Small steps for the Global Goals

Written by Rachael B. - September 18, 2018

This weekend sees the start of Global Goals Week, an annual week of action and awareness raising for the Sustainable Development Goals (also known as the SDGs or Global Goals). Launched by Project Everyone, UNDP and the United Nations Foundation two years ago, Global Goals Week brings together governments, businesses, individuals, international organisations and others during the UN General Assembly this month to achieve the Global Goals.

Inforgraphic image of the Global Goals for sustainable development As an organisation, we are committed to our mission to ensure our work goes some way towards creating a more sustainable and equitable world. We have several measurable goals, which we are working towards. Our positive actions will also contribute towards achieving some of the Global Goals in our own small way. Many of these actions are measured periodically as part of maintaining our B Corporation certification, but how can we measure the impact we’re making towards the Global Goals?

Doing good with Do Nation

One of the ways we do our bit, both individually and as a team, is by pledging to make small lifestyle changes, both in and out of work, with fellow B Corporation, Do Nation.

Last year, Do Nation, who are also one of our 1% for the Planet non-profit partners, opened up a B Corps hub. The purpose of this hub was to measure the collective impact B Corporations in the UK are having, and to encourage a little healthy competition. We were quick to jump on board and came in second in this ‘Be Good Do Good’ challenge.

This year, there was another B Corps competition around World Environment Day in June. The team were excited to take part again and this time, we topped the leaderboard! Coming in at first place, between us, we made 110 pledges. Our collective impact saved 5,000 kilos of waste, over 20,000 litres of water and 10,749kg of carbon.

Banana image. We saved as much carbon as is emitted by 134,363 bananas - produced, shipped and sold.

Following the campaign, Do Nation sent us an impact report that detailed the difference we made to the Global Goals. It was fantastic to see that the goals we made the biggest impact on were 12 – responsible consumption and production, and 13 – climate action.

The small actions we undertook were so simple, with pledges such as Fantastic unplastic, in keeping with the World Environment Day theme to beat plastic pollution. Clean your bills was a popular pledge this year, with those of the team who hadn’t already, switching to a renewable energy supplier (Bulb is a firm favourite).  Degrees cooler was so easy to stick to for the duration of the competition and beyond. It’s amazing how much C02 can be saved just by turning the thermostat down a little.

A combined effort

Seeing the impact our small actions have had, has spurred us all into more action. For now, we’re continuing those pledges we’ve made before and signing up for some new ones for Global Goals Week. Why not join us? Try something simple like if you’re starting to turn the heating on for the cooler months, keep it a degree or two lower than last year. If you need more motivation, follow #globalgoalsweek on social media next week to see just the sort of goals you could impact with small changes. If you’re inspired to pledge some changes now, head on over to Do Nation to check out the pledges you could make. Be sure to let us know how you get on!

If you enjoy a bit of competition and want more planning time, Do Nation will also be running a campaign in January 2019, asking people to pledge their New Year’s resolutions with them. If you’re interested in joining in, you can register your interest now to make sure you receive further information.