A quick way to determine what SDGs are actually relevant to your company (in real life) is to follow these steps:-

1. Take the content of your newly released annual report
2. Categorise everything that is said by SDG (the 17 Sustainable Development Goals). This can be a simple summary.
3. See which SDGs have the most traction (can be measured by the number of items listed underneath them or the significance of each by the impact). Prioritise them.

Then, using an online questionnaire, run the prioritised list of SDGs past your

1. Board
2. Management
3. Staff

Ask them what they think, agree with, what should be affirmed, or what’s been left out.

Reconcile any differing opinions to get a consensus.

Consolidate all feedback into a Sustainability Communications Report – one that becomes a social media corporate strategy using the SDGs as content pillars.

The process above can get quite nuanced, so it’s important to always keep your eyes on materiality AND the significance of what your company does.

An activity may not be “material” but could be “significant”, i.e. define your company in an emotive way.

Copperbelt Energy plc, listed on the Lusaka Securities Exchange in its latest annual report, presents its corporate activities categorised by SDGs. They have branded each SDG and slightly modified the nomenclature of each SDG to suit their corporate persona.

I do not have the statistics on how many companies are reporting by SDG in their annual reports, but I will in the future.

Once the process I have set out above has been finalised, everything listed companies do and report on after that can be categorised, analysed and developed in context.

I think the SDGs are a fantastic way to contextualise corporate relevance: several boxes are ticked:-

1. Sustainability Reporting
2. ESG Reporting
3. Corporate and Social Media Strategy
4. Stakeholder Engagement
5. Best investor Relations Practices

If you want your annual report content appraised by SDG, give me a buzz and get my team to do it for you.