Way2Global contributes to the new business management platform for sustainability goals

Way2Global, guided by its founder and CEO Laura Gori, has decided along with a pool of other social entrepreneurs to help create a new online platform developed jointly by B Lab and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The platform is for assessing companies’ progress toward achieving the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

The non-profit organization B Lab created and promotes B Corporation certification that attests to companies’ commitment to complying with the most stringent international sustainability standards, and the UN Global Compact (UNGC). This United Nations initiative encourages companies around the world to adopt corporate social responsibility policies with a positive impact on work, human rights, environmental sustainability and anti-corruption. The participants have decided to combine their strengths and skills to collaborate in this revolutionary integrated project, which enables change, and accelerates companies’ tangible progress toward achieving sustainability goals.

The project involves creation of a business management platform that will allow companies to evaluate, compare and optimize their work and performance in achieving the of the UN’s 2030 Agenda SDGs. The online tool will build on a selection of questions from the BIA (B Impact Assessment), which is an evaluation questionnaire developed by B Lab to measure the impact of companies in terms of their employees, communities, ecosystem, environment, customers and corporate governance. Once mapped out in relation to the SDGs, it will be integrated with new performance measures based on the experience of the UNGC partners and a network of consultants.

Starting in 2020, the service will be available for companies all around the world wishing to rethink their business model, strategies and corporate culture in regard to sustainability. The goal is to reach 100,000 registered companies by 2030.

Once the BIA is completed, the companies that join the initiative will be supported in selecting specific parameters through which to assess their own SDG performance. They will also receive a virtual scorecard to track their results over time. During the process, users will have access to a multitude of dedicated resources, designed to foster a constructive path of comparison, inspiration and mutual improvement in progress toward shared goals.

In addition to participating in the initiative as a registered user on the platform, Way2Global decided from the preliminary stages of the project’s development to put itself forward as a “contributor” along with other companies interested in doing their part, and with networks committed to channelling collective entrepreneurship toward these global goals and with organizations with experience in one or more parameters covered by the SDGs.

Way2Global’s contribution is based on its expertise and experience in SDG number 5 concerning gender equality. This was an obvious choice given the 30 years of work undertaken by the company and its founder Laura Gori to promote women’s empowerment in the workplace, work-life balance and equal opportunity. It is not a coincidence that our board is made up entirely of women, while the workforce is predominantly female.

Sharing our experience and best practices as part of this important project is an immense pleasure and an honour for us. It is great recognition of our “permanent social experimentation laboratory” and for the mission that we have been promoting with determination and commitment for years: to use the strength of our business as a stimulus to create a better future.