The 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) define global sustainable development priorities for 2030 and seek to mobilize global efforts around a common set of goals and targets. The SDGs call for worldwide action among governments, business and civil society to end poverty and create a life of dignity and opportunity for all, within the boundaries of the planet. 

There is much work to be done to understand how the private sector contributes to the advancement of these Global Goals through aggregating corporate environment, social and governance data (ESG data). The research conducted within this project the "Business Contributions to the SDGs - a Student Assessment" addresses this challenge and contributes to improving the flows of corporate ESG data for research and analysis and use by all stakeholders. 

Multiple sub-projects are organized per university for the institutions around the globe who are participating in data research, aggregation and analysis for this project. 

Metrics being researched cover a range of SDGs according to a mapping of business disclosures to the SDGs (see the SDG Compass), and a range of environmental, social and governance areas. In the first half of 2017, student research contributed to a report which analysed aggregate data to begin seeing how companies report to contributions and performance around specific topics (like social, economic, environmental and governance issues) and to different SDGs. See the full report here

See further instructions for the research and using Wikirate here. 

Look through the following company OMV Petrom research for an example for good practices in conducting CSR data research according to these metrics:

• OMV Petrom

Watch the tutorial video on how to conduct research through this Project: