Greenwashing or genuine accountability?
September 22, 2022
Environmental, social and cultural issues are shaping the corporate world more than ever. Consumers are demanding that companies change the way they do business to become more sustainable and transparent. Companies that ignore the sustainability agenda do so at their peril.
The good news is that many businesses are claiming responsibility for the impact of their actions on society and the planet. One way they’re doing this is by aligning their business models with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
But how sustainable are the world’s leading companies? Are they really contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals? Or is it just greenwashing?
Benchmarks hold companies to account
The problem is that a lack of accessible data makes it difficult for governments, investors and consumers to get a clear vision of how companies are doing in this area.
To tackle this, the IKEA Foundation is partnering with the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). WBA’s benchmarks help everyone understand which companies are taking the lead and which are falling short in their sustainability performance.
Being transparent and making the data publicly available gives companies an incentive to improve. It provides a trusted tool to measure corporate sustainability.
This will help companies to contribute to a just and sustainable future, in which children and their families can afford a better everyday life on a liveable planet.
