Making Sustainable Development

Goals Relevant for, 1

in and with Societies

Godwell Nhamo, Muchaiteyi Togo,

and Kaitano Dube

Abstract ment level. The chapter concludes with the

book and chapter outline.
This introductory chapter sets the platform for
how the global leadership that includes gov- Keywords
ernments, territories, business, civil society,
development partners and individuals can SDGs · Sustainable development · Poverty ·
make the Sustainable Development Goals Leadership · Partnerships · Stakeholders
(SDGs) work and be more relevant for, in and
with societies. This way, the world can move
quickly towards the attainment of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, for 1 Introduction
which by the time of publishing this book,
there will be 10 years left. After presenting the Societies do not stop developing and growing.
history leading to the ratification of the SDGs Hence, with the current advancement in technol-
in New York on 25 September 2015, the chap- ogy and the phenomenon of Industry 4.0 (Fourth
ter profiles the need to address poverty in the Industrial Revolution or 4IR), this is happening at
context of SDGs, leadership in implementing an increasingly fast rate (Hofmann and Rüsch
the SDGs and a focus on service delivery and 2017; Kamble et al. 2018). Growth and develop-
the attainment of SDGs at the local govern- ment do not happen in a vacuum; advancements
in society are associated with negative externali-
G. Nhamo (*) ties. The society and the economy are at stake
Exxaro Chair in Business and Climate Change, from impacts of development, while the environ-
Institute for Corporate Citizenship, University of ment bears the brunt of such externalities. In
South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa 2012, the global community, therefore, gathered
e-mail: nhamog@unisa.ac.za
for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
M. Togo Development (Rio+20) held in Rio de Janeiro.
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of
South Africa, Florida, South Africa From the conference, global leaders made a deci-
e-mail: togom@unisa.ac.za sive attempt to reconcile socio-economic devel-
K. Dube opment and environmental goals. Rio+20 is the
Department of Hospitality, Tourism and PR, Vaal third of the three major world conferences on
University of Technology, sustainable development that shaped the SDGs.
Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
The first one was the 1992 United Nations
e-mail: Kaitanod@vut.ac.za
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 3
G. Nhamo et al. (eds.), Sustainable Development Goals for Society Vol. 1, Sustainable Development
Goals Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70948-8_1
4 G. Nhamo et al.

Conference on Environment and Development, at the Rio Earth Summit and many partnerships
also held in Rio de Janeiro, followed by the 2002 were formed to drive the goal of sustainable
World Summit on Sustainable Development in development (Parson et al. 1992). Some of the
Johannesburg, South Africa. The foundation for outcome documents of the conference are the Rio
both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Declaration on Environment and Development
Development (AfSD) and the 17 SDGs was and Agenda 21. The Rio Declaration on
developed as part of the outcomes of the Rio+20 Environment and Development is an embodi-
conference. ment of 27 principles that recognise the impor-
The SDGs intend to guide the global commu- tance of environmental well-being and set out
nity in addressing sustainable development chal- guiding principles for national governments on
lenges. These cover current global challenges issues pertaining to environment and
that society faces, including poverty, inequality, development.
climate change, environmental degradation, The Rio Declaration on Environment and
peace and justice (United Nations 2015). Society Development is seen as an essential part of the
has a pivotal role in changing its circumstances evolution of thinking where environmental issues
through the implementation of SDGs as these are concerned as well as the envisaged solutions.
goals are the ultimate guide for achieving a better Unlike the 1972 Stockholm Conference on
and more sustainable future for all. This book Human Environment, which attributed environ-
documents some of the key efforts to implement mental challenges to industrialisation and tech-
the 2030 AfSD by, in, with and for society (SDGs nology and emphasised technological solutions
for society) in pushing towards achieving sus- to development challenges (Hens 2005), the Rio
tainable development. Declaration establishes the centrality of human-
ity in sustainable development concerns. This is
highlighted in Principle 1, which articulates that
2 Historical Development “Human beings are at the centre of concerns for
of the SDGs: From Rio sustainable development. They are entitled to a
to Rio+20 healthy and productive life in harmony with
nature” (United Nations 1992a, p. 1). Citizen par-
This section tracks the historical background of ticipation is recognised as crucial in policy devel-
the development of SDGs. It focuses on three opment and implementation in the declaration,
major United Nations conferences—the Rio and the youth, women, children and indigenous
Earth Summit, the World Conference on people all have attributed roles in sustainable
Sustainable Development and Rio+20. The sec- development. There is a strong anthropocentric
tion particularly focuses on how these major vision of the environment, where the environ-
gatherings contributed to the SDGs but more spe- ment is viewed as a “means to an end”; in other
cifically how society is included or reflected in words: “human well-being depends upon the
the outcomes, agendas, declarations and so forth. quality of the environment, and therefore it is in
The Rio Earth Summit, also known as the the interest of humans to preserve their environ-
United Nations Conference on Environment and ment” (Hens 2005, p. 6). Secondly, Hens (2005,
Development (UNCED), was held in Rio de p. 6) argues that the principle asserts that “care of
Janeiro, Brazil, from 3 to 14 June 1992. At that people is the main aim of the measures taken to
time, it was historically the largest gathering of provide a stable environment”, which is an
national leaders to put their heads together in attempt to recognise the right of humanity to a
resolving the disparity between economic safe environment by making it a foundation,
­development and environmental well-being. As though a weak one, for the development of envi-
many as 700 voluntary commitments were made ronmental standards.
1 Making Sustainable Development Goals Relevant for, in and with Societies 5

Agenda 21 (simply interpreted as the 21st-­ Overall, the Rio Earth Summit is said to have
Century Agenda) is the other outcome document been “a beneficial start and a necessary step” in
of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. The heads of discussing important environmental protection
states adopted it at the Rio Earth Summit. It issues that have meaning beyond the meeting and
embraces both the environment and development hence with great potential for future implementa-
agenda and states goals related to specific major tion in real-world contexts (Affan 2017, p. 2). It
resources as well as social and environmental brought about a paradigm shift in the way people
issues, among others (Parson et al. 1992). Agenda think about sustainable development. The confer-
21 is an all-inclusive global plan of action for ence managed to raise public awareness on the
governments, the United Nations and other major need to integrate the environment and develop-
groups in all areas where human beings have an ment leading up to the World Summit on
impact on the environment. This is where the Sustainable Development (WSSD).
centrality of people is reflected in the document. The WSSD, which is unofficially called
Overall, the document has 40 chapters, which are Rio+10, was held in 2002 in Johannesburg, South
subdivided into three sections focusing on (1) Africa, 10 years after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
social and economic dimensions, (2) conserva- The WSSD gathered more or less the same audi-
tion and management of resources for develop- ence as the Rio Earth Summit to establish the
ment and (3) strengthening the role of major means of implementation of the same goals
groups and means of implementation (United established 10 years earlier as well as Millennium
Nations 1992b). The first section addresses social Development Goals (MDGs). The focus was
issues, including poverty, health and consump- more on progress review since the Rio Earth
tion patterns, and is biased towards developing Summit, rather than on establishing new commit-
countries where issues of poverty are concerned. ments (Von Schirnding 2005). The gathering sur-
The second section focuses on specific environ- passed the Rio Earth Summit in terms of
mental challenges and the third section empha- attendance.
sises the participation of different sectors of Prior to the WSSD in 2000, a Millennium
society. The youth, women, children and indige- Summit was held to establish the MDGs that
nous people, non-governmental organisations would be used to benchmark progress in the
(NGOs), local authorities, workers and so forth implementation of sustainable development. The
are specifically mentioned. The means of imple- eight MDGs focus on social issues and are inte-
mentation, like the 1972 Stockholm Declaration grative of poverty-related challenges, save for
on the Human Environment, still focuses on sci- two. The odd two MDGs address environmental
ence and technology but includes other social sustainability and partnerships. The MDGs had
structures like education, international institu- targets and indicators, which were meant to help
tions and financial mechanisms (United Nations in monitoring progress in the implementation of
1992b). Agenda 21 recognises the importance of the goals (Nhamo et al. 2019) and were carried
genuine involvement of different social groups. over in the 2030 AfSD.
Broad public participation in decision-making, Since the WSSD was not intended to develop
especially on issues that potentially affect their new commitments or conventions, but to imple-
communities, is argued in Agenda 21 as a prereq- ment existing commitments, it follows that the
uisite for achieving sustainable development. goals and targets of poverty, environment and
While Agenda 21 was not legally binding, it was sustainable development in the Millennium
a crucial document as signatories were politically Declaration were the same goals that were
obliged to pursue the set goals and targets (Parson recalled in one of the WSSD outcomes docu-
et al. 1992) with the beginning of the twenty-first ments, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
century as the ambitious target date, hence the (JPI). The other outcome of the WSSD was
name “Agenda 21”. the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable
6 G. Nhamo et al.

Development—JPI (La Viña et al. 2003). The JPI what the MDGs could not attain based on a bal-
is a political document, which is not legally bind- ance of the three dimensions of sustainable devel-
ing, and was meant to guide development and opment at a much more enhanced and ambitious
government decisions, among other stakeholders. level. The SDGs are universal and more inclusive
The JPI put more emphasis on local issues and and they include a well-defined means of imple-
social issues. This was a departure from the Rio mentation. The SDGs are interlinked, and through
Earth Summit where climate change and other them, the world looks to involve every citizen and
related global environmental challenges took organisation, hence the motto “Let no one be left
precedence. The JPI called for action by various behind” (Nhamo et al. 2020).
stakeholders and there was less emphasis on sci- The 2030 AfSD is broad and enshrines the 17
ence and technology and more emphasis on interwoven SDGs and their 169 targets and
human action. Hence, sustainable development many more indicators. It covers a wide range of
was positioned as both a public and political goals (United Nations 2015) including poverty
agenda and local sustainability challenges like eradication, economic growth, social inclusion,
health energy, water and sanitation were receiv- environmental sustainability and peace for all
ing considerable attention (Von Schirnding by 2030. Post-2015, countries have been work-
2005). The WSSD was momentous in achieving ing towards meeting the SDGs. Across the
a significant transition in the environmental globe, the challenge of domesticating and local-
movement where ecological problems were ising the SDGs in terms of national and local
embedded in social realities. The importance of development priorities requires a combination
society was brought to the fore. The fact that pri- of technical, scientific as well as administrative
ority was on local versus global challenges and political input. A collaborative research
embeds sustainability challenges in local socio-­ approach is needed to stay true to the SDGs’
economic contexts. This was one of the major inclusive and bottom-up approach. Of interest is
contributions of the WSSD where society can be the notion that the SDGs represent a develop-
said to have been fronted in terms of both causal ment agenda that should be realised by both the
factors and resolutions to sustainable develop- developed and developing countries. This pro-
ment challenges. vides researchers across and within disciplines
In 2012, 20 years after the Rio Earth Summit, with endless novel opportunities to engage with
the international community gathered in Rio De the SDGs. Given the foregone discussion, the
Janeiro again at what became known as the SDGs remain an agenda for society, hence the
Rio+20 conference. The need for a post-2015 need to document their implementation across
agenda was highlighted in the Rio+20 outcome societies in this book Sustainable Development
document “The Future We Want”. From the Goals for Society (SDGs4S).
Rio+20 Conference, the United Nations General
Assembly reaffirmed “the need to further main-
stream sustainable development at all levels, inte- 3 Addressing Poverty
grating economic, social and environmental in the Context of SDGs
aspects and recognizing their interlinkages” and
noted the fact that people are at the centre of sus- The need to address poverty in the context of
tainable development (United Nations 2012, SDGs comes out clearly under SDG 1 that looks
p. 2). The commitment to accelerate the achieve- at the desire to “End poverty in all its forms
ment of the MDGs was also made. The MDGs’ everywhere” (United Nations 2015, p. 14).
implementation process, therefore, remains the Aligned with this goal are seven targets with
foundation for implementing the SDGs. Designed many indicators that assist in the attainment of
along with a similar architecture to the MDGs, the goal by 2030. See Box 1.1 for more details
the SDGs seek to complete, top-up and broaden about the targets.
1 Making Sustainable Development Goals Relevant for, in and with Societies 7

There are several matters worth highlighting

Box 1.1: Targets for SDG 1: Ending poverty from SDG 1 targets outlined in Box 1.1. The call
in All Its Manifestations Everywhere by 2030 is to have all global citizens out of extreme pov-
• 1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty erty by 2030. In addition, although extreme pov-
for all people everywhere, measured as erty was defined at the time of approving the
people living on less than $1.25 a day. SDGs in September 2015 as people living below
• 1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the US$1.25 per day, Target 1.2 brings up another
proportion of men, women and children perspective on the need to reduce global citizens
living in poverty in all its dimensions living in poverty, a measure that would be deter-
according to national definitions. mined nationally. There is also the dimension of
• 1.3 Implement nationally appropriate protecting citizens from extreme weather events
social protection systems and measures induced by climate change, as well as any other
for all, including floors, and by 2030 recognised economic, social and environmental
achieve substantial coverage of the poor disasters and shocks. This last category brings us
and the vulnerable. right into the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic that left
• 1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and the foundations of the world shaken and threaten-
women, in particular the poor and the ing to derail the attainment of SDG 3 and all
vulnerable, have equal rights to eco- other SDGs.
nomic resources, as well as access to Durizzo et al. (2021) put across the matter of
basic services, ownership and control managing Covid-19 in poor urban neighbour-
over land and other forms of property, hoods, focusing on Accra (Ghana) and
inheritance, natural resources, appropri- Johannesburg (South Africa). From a survey of
ate new technology and financial ser- 1400 poor households, the findings confirmed that
vices, including microfinance. the lack of compliance with social distancing and
• 1.5 By 2030, build the resilience of the protective hygiene had more to do with lack of
poor and those in vulnerable situations adequate infrastructure and poverty than the
and reduce their exposure and vulnera- unwillingness to change behaviours. In the USA,
bility to climate-related extreme events Finch and Finch (2020) found that in the earlier
and other economic, social and environ- stages of Covid-19, higher infections and death
mental shocks and disasters. rates were associated with disadvantaged (poorer)
• 1.a Ensure significant mobilisation of counties. Drawing from work done in the United
resources from a variety of sources, Kingdom, Patel et al. (2020, p. 110) maintain that
including through enhanced develop- the commonly heard statement that “Covid-19
ment cooperation, to provide adequate does not discriminate has been repeated. This,
and predictable means for developing however, is a dangerous myth, side-lining the
countries, in particular least developed increased vulnerability of those most socially and
countries, to implement programmes economically deprived”. Economically disadvan-
and policies to end poverty in all its taged populations were likely to live in over-
dimensions. crowded accommodation, compounding the
• 1.b Create sound policy frameworks at chances of getting infected. Linked to the poor are
the national, regional and international matters pertaining to inequality (SDG 10) (Ahmed
levels, based on pro-poor and gender-­ et al. 2020). It is a situation where the Covid-19-
sensitive development strategies to sup- poverty-inequality vicious cycle is created, seri-
port accelerated investment in poverty ously retarding progress towards the 2030 AfSD.
eradication actions. As people stayed at home, with companies closing
Source: United Nations (2015, p. 15) or wages reduced, more households were pushed
into poverty putting governments under pressure
8 G. Nhamo et al.

to put up social security measures. Subsequently, implementing the SDGs. Religious leadership is
other governments had to borrow money to finance viewed as an enabler that will bring more actors
relief and recovery measures (Republic of South into the SDG space, making sure that those from
Africa 2020). Hence, poverty remains the main the grassroots are not left behind. There is a grow-
issue that demands resolute leadership in the lead ing body of literature demanding good leadership
to the 2030 AfSD. for SDG implementation amid the Covid-19 pan-
demic (Filho et al. 2020). The authors highlight
that governments and other stakeholders were
4 Leadership in Implementing being pressurised to divert resources (financial,
SDGs human and other) towards the pandemic, an aspect
that could lead to many other SDGs not being
Speaking during the World Government Summit’s practised for a while.
SDGs in Action event on 9 February 2019 in Evidence of good leadership in SDG imple-
Dubai, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-­ mentation was coming up from emerging econo-
General, Amina Mohammed, raised critical pil- mies such as South Africa. In his address to the
lars on leadership. It emerged that the SDGs joint sitting of Parliament in October 2020,
remained the global blueprint for a sustainable, President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted what the
inclusive and just future (Mohammed 2019). To government had done and was going to urgently
this end, leadership was required at all spatial do to mitigate Covid-19 impacts through the pro-
levels and from all stakeholders, including devel- posed Economic Reconstruction and Recovery
opment partners and philanthropists. Hence, at Plan (ERRP) (Republic of South Africa 2020).
times, unpopular decisions had to be taken to The ERRP identified four main areas, namely (1)
move away from the business-as-usual pathways, the infrastructure build programme; (2) rapid
and stakeholders must “move out of comfort expansion of energy generation capacity (with a
zones and embrace innovative ways of working, substantial increase in renewables, battery
thinking and leading” (Mohammed 2019). Good ­storage and gas); (3) employment stimulus pack-
leadership meant that the governments and other age to create jobs and support livelihoods, with
stakeholders should commit to sharing experi- 800,000 job opportunities envisaged in a few
ences and tools, be they good or bad for the months; and (4) propelling of industrial growth.
greater public good of advancing the SDGs. The identified main areas both directly and indi-
Sharing is part of the United Nations High-Level rectly link to several SDGs, particularly SDGs
Political Forum on SDGs that receives Voluntary 1–3 (ending poverty, ending hunger and health
National Reviews annually, which stocktake and well-being), SDGs 7 and 8 (sustainable
implementation progress on SDGs from mem- energy and sustainable and decent work), SDGs
bers. Further, there is a need for effective and 9–12 (industry and infrastructure, reducing
accountable public institutions built on transfor- inequality, sustainable cities and sustainable con-
mational leadership (Manzoor et al. 2019). sumption and production), SDG 13 (climate
SDGs’ leadership demands that governments at action) and SDG 17 (partnerships). The ERRP
various spatial levels ensure commitment and presented a policy commitment to SDG 7 (gen-
ownership of programmes and project implemen- der), noting the desire to end gender-based vio-
tation by taking such to all corners of society lence and the commitment to work “with
(Gornitzka and Pipa 2018). This approach sup- women-empowered companies to progressively
ports Meuleman and Niestroy’s (2015) early work reach our target of directing at least 40% of pro-
on the principle of Common But Differentiated curement spend to such enterprises” (Republic of
Governance (CBDG) and how CBDG could be South Africa 2020, p. 11). Lastly, the ERRP is
applied in implementing the SDGs. Drawing from linked to the government’s National Development
Nigeria, Akinloye (2018) introduces the need to Plan: Vision 2030 and was to be driven by an
maximise the influence of religious leaders in Economic Recovery Leadership Team.
1 Making Sustainable Development Goals Relevant for, in and with Societies 9

Leadership in implementing SDGs for, in and Shanghai Stock Exchange from 2016 to 2018.
with societies is critical in the business sector. To These companies were found to focus more on
this end, the United Nations Global Compact infrastructure development, industrial innovation
(UNGC) came up with a plan for business leader- and economic growth and placed some emphasis
ship in the SDGs. The plan highlights that business on affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), dignified
leadership on the SDGs is informed and evolves and respectable working environment (SDG 8), as
through three cyclical steps that harness the desire well as peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG
to prioritise, act and learn (UNGC 2017). 16). From Australia, Noh (2020) raises the con-
Companies are supposed to prioritise their engage- cept of creating shared value (CSV). Although the
ments drawing from their multiplier and effective companies were managing to frame SDGs around
contribution towards the SDGs, the idea being to the CSV, the operationalisation left a gap as there
maximise the positive impacts. To act, five leader- was a weak connection to the SDGs.
ship qualities should be embodied, namely inten- Pedersen (2018) presents the notion that SDGs
tionality, being ambitious, consistent, collaborative are a huge gift to business as these present oppor-
and accountable. The leading companies should tunities and guidance for long-term investment,
learn about their actions’ impact on the SDGs. as well as new business opportunities. The SDGs
This takes companies back to the need to report are said to have presented global priorities for the
and share lessons like the state actors, revealing business, with big and quick wins potentially
both the good and bad testimonies. The involve- availing themselves for harvesting. Hence, the
ment and collaboration with stakeholders become private sector is a key stakeholder and should
part of responsible leadership (Muff et al. 2020). shoulder responsibility in accelerating SDG
Further elaborations of the five SDG leadership implementation (Rashed and Shah 2020). The
qualities are reflected in Fig. 1.1. authors present engagements in corporate social
Drawing from a sample of 25 multinational responsibility, the circular economy and the envi-
companies (MNCs) from Brazil, Russia, India, ronmental initiatives as pathways towards the
China and South Africa (BRICS), Ali et al. (2018) realisation of the 2030 AfSD. The lack of influen-
determined the extent to which the MNCs had tial leadership and appropriate indicators to mea-
adopted the SDGs in their vision and mission sure implementation are flagged as some of the
statements. They found that while progress was major drawbacks for business entities. However,
being made, there was a gap in that crucial SDGs the 2030 AfSD and its 17 SDGs may not be
were missing. Such important SDGs included attained from a business-as-usual trajectory and
quality education (SDG 4), climate action (SDG leadership approach (ElAlfy et al. 2020).
13) and life below water (SDG 14). Yu et al. Therefore, to be visible and effective, the busi-
(2020) made similar findings from a study involv- ness sector should address some of the actions
ing 100 Chinese companies that were on the listed in Table 1.1 as proposed by the UNGC.

Intentional Ambitious Consistent Collaborative Accountable

•Support for the •A leading •Support for the •Support for the •A leading company
SDGs is an integral, company’s level of SDGs is embedded SDGs involves is transparent,
deliberate part of a ambition greatly across partnerships, manages risk, seeks
leading company’s exceeds prevailing organisational including with out meaningful
strategy. levels of ambition, functions and business, engagement with
its actions are external government, civil stakeholders, and is
material in the communications. society and other accountable for
context of its end- actors. adverse impacts.
to-end operations,
and it focuses on
long-term
outcomes.

Fig. 1.1 Five qualities of SDG leadership. Source: Authors, based on UNGC (2017, p. 5)
10 G. Nhamo et al.

Table 1.1 Business actions in support of SDGs

The SDGs Selected business actions
Goal 1: No poverty • Create sustainable and decent jobs, especially in the least developed countries and for
vulnerable populations
• Implement programmes to economically empower disadvantaged groups
• Ensure decent working conditions for all employees
• Create and market goods and services that improve the lives of vulnerable groups
Goal 2: Zero hunger • Support small-scale farmers to increase yields and incomes from sustainable agriculture
• Alter food logistics to contribute to ending malnutrition and hunger in all communities
surrounding company operations and eliminate food waste and loss
Goal 3: Good health • Ensure the best possible health outcomes for employees and surrounding communities
and well-being across own and supply chain operations
• Deploy products, services and business models for improved health outcomes and lead
initiatives encouraging healthy behaviours and improve access to healthcare
Goal 4: Quality • Ensure that all employees have access to vocational training and lifelong learning
education opportunities
• Ensure that all employees earn a wage that allows them to support the education of
dependents and that there is zero child labour
• Implement programmes to support higher education and access to free, equitable and
inclusive primary and secondary education
• Deploy products and services that improve educational access and learning outcomes
Goal 5: Gender • Implement policies and practices that are free from and prevent gender-based
equality discrimination across the workplace, marketplace and community
• Support women’s employment and strive for gender balance at all levels across the
business and supply chain
• Develop products and services and implement marketing practices that empower women
• Promote gender equality through investment, community initiatives and advocacy
Goal 6: Clean water • Implement holistic water strategies socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and
and sanitation economically beneficial in watersheds around company and supply chain operations
• Protect and/or restore water-based ecosystems around its own operations and supply
chain
• Ensure access to water and sanitation by addressing impacts of company and supply
chain operations on local water supplies and supporting stakeholders to deliver clean
water and sanitation
Goal 7: Affordable • Increase energy efficiency, source remaining energy needs from renewable sources and
and clean energy promote the same action across the supply chain
• Deploy affordable, sustainable energy and energy efficiency products and services
• Develop and implement business models to deliver sustainable energy and energy-­
efficient technologies to new markets and communities
Goal 8: Decent work • Support decent working conditions for all employees across the business and supply
and economic growth chain, with partnerships to build suppliers’ capacity to do the same
• Educate and train the labour force, focusing on vulnerable and economically
disadvantaged groups
• Create decent formal sector jobs in labour-intensive sectors
• Drive economic growth and productivity by investing in research and development
(R&D), upgrading skills and supporting growing businesses
Goal 9: Industry, • Deploy products, services and business models to deliver sustainable and resilient
innovation and infrastructure
infrastructure • Support inclusive and sustainable upgrading of developing country industries in global
value chains
• Create innovation systems for sustainable development by providing access to finance,
fostering entrepreneurship and pooling financial and research resources in a global
knowledge base
• Upgrade and retrofit infrastructure and industry assets across own and supply chain
operations to make them sustainable and resilient
(continued)
1 Making Sustainable Development Goals Relevant for, in and with Societies 11

Table 1.1 (continued)

The SDGs Selected business actions
Goal 10: Reduced • Assess the distribution of economic value across stakeholder groups and implement
inequalities policies and practices to make it more equal
• Support the establishment and expansion of social protection measures at national level
• Implement policies and practices to support equality of opportunity, treatment and
outcome for all across own and supply chain operations
• Design and implement products, services and business models that explicitly target the
needs of disadvantaged and marginalised populations
Goal 11: Sustainable • Deploy products and services that improve access to resilient buildings, transport, green
cities and spaces and utilities
communities • Protect and invest in cultural and natural heritage and support access to essential services
across the workplace, marketplace and community
Goal 12: Responsible • Design and adopt a responsible, circular business model and narrow or close material
consumption and and energy loops across own and supply chain operations
production • Shift to a portfolio of goods and services that require and promote negligible use of
resources and produce negligible waste
• Develop, implement and share solutions for tracking and reporting on the sustainability
of production and consumption across end-to-end operations
Goal 13: Climate • Ensure climate resilience of company and supply chain operations and the communities
action surrounding them
• Reduce emissions associated with own and supply chain operations, in alignment with
climate science, and shift to goods and services promoting negligible emissions
• Promote conscious climate behaviour and build capacity for climate action
Goal 14: Life below • Implement policies and practices to protect ocean ecosystems that are affected by
water business and supply chain activities
• Deploy products and business models that negate impacts on ocean ecosystems and
contribute to their restoration
• Galvanise finance for the protection and further development of ocean ecosystems and
water system flows
• Design and implement solutions to accurately value and respect natural capital and drive
wider adoption of these solutions
Goal 15: Life on land • Implement policies and practices to protect natural ecosystems that are affected by
business and supply chain activities
• Deploy products, services and business models to help decouple economic activity from
the degradation of natural ecosystems
• Galvanise finance to create awareness of, protect and further develop natural ecosystems
• Design and implement solutions to accurately value and respect natural capital and drive
wider adoption of these solutions
Goal 16: Peace, • Identify and take robust action against corruption and violence in own operations and the
justice and strong supply chain
institutions • Work with the government to strengthen institutions and increase respect and support for
the rule of law
• Work with the government and/or international institutions in areas of conflict and
humanitarian crises to contribute to peace and institution building
Goal 17: Partnerships • Lead on partnerships to improve domestic resource mobilisation through responsible tax
for the goals practices
• Galvanise private-sector finance to support sustainable development initiatives in
developing countries
• Build regulatory, organisational and staff capacity in developing countries
• Lead on partnerships to develop and share new and existing technology, knowledge and
business models
• Lead on partnerships that address systemic challenges for achieving the SDGs
Source: Authors, based on UNGC (2017, pp. 7–163)
12 G. Nhamo et al.

Bissinger et al. (2020) bring another dimen- reduce inequality (SDG 10). To this list, Dawkins
sion of leadership in SDG implementation by et al. (2019) add sustainable consumption and
linking it to voluntary standards. The authors production (SDG 12) that touches on food pro-
found that the voluntary sustainability stan- curement and waste, water, waste prevention,
dards (VSS) that were developed by industry, clothing and other consumables. Talking of water
civil society and other key stakeholders exten- and sanitation (SDG 6) and the World Health
sively cover three SDGs (2, 8, 12). SDGs 13, Organization’s call for “safe hands” for Covid-­19,
14 and 17 were found to have few or no links to Zvobgo and Do (2020) pick up a real challenge in
the VSS. Such VSS remain useful in the many cities and settlements from developing
remaining period of implementation of the nations. Using Chitungwiza in Zimbabwe as a
SDGs to 2030. case study, the authors found that the demand for
domestic water and sanitation increased by 90%,
which added to an already existing water scarcity.
5  ervice Delivery and SDGs
S An additional 4.5 L of water was needed per per-
at the Local Government son per day to attain “safe hands”. The water
Level issue draws us further into the 2030 AfSD as it is
also a human rights matter (Carrard et al. 2020)
There is no contestation that most goods and and in many countries, water provision remains a
services are consumed at the local government local government mandate.
level. To this end, the SDGs will be attained Krellenberg et al. (2019) argue that urban sus-
through several programmes and projects imple- tainability strategies should now be guided by the
mented at this spatial scale (Dawkins et al. SDGs. Hence, the SDGs have brought up a more
2019). Linking up SDG 2 (ending hunger) and balanced and integrated matrix to monitor urban
SDG 11 (sustainable cities), Ilieva (2017) brings sustainability (Zinkernagel et al. 2018). However,
the concept of urban food systems strategies more work still needs to be done to localise the
(UFSS) as a promising tool for the implementa- SDGs so that they become context specific and
tion and attainment of the SDGs. The recom- more relevant. This proposal makes sense given
mendation comes out of research work that that cities are and will be at different stages of
looked at the application of the UFSS in the development, as well as have differentiated
megacities of New York, Philadelphia, Los implementation ability and capabilities.
Angeles, Chicago (all from the USA) and Considering the set-up of cities, it is inevitable
Toronto in Canada. Kawakubo et al. (2018) that authorities continue to move swiftly to local-
bring another dimension when they focus on cit- ise all the SDGs. Therefore, there are several
ies in the context of SDGs and greenhouse gas chapters in this book addressing the role of local
(GHG) emissions. Interfacing this with the 2015 governments in propelling the world forward
Paris Agreement on climate change, the authors along a sustainable pathway. The next section
believe that the involvement of local govern- briefly presents the methodological orientation
ment was significant in promoting sustainable applied in this book.
development and attain 2030 AfSD overall.
Zinkernagel et al. (2018) raise additional
advantages that the SDGs have brought in track- 6 Methodological Orientation
ing progress in implementing sustainable devel-
opment. In their view, traditional indicators for This book is a compilation of chapters from
measuring progress in implementing sustainable diverse authors and contexts from Africa, Europe
development in cities focused on health and and Latin America. Therefore, there is no single
safety, environmental sustainability and eco- methodological orientation informing this work.
nomic growth. Such indicators lacked dimen- The authors have also used diverse methods,
sions on gender equality (SDG 5) and the need to which reflect their different research background
1 Making Sustainable Development Goals Relevant for, in and with Societies 13

contexts. The methods were mostly influenced by with Chap. 5 dedicated to programmes to support
the research questions addressed by each of the SDGs through social, inclusive and transforma-
chapters. Specific theoretical, methodological tive innovation. Chapter 6 articulates financial
orientations are discussed as part of each chapter. inclusion as a complementary strategy to address
This section will highlight the broad categories of the SDGs for society.
the research orientations. Part III is made up of another five chapters
The focus of the book is society. Hence, the that focus on leadership in the implementation of
research documents can be categorised as social SDGs. Chapter 7 documents mentoring women
research. Social scientists employ social research in the resources sector, while Chap. 8 explores
methods to gain a better understanding of society leadership capabilities in a multi-sector road
(and people) and find solutions to social issues infrastructure and innovation (SDG 9) and part-
(Mogalakwe 2006). Social research mostly nership (SDG 17) in South Africa. Chapter 9 dis-
depends on the collection of primary rather than cusses the role of leadership capacities in the
secondary data; thus, it relies on primary meth- response of the South African National Statistics
ods of data collection. Research topics are diverse System to the SDGs, with Chap. 10 presenting
in social research as any aspect of society can be the unique role of libraries in promoting the
a topic of research. Social research can be either SDGs. Chapter 11 considers leadership capaci-
quantitative or qualitative, depending on the ties in multi-stakeholder partnerships contribut-
problem being researched. In either case, it fol- ing towards the SDGs using a case study of
lows a well-organised research plan. Qualitative Project Last Mile in Eswatini.
research focuses on establishing people’s opin- Part IV is dedicated to service delivery and
ions, attitudes, actions and behaviour through the attainment of SDGs at the local government
interviews, focus group discussion and documen- level and comes in seven chapters. Chapter 12
tary reviews and the results are textual and non-­ brings up the Global Water Partnership, South
quantitative (Kothari 2004). Quantitative research America, and the transboundary implementa-
relies on measurement and generates numerical tion of integrated water resources management
data, which is analysed through quantitative ana- (SDG target 6.5). Chapter 13 narrows down to
lytic methods: for example, student t-test, corre- sustainability reporting through UNGC looking
lation and regression (Kothari 2004). Examples at opportunities and challenges in mainstream-
of quantitative methods include a questionnaire ing the Global Reporting Initiative Standards
survey and structured observations. The next and and the SDGs. Chapter 14 considers leadership
last section of the chapter presents the book and and the implementation of SDGs in Finnish
chapter outline. municipalities, while Chap. 15 presents oppor-
tunities and challenges for local government
institutions in localising SDGs in Zimbabwe.
7 Book and Chapter Outline Chapter 16 considers water, energy, health and
sanitation challenges in Masvingo’s low-income
This book is divided into five parts. Part I pro- urban communities in the context of SDGs in
vides the introduction and background and is Zimbabwe. Chapter 17 pitches the trends in
made up of a single chapter looking at making research around the SDG objectives from a bib-
the SDGs relevant for, in and with societies. Part liometric analysis, with Chap. 18 dedicated to
II addresses poverty in the context of SDGs and harnessing the potential of information and
comprises five chapters. Chapter 2 presents an communication technologies (ICTs) in agribusi-
overview of SDG policies in Brazil, while Chap. ness for youth employment. The last part of the
3 looks at the localisation of SDGs in rural book is also made up of a single chapter, which
Uganda. Chapter 4 considers ending extreme presents the summary of findings, conclusions
poverty in the Chegutu District of Zimbabwe, and policy recommendations.
14 G. Nhamo et al.

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