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  • June 12, 2019
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

Business as Usual Will Not Save the Planet

By: Mark R. Kramer, Rishi Agarwal and Aditi Srivinas
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

The United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) were explicitly designed to engage the private sector in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. Four years into the UN’s 15-year timeline, the question is whether companies are advancing serious solutions or are simply embarking on a massive global public relations charade. Unfortunately, FSG’s research, which hasn’t been published, points to the latter. A dramatic and immediate change in direction by both companies and the UN will be essential if there is to be any chance of avoiding an embarrassing failure. A plan, which is described in this article, offers the necessary steps to reverse course and deliver urgently needed progress.

Keywords

Sustainable Development; Environmental Sustainability; Goals and Objectives; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Planning

Citation

Kramer, Mark R., Rishi Agarwal, and Aditi Srivinas. "Business as Usual Will Not Save the Planet." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (June 12, 2019).
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About The Author

Mark R. Kramer

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  • Engine No. 1: An Activist Hedge Fund Pursues Stakeholder Capitalism (B) By: Mark Kramer
  • Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski
  • Participant Media: Social Impact in Hollywood By: Mark R. Kramer
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