The SDGs in the reports of the Italian companies

On 25th September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly approved Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (entitled “Transforming our World. Agenda 2030 for sustainable development”), an action programme comprising 17 (macro) objectives (Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs) with a total of 169 specific targets, which the 193 signatory Member States have committed themselves to pursuing by 2030. The SDGs follow the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which, between 2000 and 2015, have guided the action of states, government institutions and other actors of international cooperation on the path towards economic, social and environmental sustainability. Unlike the MDGs, which are mainly aimed at developing countries, the SDGs have a universal scope and are closely linked, with a view to facilitating the identification of effective solutions to a wide range of problems relating to economic and social progress, including: the persistent spread of poverty and hunger, the acceleration and unpredictability of climate change, the intensity of the use of energy and water resources, the imbalance in the processes of economic and urban development, the stagnation in the increase in levels of education and health in different areas of the planet, gender inequalities in social and economic behavior, the inability to ensure decent working conditions for all, the reluctance to adopt sustainable patterns of production and consumption, the difficulty of preserving the ecosystem and protecting biological diversity. The process that has enabled the United Nations to identify the 17 SDGs of Agenda 2030 is a keystone in the collaboration between States in pursuing two common, imperative preconditions for peaceful coexistence between peoples: a harmonious and inclusive society and a fair and sustainable economy. This process was translated into the “National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2017-2030”, which identified 52 strategic objectives related to the 5 areas “People”, “Planet”, “Prosperity”, “Peace” and “Partnership”, including, in the area “Prosperity” (economic), the strategic objective III.4 “Promote social and environmental responsibility in businesses and administrations” under Axis III “Affirm sustainable models of production and consumption”. Our experience as scholars, professionals and operators has always confirmed our “normal” intuition, transforming it into full awareness that the assumption and attribution of responsibilities are, together, circumstances, better, essential prerequisites for the proper implementation of economic processes, for the improvement of legal relations and, therefore, for the development of social and cultural relations; on the other hand, there can be no effectiveness in the control of responsibilities where the actions carried out by economic subjects are not associated with processes suitable for measuring their effects, or in any case for keeping track of them (a lack included among the main objections to the effectiveness of the action programme “MDGs Framework”). In this perspective, several international organizations, operators and professionals, are providing a considerable boost to the study and reporting on SDGs by organizations: among the most interesting results I would like to highlight the approach to the topic proposed by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) which, in a document of 2016, “The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development: a snapshot of the accountancy profession contribution”, identified a specific relationship between the different SDGs and certain specific guidelines for action where professionals can have a significant impact on the Agenda 2030 system as a whole. In a nutshell, with respect to the promotion of social and environmental responsibility in companies and administrations, economic professionals, but also company managers, public officials, lawyers, engineers, government bodies, working within production organizations and / or service providers, or in close contact with them, are performing functions (and make decisions), with different levels of impact on specific SDGs: a) identifying strategies oriented towards the adoption of sustainable management models (with specific regard to corporate vision, strategic approach, planning, accountability and risk management); b) carrying out internal operating processes (in the broad spectrum of activities relating to operational management, accounting, disclosure and the adoption of information tools for the adoption of corporate decisions); c) reporting (with a view to building an integrated and coherent system of detection and sustainability disclosure suitable for implementing, in parallel, effective processes of asseveration and control aimed at increasing the image and social legitimacy). Aware of our role on the national scene with respect to the analysis of topics and critical issues relevant to CSR reporting, as a study group for the Social Report we would like to provide a contribution to the deepening and articulation of adequate and effective practices for the measurement of SDGs and targets of Agenda 2030, through the analysis of the behavior of organizations and companies, subjects who play a decisive role among the actors of the system in the reference scenario of Agenda 2030. This is the framework in which the present work is based and of which it constitutes a first step, in the awareness that many of the areas just described need to be addressed our skills and our energies, considering that, from the results of this study, there is evidence of unsatisfactory behavior on the part of companies, in reporting and/or disclosure on the results generated with regard to SDGs of Agenda 2030.