Today marks nine years since the world embraced the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 17 goals that guide us to a more inclusive, just, and sustainable world by 2030.
K2 are joining the UN Global Compact, and other businesses, government departments, and schools around the world, to raise the SDG Flag in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
What are the SDGs?
The SDGs are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. An urgent call for action, they recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth.
These goals sit at the heart of The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Find out more about the 17 SDGs here.
How do K2 support them?
As part of our ongoing participation in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), we have committed to integrating the core values that make up the Ten Principles of the UNGC into our business operations. The Ten Principles cover the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption.
We have also committed to progress in all of the Sustainable Development Goals, but with a particular focus on the following five goals: Gender Equality (5), Decent Work and Economic Growth (8), Responsible Consumption and Production (12), Life on Land (15), and Partnership for the Goals (17). Actively aligning ourselves with these specific goals has helped to shape our ESG strategy and drive action within these areas, including the implementation of policy reviews, to ensure gender neutral language is used throughout, updates to employment contracts, such as the addition of the new Sustainability Addendum for Senior Leaders, and the introduction of new initiatives, such as ‘True Q’ our reinvigorated DE&I programme.
We continue to regularly evaluate these priority goals to ensure that we are prioritising areas in which K2 can have the most meaningful impact.
On the value of communication campaigns like SDG Flag Day, Global Head of ESG and Compliance, Linda Rafferty, comments:
“SDG Flag Day offers a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, both internally and externally, and by supporting this campaign, we are demonstrating our commitment to the SDGs, as part of our UNGC participation.
Building engagement should begin within our own organisation, and so, we are inviting all of our global teams to take some time today to familiarise themselves with each of the goals and consider making personal and professional pledges towards the SDGs. The Good Life Goals website offers helpful suggestions on how individuals can play their part.
With only six more years to go until 2030, the SDGs are the roadmap for an inclusive, just, and sustainable society.”
