So as to survive shocks, let businesses be sustainable

Covid-19 has forced many companies to reassess the way they do business. Most are studying how to prepare for the next global shock — another pandemic or a devastating natural disaster such as the plague of locusts in the Horn of Africa, the worst in 70 years, or the increasingly fierce storms and cyclones like Idai caused by climate change.

Building resilience makes a business more sustainable ... and more resilient.

One of the many lessons of this pandemic is that our collective efforts towards building resilience into our economic structures have not been good enough. In a crisis, it's the poorest and most vulnerable who suffer the most.

Unless we become more sustainable, we will remain exposed to the restless and unpredictable backlash of our wounded planet.

Before the pandemic, businesses alive to this threat had already committed to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This meant aligning their day-to-day activities with these aims, for example, by switching to renewable energy or committing to greater inclusivity and gender equality. Regional lockdowns in Africa quickly brought out the need for resilience in supply chains, creating opportunities for innovation in distribution, sales and e-commerce platforms across many sectors.

Committed to sustainability

But we're not moving at the speed or scale required to achieve SDGs by 2030, while Covid-19 is undoing much of the progress.

Money sent home by migrant workers, more than a tenth of GDP in some Sub-Saharan African countries, could drop by 23.1 per cent this year.

Half a billion people in developing countries could be pushed into poverty — the first global increase in 30 years. We're on track for a 3.5° Celcius temperature rise by 2100 rather than 1.5° Celcius; at our pace, it will take 257 more years to close the economic gender gap; and eight million tonnes of plastic still enter our oceans every year.

Businesses already committed to greater sustainability recognise that they cannot thrive in a world of poverty, inequality, unrest and environmental stress. But many more businesses must raise their collective ambitions and join them.

Businesses must unite behind the science and take rapid and ambitious action across their operations and value chains. This change must start at the top, with sustainability embedded into the leadership culture. 

We need businesses to apply sustainability targets, not just to their own operations, but to their entire value chain.

These should include cutting down on water and power use, recycling wherever possible, sourcing from sustainable suppliers, promoting gender equality at work and working towards becoming carbon neutral. Business must then measure, manage and report on their progress.

Companies demonstrating bold leadership on the SDGs will not only become more resilient; they will be securing their own long-term future while helping to protect life and prosperity across the globe.