Роль ЦУР ООН в трансформации устойчивости бизнеса: кейс компаний продуктовой розницы

Relevance of the study
In the modern world, there are global challenges influencing the future and wellbeing of humanity. Those challenges are mainly connected with the ecological sphere, such as climate change, water scarcity and food quality; social sphere, among them are extreme poverty, unemployment and discrimination; and economic sphere, for example, unequal economic development, and the need for technological development (IE Insights, 2019; United Nations Foundation, 2020).
The universal blueprint to tackle these accelerating challenges already exists and it is called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were established by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 replacing the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs). The SDGs were signed by 193 member states and represent the common will for more sustainable future for all (United Nations, 2015).
Not only states, but also companies have already realized the role of the SDGs for their core activities. For instance, more than 9,000 companies have committed to contribute to the SDGs achievement by signing the UN Global Compact (UN Global Compact, 2019). Those companies volunteered to change their usual way of doing business towards more sustainable way or, in other words, to undertake the business sustainability (BST) transformation. At the same time, other companies have to follow their example because of the changing rules of the game.
By ‘changing rules of the game’, we mean changing requests from different groups of internal and external stakeholders – employees, customers and investors – which business should consider in order to ensure its competitiveness (Deloitte, 2017; Deloitte 2019). The stated factors enhance BST transformation and result in societal factors to be considered as the most important while evaluating annual performance (Deloitte and Forbes Insights, 2019).
Therefore, it is hard to overestimate the relevance of such topics as the SDGs and BST transformation for business practice. Considering the fact that the SDGs set the urgency for the future academic research in this field and that the implementation of the results is needed to foster the achievement of all the SDGs by 2030 (Leal Filho et al., 2018), there is the need for academic studies to support the business.
Speaking about the SDGs and BST transformation from the industry perspective, different industries have their own features of environmental, social and economic influence (BCG, 2017) and concentrate on different SDGs in their operations (UN Global Compact and KPMG, 2015). One of the industries that is regarded as having a wide impact on sustainable development (SD) is
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the food retail industry. For instance, through the food retail industry almost all the population of the world in one way or another gets necessary products to eat and live. It is an intermediate between food producers and customers, and huge food retail companies have strong influence on both. Some food retail companies are very powerful indeed, for example Walmart is on the first place in the list of the largest companies by revenue (Fortune 500, 2019), presenting the vital role of the food retail industry for society.
To sum up, academic studies are essential for the UN SDGs achievement, and the role of the SDGs in the BST transformation with an emphasis on the food retail industry is a relevant topic for both theory development and practical implementation.
Research gap
There are several studies that discuss the sustainable business models (Stubbs, 2019; Geissdoerfer et al., 2018; Wadin and Ode, 2019), business sustainability (Friedman, 1970; SAM Group & PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2006; Network for Business Sustainability, 2012), its modelling (Valencia-Rodríguez et al., 2019) and transformation (Dyllick and Muff, 2015; Muller and Pfleger, 2014). However, there is the lack of academic studies combining the SDGs and the BST concepts, even though the role of the SDGs has proved to be sufficient for the business.
There are four BST types, or levels, identified in the academic literature, which can be assigned to a company: Business-as-Usual, BST 1.0, BST 2.0 and BST 3.0. Switches in different elements of business models, which lead to changes in BST level of a company, are assumed as BST transformation. Each of these types of BST is characterized by unique definition, which is explained by the evolution of the concept (Dyllick and Muff, 2015). To put it shortly the BST types range from the Business-as-Usual, pre-BST type, which is an approach to doing business that accounts only for economic shareholder-related concerns (Friedman, 1970), to the BST 3.0, or ‘true sustainability’ type, which addresses the global challenges in the business model (Dyllick and Muff, 2015).
The BST concept is directly related to SD, as businesses of different types of BST in one way or another manage their opportunities and risks related to economic, social and environmental spheres, which are the main categories if SD (OECD, 2008). The SDGs are identified to bring companies closer to the BST 3.0 level (Muff, Kapalka and Dyllick, 2017), being the reflection of accelerating global challenges (Griggs et al., 2013; Bansal, 2019).
However, there are very few academic studies on the BST transformation of various industries, including the food retail industry, and none of them discussed the role of SDGs for BST from industrial perspective. Dyllick and Muff (2015) highlight two industries – food industry and
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banking – however, they do not mention any practical research conducted in those industries. Simoes and Sebastiani (2017) analyzed supermarket retail chains of two countries in Southern Europe in terms of their corporate sustainability and corporate identity. Nevertheless, Simoes and Sebastiani did not link their results with the levels of the BST transformation.
In the professional literature some of the possible industry-related integrations of the SDGs have already been suggested, e.g. the guidelines for implementation of the SDGs for the consumer goods industry (covers food retail) were established (UN Global Compact and KPMG, 2015). However, the examples of the SDGs in action provided in those guidelines are not linked to any specific level of BST and thus do not highlight the exact role of the SDGs for BST transformation for food retail companies.
To sum up, although the SDGs and the concept of BST proved to be relevant for the business yet depending on particular industry, the role of the SDGs in the BST transformation has not been discussed through the industry-specific lenses, in particular, for the food retail industry. This is the research gap we are concentrating on in our study.
Research questions and goal of the study
The goal of the study is to identify the role of the UN SDGs in the BST transformation for food retail companies. This role should be reflected in certain changes in the way of doing business after the UN SDGs were issued and recognized by the companies.
Therefore, the research question is the following:
 How did the practices of doing business in the food retail industry change following
the escalation of global challenges addressed by the SDGs concept?
By “changes of the practices of doing business” we assume BST transformation through revision of corporate governance, processes and products (Dyllick and Muff, 2015). Those changes along with the way companies identify the role of the SDGs for themselves reflect the actual role of the SDGs in the BST transformation. Thus, by answering the research question we
will reach the research goal.
The objectives drawn from the goal of the study and research question are the following:
1. Analyze the concepts of SDGs and BST and their interrelation, in particular, for the food retail industry;
2. Conduct an empirical study of food retailers and identify changes in doing business as the result of global challenges worsening, along with the SDGs implementation by those companies;
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3. Summarize the results of the empirical study, discussing the actual role of the UN SDGs in the BST transformation for food retail companies, and providing relevant managerial recommendations.
The object of the study is the BST types among food retail companies. The subject is the BST transformation of the food companies following the SDGs integration.
Theoretical basis and research methodology
The theoretical basis of the study is classical academic articles and professional literature on the SDGs and BST concepts and their interrelation, as well as industry-specific differences, with an emphasis on the food retail industry.
Research methodology was defined based on the research question and the goal of the study. In this study we conduct qualitative exploratory research, assessing such a phenomenon as BST transformation in a new light. Our analysis is deductive, as the research is based on theoretical framework.
The source for data collection are non-financial reports of the food retail companies over 2015-2019 period, since it is the exact period covering the information the companies published before the SDGs were published and till the current date.
Outline of the paper
The goal and objectives of the research defined the structure if this master thesis. It consists of introduction, three major chapters, conclusion, list of references and appendices.
The first chapter contains the literature review on such topics as SDGs and BST and their interrelation, while food retail specifics are highlighted especially.
The second chapter aims to explain the methodology for the future research in detail, justifying the companies chosen for the future analysis and the methods used further.
In the third chapter, the results of the empirical study are provided and discussed, as well as the theoretical and management implications are stated based on the research. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are reflected as well.
Finally, the results will be summarized in the conclusion. The answer for the research question will lead us to the goal of the study achievement, bringing both theoretical and practical value of the UN SDGs role identification for the business sustainability for the food retail industry.