Nicola Mawson
South African companies are prioritising the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Decent Work and Economic Growth, while aspects such as education, industry innovation and infrastructure as well as responsible consumption and production have fallen in priority, according to a voluntary industry survey.
This information was contained in South Africa’s second Voluntary National Review (VNR), which tracked progress against the first one, released in 2019.
More than 100 companies engaged in the process of compiling the report, with more than 300 individuals providing insights and 76 companies contributing case studies.
Covering companies across various sectors, including Absa, Bidvest, Clicks Group, De Beers, Gold Fields, and Vodacom, the report said the fact that companies were pushing decent work and economic growth was expected, as this is the “powerhouse goal for the private sector”.
It also found that the three biggest increases in terms of areas of priority were climate action, the focus on partnership for the goals and zero hunger.
The most significant fall in priority were education, industry innovation and infrastructure as well as responsible consumption and production.
“This likely reflects constrained purse strings, action to focus on forthcoming regulations, and an increasingly clear understanding that companies cannot make optimised progress if they work alone,” it said.
Dr Achieng Ojwang, executive director of the Global Compact Network South Africa, said that the focus on decent work and economic growth was not surprising, adding that the “private sector has faced a multitude of economic challenges over the last five years, with low levels of investment inhibiting our ability to grow, innovate, and achieve sustainability outcomes”.
The Business Leaders Priorities Survey, released alongside the VNR yesterday, stated that 74% of South African CEOs emphasise upskilling or reskilling their workforce for the future labour market, closely aligning with the global response of 72%.
This, it said, could “reflect a strategic response to specific local educational and skills gaps, positioning continuous learning and development as essential for maintaining competitiveness and innovation”.
Ojwang also pointed to the fact that the second highest ranking goal was SDG 13: Climate Action, which has risen steeply from 10th place in 2019.
He said that businesses that took part are responding to issues such as carbon border taxes, which will actively penalise carbon products and services.
“The negative impact of non-compliance is set to become expensive, making a unified response to just energy transition a vital imperative,” he said.
In addition, accelerating the supply of enough renewable energy will also mitigate the extreme negative impact of power outages, said Ojwang.
“This crisis in energy supply, alongside transport and logistical disruption have driven up company operating costs, resulting in inflation that has negatively impacted all stakeholders, but especially women and the most vulnerable.
“Our poverty gap has ultimately widened, despite accelerated progress with digital inclusion,” he said.
Partnering to achieve the Goals, SDG 17, was also ranked highly, moving up 11 places from five years ago to third position. This, the report said, reflects a strong view that, to make progress, all stakeholders must stand together.
“The challenges we need to overcome require highly strategic, co-ordinated responses from a very broad range of stakeholders that need to work together.
“Our sustainability landscape remains fragmented, we need to align across sectors and industries, we must connect to build synergies locally, nationally, in the context of the pan-African Agenda 2063, and as global citizens,” said Ojwang.
Nelson Muffuh, Resident Co-ordinator at the United Nations for South Africa, stated that: “Without a doubt, we still have much work to do.”
BUSINESS REPORT