This article reflects information as of 2020. For the latest details, please contact us.
Written by: Ashida, tentus inc.
Hello!
This is my first time posting an article. I'm Ashida from tentus inc. Starting with this one, I'm kicking off a series: "A New Director Looks Up Words They Hear a Lot Lately." I'd be grateful if you'd watch over me warmly.
For this first installment, I looked up "SDGs," a term you've been hearing a lot lately! I've started hearing it at work, and you see it while swimming around the internet too, right? I'd been involved with it before on a project so I knew it roughly, but not well enough to explain it to someone… so I took this chance to look into it!!
My job is, more or less, web stuff, but when I need to look things up, I end up heading to this place where a single cup of coffee gets you unlimited reading.
It's Tsutaya Books. Always in their debt. This time I'll be writing based on information from two books there: "Manga de Wakaru SDGs" (Publisher: PHP Editors Group) and "SDGs Miru Dake Note" (Publisher: Takarajimasha)!
1. What Are the "SDGs"?
"SDGs" is short for "Sustainable Development Goals." In Japanese, "jizoku kanou na kaihatsu mokuhyou." It's the central idea in "Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," an outcome document adopted at the UN Summit in September 2015.
It consists of 17 goals shared by the whole world, aimed at eliminating global poverty and realizing a sustainable society, and 169 targets (achievement criteria) needed to accomplish them. The 17 goals are as follows!
1 No Poverty; 2 Zero Hunger; 3 Good Health and Well-being; 4 Quality Education; 5 Gender Equality; 6 Clean Water and Sanitation; 7 Affordable and Clean Energy; 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth; 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; 10 Reduced Inequalities; 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities; 12 Responsible Consumption and Production; 13 Climate Action; 14 Life Below Water; 15 Life on Land; 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions; 17 Partnerships for the Goals
Introducing the 169 targets one by one would be quite a lot, so if you're interested, please take a look here!
https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/oda/sdgs/statistics/index.html
Concretely, "sustainable development goals" amount to "development that satisfies the needs of the present generation while also meeting the needs of future generations." That still feels like "huh, what does that even mean," right… But surprisingly, plenty of familiar things apply! Later, I'll introduce the "SDGs" that tentus is doing.
2. The Benefits of Adopting the "SDGs"
The "SDGs" are also drawing attention as a strategic tool for rebuilding a company's vision. Here are some benefits of incorporating them into your vision!
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Gaining business opportunities: At the World Economic Forum held in 2017, it was pointed out that achieving the SDGs would bring at least 💵$12 trillion💵 in economic value!
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More favorable financing: Adopting them, you'll likely be recognized as a company with a high ESG rating. As a result, financing through ESG investment becomes more favorable!
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A communication tool: You can connect with companies, NPOs, local governments, and others tackling social issues. And where you're already connected, it's thought that mutual understanding deepens!
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Improved corporate trust: Stakeholders and others may think, "This company cares about the environment — what a good place," raising their trust in you!
3. What tentus Is Doing
tentus is engaged in various SDGs-related efforts too! Let me introduce them briefly.
■ Non-smoker allowance: Among tentus's benefits is something called the "non-smoker allowance."
As the name says, it's an allowance for non-smokers. The way it cares about employees' health corresponds to "3. Good Health and Well-being"! Getting healthier and receiving an allowance… I sincerely think I'm glad I don't smoke.
■ Web-Dog: A project tentus is involved in running is "Web-Dog." It's a project for developing local students' ability to tackle and solve the various challenges of each region, and for advancing regional digital transformation (DX) through industry-academia collaboration!
This project, which works on regional revitalization, corresponds to "11. Sustainable Cities and Communities"! In terms of developing students, "4. Quality Education" may be relevant too.
4. In Closing
I've written about the SDGs, briefly. In daily life too, you've started seeing things like reducing plastic bags and switching to paper straws, right? I want to work on it consciously not just at the company but as an individual too! I'm sure there were clumsy parts in this first post, but thank you for reading! And if there are any people, companies, or local governments interested in tentus or Web-Dog, please feel free to get in touch!!