive director of the United Nations Global Compact Network South Africa (GCNSA), talking about the country’s second Voluntary National Review (VNR) on its progress towards meeting the SDGs.
South Africa has battled a high unemployment rate since before the 2020-22 Covid pandemic. The country’s unemployment rate dropped to 31,9% in the third quarter of 2023, the lowest in a year, from 32,6% in the second quarter of the year.
The top priorities for business in the 2023/4 review are: decent work and economic growth; climate action; and partnerships for the SDGs.
In 2019 the GCNSA’s survey of business’s top priorities showed the top goals were decent work and economic growth; quality education for all; and responsible production and consumption.
The 2024 VNR report on South Africa’s work towards attaining the 17 SDGs, aimed at ensuring that by 2030 the world enjoys peace and prosperity for people and the planet, will be handed by the South African Presidency to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2024.
“Our survey of how the private sector prioritises the SDGs shows that SDG 8 – ‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’ – remains the top priority. That is not surprising, given South Africa’s economic travails,” says Dr Ojwang.
South Africa’s economic outlook for 2024 is subdued, although economists expect the country to avoid a recession.
Some might be surprised at “Quality education for all” (SDG 4) dropping from second place in 2019 to the sixth slot in 2024, says Dr Ojwang.
Education is still high on the private sector’s list of priorities, but it appears that there is a stronger business focus on immediate challenges to prosperity inherent in climate change mitigating actions being taken across the globe.
This has pushed “Climate action” (SDG 13) to second place on the 2024 list of priorities for business.
An example is the European Commission’s aims to prompt manufacturers to reduce the carbon emitted in the production of certain commodities by imposing a carbon levy on certain groups of products (the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), such as iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, electricity and hydrogen, from countries outside the European Union and the European Free Trade Association.
“Partnerships for the goals” (SDG 17) takes third place on 2024’s list of business priorities, zipping upwards from 2019’s 11th place. Dr Ojwang says this most likely reveals a growing understanding that if South Africa and the world are to meet the SDGs by the 2030 deadline, collaboration is essential.
The GCNSA’s research shows that businesses that align their strategies to sustainable outcomes outperform their peers and attract top talent, she notes.
Companies that contribute to South Africa – and the world – attaining the SDGs gain a social licence to operate because they are able to demonstrate that they are contributing to achieving a more equitable and sustainable world.