New Metrics

Trucost’s New Evaluation Tool Will Help Companies Align Strategy with the SDGs

The private sector has been mobilizing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. But corporations are also in constant pursuit of returning shareholder value, and as such, need to look for ways that SDG-aligned strategies can give a true measure of shareholder value.

By Sustainable Brands | Published 6 years ago | About a 3 minute read

The private sector has been mobilizing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. But corporations are also in constant pursuit of returning shareholder value, and as such, need to look for ways that SDG-aligned strategies can give a true measure of shareholder value.

To help companies align strategies with the SDGs, Trucost has launched an SDG Evaluation Tool. The tool provides a quantitative analysis of corporate performance on the SDGs across the value chain, from raw material inputs to product use and disposal, within the context of a company’s geographic operations.

Trucost says that the SDG Evaluation Tool will allow companies to determine which SDGs are most relevant to their business operations, supply chains and products, identify opportunities to create business value from the SDGs, prioritize investments in the SDGs, and report progress on business alignment with the SDGs “in a way that is holistic and robust.”

“Over 9,000 companies and investors with more than USD 4 trillion in assets have pledged their support to the SDGs. Seeking to translate awareness to action, the Trucost SDG Evaluation Tool is designed to provide data-led insights to assess and communicate progress to stakeholders,” said Libby Bernick, Global Head of Corporate Business at Trucost. “We are pleased to work with esteemed contributors in the Tool’s inaugural application to help meet the decision-making needs of company boards, investors, and other market participants with an interest in financing the SDGs.”

The Tool is intended to help enable companies to identify business risks and opportunities aligned with the SDGs. Its main features include:

Scorecard of a company’s overall SDG performance and individual scores for each goal, including positive contributions towards the SDGs as well as negative impacts;
Comparison of a company’s performance relative to its sector and competitors;
Identification of the most relevant SDGs for a company, with prioritized risks and opportunities; and
A gap assessment showing the company where SDG investments may be optimized.

Multiple companies including HP, Ingersoll Rand, Ørsted and S&P Global (under which Trucost is part of the S&P Dow Jones Indices division) will be part of the inaugural application of the Trucost SDG Evaluation Tool. They will be supported by an advisory panel of investment professionals, interest group representatives and academics, such as the American Chemistry Council, London School of Economics, Nordic Investment Bank, UN Global Compact and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).