Sustainable biz models needed to attain SDGs

MANILA -- A report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines has encouraged businesses to use sustainable models to earn while helping achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In a briefing Wednesday, Gail Klintworth, senior advisor of SYSTEMIQ, said using SGDs as among the factors for business operations provides great opportunities.

"Investment opportunities linked to the SDGs are predicted to grow exponentially ahead of other sectors. In the Philippines, the size of the prize is at least USD82 billion and 4.4 million jobs by 2030," she said.

UNDP Philippines partnered with SYSTEMIQ for the "Better Business, Better World: Philippines Report", and used the same methodology adopted by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission

(BSDC) for its global flagship report "Better Business, Better World" in 2017.

The Philippines Report focused on four key areas in the domestic economy-cities and mobility, energy and materials, food and agriculture, and health and well-being.

Klintworth said they had meetings with officials of four major conglomerates -- Ayala Corporation, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH), and SM Investments Corporation -- to explain the report, and received positive feedback and commitments from the latter.

These commitments will be announced in another event in November.

She said business owners should not wait for the government to do all the job "because they got their own challenges".

"... Do that (your business) around the SDGs because there’s a great opportunity there," she added.

During the same briefing, UNDP Outcome Lead for Institutions & SDG Partnership Maria Luisa Isabel Jolongbayan said the message they are trying to extend to the business sector is to try to invest in sustainable business models.

"We can't go on business as usual. What the message that we're trying to give out to the private sector is that if we try to invest in sustainable business models that will meet Sustainable Growth Goals, there are new business opportunities," she said.

She said talking with the conglomerates has many benefits since the latter can cascade to their partner businesses the transformation in the investment thinking of the chief executive officers (CEOs), among others.

"But we shouldn't stop there. We recognize that that's not enough. It's a start. It's a good start, especially when you think about the big brother culture in the Philippines," she added.

Guillermo Luz, former National Competitive Council (NCC) co-chair and former Makati Business Club (MBC) executive director, said small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will benefit if they also use sustainable business models.

He noted that since the UNDP Philippines report cited several hotspots where transformation can be done, SME players can make this as their launch pad.

"They might be able to spot something that they can get into to elevate their importance in the society," he said during the same event.

To date, SMEs account for more than 90 percent of registered businesses in the country. (PNA)