How can we relate public goods to the sustainable development agenda? What can businesses contribute to the progress of humankind beyond economic growth?

In our new book, Public Goods, Sustainable Development and the Contribution of Business, we highlight the inherent linkages between sustainable development and corporate responsibility for improving the current and future welfare of communities both at home and abroad. Coming from different countries, different backgrounds, and different perspectives, the four authors are united in our recognition of public goods and their importance to the sustainable development agenda, as well as how businesses must move beyond a singular focus on economic growth to contributing to the well-being of the larger community. It is this diversity of backgrounds that brings strength to important discussion about building better futures post COVID-19, as well as our decision to write a book with a holistic perspective. One of the authors spent 30 years as a senior executive in a large German multinational, another is a retired business professor from the US, and two others founded and direct a 27-year-old think tank in Geneva, where relations to international organizations are routine matter.

While there is a relatively large number of books that have focused on the topic of public goods, in these books many of the authors principally focused on the socio-economic concept put forth by the Nobel-laureate Jean Tirole or the perspective from the book of the famous American management authority Philip Kotler (which bears the sub-title of “Strategies for Businesses, Governments and Non-profits”), that primarily narrates examples of well-known leaders to emphasize the need for action. Conversely, our team of authors, approached the topic from various angles, not least of all from the dimension of measuring. Our idea offers a holistic perspective that covers the macro- and the micro-economic, the political and the developmental aspects, that shows which range of action is available at different levels of decision-making and what outcomes they may provide. Thus, when relating the topic of public goods to the sustainable development agenda, a multitude of perspectives needs to be dealt with – apart from the economic, the social and the ecological perspectives: they are the ethical, the institutional and the measurement dimension. All of these are interlinked, as are the endeavors for sustainable development by businesses, governments, and international institutions. While this is not new, the formats of these linkages and interdependencies – and the consequences of such interconnectedness – have not been exhibited in a comprehensive way that is presented in our book.

Read the full article about sustainable development goals by Roland Bardy, Arthur Rubens, Raymond Saner, Lichia Yiu, and Aakanksha Sinha at Stanford Social Innovation Review.