🌱 Progress against the goals: Where are we with the UN SDGs?
17 SDGs, 3 pieces of positive progress + 3 ways to act
Happy Monday! Every Monday we suit up and get serious - digging into a climate topic, rounding up the past week’s Good(s) News and sharing updates from across FTF, so you’re never out of the loop.
July is going to be a big month at FTF virtual HQ. We are cramming more action into the next 31 days than your average Ryanair passenger packing their small bag… But before we completely succumb to the excitement, we have a sobering reminder of why the world needs more sustainability professionals and advocates, and why FTF exists.
We cover:
On overview of the SGD progress report
Some of the more shocking stats
Where we’ve progressed
How we can act
Let’s dive in…
> In Focus
SDG Progress: The Highs, The Lows, and The Road Ahead
By Emma Lindsay
I’ll start with an honest fact: It’s been a while since I picked up the virtual pen and wrote an article for FTF... But I’m back.
And I had full intentions of starting the return by writing about my favourite topic: legal compliance. Why? Because it’s busy and there are changes coming thick and fast. However, as I started to write, the UN published their 2024 SDG Progress Report (Friday 28th June, so hot off the press). I’m not going to lie, it’s not painting a positive story of our progress to date.
It’s bleak.
Why? Well because quite frankly it is.
But maybe, just maybe, this is what we need to hear. To see. To act on.
An overview
Now the report itself is lengthy, so I’ve done a bit of a TL:DR of the key messages and takeaways. I’d strongly recommend you take some time and read the report all the same, but as we go into a new week, here’s what you need to know:
“Only 17% of the SDG targets are on track, half are showing minimal progress, and one third has stalled or regressed.”
“Inequalities keep growing. The climate crisis continues to escalate. Biodiversity loss is accelerating. Progress towards gender equality remains disappointing.”
“Developing countries face the worst medium-term economic outlook in a generation.”
The top line: Things are really not great. And we all know it. Hell, it’s why we’re in the jobs we are. But with numbers like 23 and 100 million relating to the increase of people in extreme poverty and hunger respectively in the last four years, a 72% increase in civilian casualties since 2022, and breaching the 1.5-degree global temperature threshold, it’s hard to put a positive spin on it.
As a quick refresher, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals adopted by all UN member states in 2015. They were designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030.
Within the goals are 169 targets that companies, countries, and governments must strive to achieve. The 2024 report is the first to leverage data to show progress, or lack of, against each target.
The lows
The most alarming statistic is that within Goal 13: Climate Action, there has been no moderate progress at all. In fact, there has been a 35% regression against the 2015 baseline. Goal 2: Zero Hunger saw the biggest regression, with results over 50% worse than pre-2015 levels.
So yes, it’s not a positive picture. But statistics are powerful, and before we all go down a doom rabbit hole, let’s highlight some areas that HAVE shown progress.
The highs
Positive progress 1: We are on track to hit the 2030 goals for sustainable consumption and production, corporate sustainable practices, and public procurement practices.
Positive progress 2: Affordable and clean energy is generally on track, with investment in green power and international cooperation ahead of target.
Positive progress 3: Equal access to education, ICT, the internet, and technology for women’s empowerment is all on or ahead of track.
The road ahead
So, what does this mean for us, and what can we do with the information published on Friday?
Well, first of all. Talk about it. People cannot care about what they don’t know. Read the report and take some of the statistics critical to the purpose and ethics of your company to your leadership teams. You are not being difficult. You are being driven. Determined. Disruptive.
Secondly, align the SDGs with your wider ESG targets. Most of us will be setting goals for our businesses of X% growth in the next 5 years. Why don’t we integrate the same for each of the relevant SDGs (considering their indicators and targets)?
And thirdly, there has to be a more concerted effort to dismantle gender barriers at leadership and decision making level – because we cannot expect to achieve the Goals without gender equality. In management positions, at current rates, parity will require another 176 years.
We have five years to save the world. Five years to build a better future. Five years to make a positive impact. And we absolutely can. By a continued focus on material issues, learning and educating one another, empowering decision making and tracking and reporting progress, we will get there.
You can read the full report here, and if you have further questions or insights, please do reach out to the team or Emma directly (I do after all, love this stuff).
> Follow up with…
> Last week in consumer goods x climate…
The Good(s) News
Up and coming brands…
🎯 SOJO announced they’re partnering with Marks and Spencer to set up “M&S Fixed by SOJO”, an online repair service hub as part of the M&S Plan A Accelerator Fund. Marks and Spencer customers will be able to send in their clothes for repairs, and returned directly to them within seven to 10 days.
Bigger organisations…
⭐ John Lewis & Partners released a 20-piece circular design collection, featuring items from their home and fashion ranges. These pieces are made with increased recycled content, designed to be durable, and crafted for recycling after use.
⭐ Saputo Dairy UK Ingredients announced the removal of non-recyclable cover papers from its Clover, Utterly Butterly, and Country Life Spreadable products. This change makes the packaging fully recyclable, including the already recyclable tubs and lids, and have projected it will save 44 tonnes of packaging.
⭐ Pladis have partnered with DS Smith to reduce the plastic content of their Jacob’s Cream Crackers box by 78%. This reduction has already saved over 370 tonnes of CO2 while maintaining the same standards and recyclability as the previous packaging.
⭐Arc'teryx released their 2023 resale program figures, reporting savings of 74,000 kg of CO2 and 7,400 kg of waste, when compared to producing new products. This success follows their ReCare, ReGear, and ReCut initiatives, which encourage maintenance, selling preowned items, and upcycling of leftover materials.
Industry wins…
⚡️In response to new legislation in Canada targeting misleading environmental claims, several oil companies have added disclaimers or removed content from their websites to mitigate legal risks associated with unsubstantiated environmental claims. The changes to the Competition Act under Bill C-59 could impose significant fines on companies for greenwashing.
Want good news sooner? We post our top 5 stories every Friday on LinkedIn! If your CPG brand has good news to share, let us know.👇
> In case you missed it
Want more? Here’s what’s happening across FTF at the moment…
Last week we launched our events calendar! Not only have we updated the way we share consumer goods x sustainability events, but now you can add events, register to attend and filter by your interests.
We have been working day and night on some really exciting special projects. SO MANY special projects. Keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks for the big updates.
We shared 5 events in last week’s edition of The Check-Out along with a brand spotlight on AKT. Read more here:
That’s it for today!
Want more? Check out ‘The Check-Out’ this Thursday for the latest brands in our basket. In the meantime, if you want to get involved in our community activities (like the group chat), reply to this email or reach out at info@followingthefootprints.com to say hi.
Much love,
Team FTF