Organisation level implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action

The United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide a blueprint for a sustainable future with the principle that nobody will be left behind. SDG 13 specifically addresses the grand challenge of climate change. But how do we measure the progress of SDG implementation and provide an accurate account of where we are, so that we know if we are moving in the right direction? And in particular, how do we know if the organisations we work for and buy goods from are implementing the UN guidance?

National level planning of SDG implementation is clear; this happens via National Action Plans (NAP). Periodic accounts of progress against the plans are produced in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). These are then transmitted to the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development for consolidation to generate a picture of global progress on SDGs.

At organisational level, the process gets more complex and interesting. Above all, we know that we need accurate accounts of action, because this level of implementation is critical for the success of the SDG implementation at national and global levels. We can find examples of some accounts in organisational level sustainability reports or SDG reports, but this reporting is patchy, to say the least. We also face the paradox of the obvious mismatch between the rapid rise of sustainability reporting, including carbon disclosures, and continually rising emissions levels.

Birmingham Business School has already funded research into UAE companies’ corporate narratives on SDG 13; we find leaders and managers facing considerable challenges. So far, we have analysed 42 from 50 top companies’ sustainability reports to examine their climate change narratives. Out of the five targets and eight indicators for SDG 13 only one indicator (13.2.2 Total greenhouse gas emissions per year) appears to offer suitable implementation potential at the organisational level. This is a built-in problem – the SDG framework was originally designed for national level implementation. Yet without buy-in from the people in organisations responsible for making change happen, the large corporate sector and many smaller organisations will struggle to make meaningful change happen, leaving implementation of this crucial SDG incomplete.

Unfortunately, there is an absence of organisational level guidance within the SDG framework. This means that many companies use GRI sustainability standards and the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework to account for changing impacts such as emissions data. Encouragingly, 69% of our sample of UAE companies provide emissions data. However, only 31% provided the Scope 3 data considered the gold standard for getting a full picture of emissions levels.

In the run-up to COP28, national and international policymakers have a unique opportunity to advocate for interventions which are vital to making change happen. For us, positive action relies on moving from national ideals to organisational level implementation, and then providing transparent accounts of what is happening inside organisations. We already have considerable expertise in how to address the challenges we all face; it is time to apply that expertise in relation to SDG 13.

National policy recommendations

  • Governments should encourage organisations within the countries to align organisational plans, strategies, and policies with the relevant NAPs paying particular attention to SDG 13.
  • Governments should reconcile national level accounts contained within VNRs with the numerous organisational accounts provided in organisational level sustainability/SDG reports.
  • To improve the credibility of the accounts, independent verification frameworks should be designed and mandated. European Union has already made verification a mandatory requirement as part of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) Framework.
  • Government should also monitor the risks of ‘SDG-washing’ in corporate narratives and develop a mechanism for holding organisational leaders to account.

Global policy recommendations

  • To achieve SDG13 transition plans are required from fossil-fuel based economic growth towards renewable energy based future growth.
  • Global policy makers such as the EU, as part of their ESRS package, the newly established International Sustainability Standards Board, and GRI’s Global Sustainability Standard Board should each provide detailed guidance to organisations on SDG implementation and accounting for positive change.
  • Significant support should be provided to developing country organisations for capacity building in the area of SDG implementation and accounting for positive change. 

Professor Ataur Belal

Professor of Accounting and Sustainability
Department of Accounting
Birmingham Business School, College of Social Sciences
Email: a.belal@bham.ac.uk

Dr Parvez Mia

Assistant Professor in Accounting
University of Birmingham, Dubai Campus.