June 2020
Survey of Corporate Attitudes Toward the SDGs
24.4％ of companies are positive about the SDGs
— “8. Decent work and economic growth” ranks top in the goals they are working hard to address. —
Introduction
SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are the global goals listed in the 2030 Agenda that was agreed upon by 193 countries from around the world, with stakeholders from industry, government, academia and others in the United Nations summit in September 2015. While five years are about to have passed since their adoption, the SDGs are rapidly attracting attention as management policies not only for government and administrative bodies, but also for private companies.
Teikoku Databank has conducted a survey on corporate attitudes toward the SDGs. This survey was conducted in conjunction with the June 2020 TDB Trends Research.
*Survey period: June 17 – June 30, 2020, Companies Surveyed: 23,681, Valid Responses: 11,275 (Response Rate: 47.6%).
*Details of this survey can be found on the dedicated Economic Trend Survey HP (https://www.tdb-di.com).
Primary points of survey results(summary)
- 1 With respect to the company’s understanding of and efforts towards the SDGs, 8.0% of companies say they “understand their meaning and significance, and are making efforts.” When combined with those saying they “understand their meaning or significance, and are making efforts” (16.4%), 24.4% of companies were positive about the SDGs. On the other hand, over 30% say they “know the terms and can understand their meaning or significance, but are not making efforts” (32.9%). When including those saying they “know the terms but cannot understand their meaning or significance” (14.8%), the results showed that nearly half of companies are not making efforts, even though they do know the SDGs.
- 2 For the items companies are working hard to address among the 17 SDGs, Goal 8, “Decent work and economic growth” ranked top at 27.1% (multiple answers), followed by “Affordable and clean energy” (15.9%), and “Responsible consumption and production” (14.8%). For the items companies want to address most in the future, “Decent work and economic growth” (14.8%) also showed the highest percentage (single answer).
- 3 With respect to the corporate value to be improved by contributing to achieving the SDGs, “Corporate favorability” ranked top at 53.3% (total of “extremely likely” and “to some extent”). “Social evaluation” also showed 50.4%, above half. Companies have strong opinions that how they are viewed from outside is favorably affected by the SDGs.
- 4 With respect to themes companies want to tackle in order to produce added value to achieve the SDGs, personnel-related items ranked high, such as “Secure customers and human resources” (33.8%), and “Appropriate working hours, environment, content” (30.0%), followed by environmental items like raw materials and consideration for the production process.
- 5 According to the question asking for the top 3 items a company values in its business management, “Customer and employee satisfaction” ranked top, followed by “Expansion of own business,” and “Contribution to society.”