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The study examined voluntary disclosure of contributions towards SDG-6 achievement by premium board companies in the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It employed a qualitative research design in which data were collected from the sustainability/annual reports of these companies and subjected to content analysis. The analysis shows overall poor quality as the disclosures are not linked to indicators that can help measure the extent of meeting the UN set target for SDG-6. Two tangible indicators disclosed are water use efficiency and construction of boreholes. However, there is no disclosure of the proportion of the population that gained access to clean water through these initiatives. Similarly, poor quality exists when compliance with GRI-303 on water information disclosure was assessed. The motivation behind the disclosures points to a continuation of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The objective is to gain a social licence to operate, and legitimation as opposed to signalling superior SDG-6 performance.

The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of greenwashing and sustainable development goal (SDG)-washing processes by comparing ex ante (SDG Compass) and ex post (SDG Compliance) indicators and investigating whether the limitations associated with these indicators encourage companies to engage in washing processes.

The authors use a sample of 1,154 companies included in the S&P Sustainability Yearbook (formerly the RobecoSAM Yearbook). The authors test for the presence of greenwashing by comparing ex ante and ex post indicators for each SDG, whereas to test for SDG-washing, the authors compare the two ex ante and ex post approaches considering the full set of SDGs.

The results show that there is no consistency between the two types of indicators to measure the level of SDG implementation in organisations. This lack of consistency may facilitate both greenwashing and SDG-washing processes, which is due to the design and limitations of these measurement tools.

Companies may choose those indicators that paint their commitment to the SDGs in the best light, but they may also select indicators based on the SDGs they want to report on. These two options would combine greenwashing and SDG-washing.

The shift towards improved standards and regulations for measuring SDG achievement is the result of several social factors such as investor scrutiny, regulatory reform, consumer awareness and increased corporate accountability.

Few previous studies have analysed in detail the interaction between greenwashing and SDG-washing. They focus on the use of ex ante or ex post indicators separately, with samples composed of local companies, and without considering the whole set of SDGs.

The global agenda of sustainable development goals (SDGs) has posed a major challenge to corporate organizations by addressing sustainability issues within their business model and strategy. Based on this premise, this study provides empirical examination of SDG reporting of the top fifty (50) listed companies in Nigeria for the period of 2016–2018.

The study adopts survey method and content analysis technique to analyze corporate SDG reporting of the selected firms. The study examines the top-50 listed firms in Nigeria based on their market capitalization. Questionnaires were distributed to financial managers of the top-50 listed firms and staffs of the big four audit firms from the governance and sustainability department. The fifty (50) firms selected are as follows: 17 firms from the financial sector, 13 firms from the consumer goods sector, 5 firms from the healthcare sector, 6 firms from the oil and gas sector, 5 firms from the industrial goods sector and 4 firms from the information technology sector. The content analysis was utilized through the PwC framework, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework and International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) framework to gage the extent of firms' compliance regarding corporate SDG reporting. Also, the business reporting indicators for each SDG developed by GRI was employed to determine the compliance level of the selected firms with respect to corporate SDG reporting.

The empirical evidence shows that corporate organizations in Nigeria have performed poorly in corporate SDG reporting. The result of the survey reveals that lack of regulatory framework and voluntary disclosure are the major factors that contributes to low level of SDG reporting by Nigerian firms. Also, the result of the content analysis shows poor reporting on SDG activities. The result of the research survey indicates that voluntary disclosure, lack of management commitment and lack of regulatory enforcement accounts for low SDG disclosure by the selected Nigerian firms.

This study's findings call for clear responsibility and a strong drive for SDG performance from corporate institutions in Nigeria. Whilst the overall responsibility rests on the government, the actualization of SDG cannot be achieved without support from corporate organizations. The empirical approach used in this study emphasizes the need for corporate organizations to embrace sustainable practices and to integrate SDG information into their reporting cycle.

This study contributes to growing literature in the area of corporate reporting and SDG research in Nigeria and other emerging economies.

Implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) has proven a significant challenge for companies. While multinational enterprises (MNEs) have shown a real intention to contribute to these goals, they face major barriers in implementing the SDGs in their core business strategies. Extant academic studies on this phenomenon have primarily explored why companies “should” address the SDG agenda but have not (yet) explored what “works,” what does not “work,” and why. Therefore, evidence of a sizable gap between intention and realization is growing. Besides, there is a limited explanation for the existence of this gap and no validated implementation models that could help overcome it. Additionally, management research remains relatively fragmented. The diversity of existing theoretical and empirical frameworks makes it difficult to consolidate scientific and practical insights on “how” to guide companies to accelerate the global goals through their core operations.

This study is one of the first attempts to draw lessons from extant research on effective SDGs’ implementation strategies. For that, we upgrade the “SDG Compass,” which has been recognized as a leading framework for SDGs implementation in companies’ core activities. A critical assessment of the literature on the SDGs implementation has been conducted through a systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis. This has helped us identify gaps in the SDG implementation practice and accumulate relevant insights supporting a more integrated and upgraded implementation framework: the SDG Compass+. This framework can advance coordinated theoretical and practical research by identifying the antecedents and critical factors of impactful SDG implementation strategies.

This paper aims to present a data mapping analysis that can be used for aligning the studio course with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by teaching professionals.

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), released in 2015, has received global attention from various disciplines and sectors. Professional organizations in architecture have accelerated the engagement between their members and SDGs. This paper analyzes the two volumes of the Architecture Guide to the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals prepared by the efforts of professional organizations or consortiums and published by the UIA between 2018 and 2020. The buildings presented as best practices in these guidebooks were analyzed to demonstrate various ways of capturing the SDGs in the architectural studio when designing the course content, process and teaching materials.

The analysis presents the kinship among the SDGs and architectural concepts, which are retrieved from the sample buildings in the guidebooks. The findings also refer to the targets for each goal to generate an easily applicable pedagogical path in architectural education. The results are presented as a model approach for SDG-focused studio teaching.

An in-depth review of the literature reveals the need for research based on SDG-focused pedagogies and the UN Architecture Guide.

The purpose of the article is to understand how the literature has been addressing the United Nations' Sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to obtain an overview of the current scenario and future perspectives.

For that, a bibliometric analysis will be conducted with documents published between 2015 and 2021 and present in the Web of Science database. Initially, 328 documents were identified, and after careful reading of titles and abstracts, 239 documents were analysed. The documents were analysed using tools available on the Web of Science database and the software Bibliometrix.

Amongst the results generated, it should be highlighted the identification of the motor themes “sustainable development” + “developing countries” and “water security”, presenting a significant relevance to the field and a high development level. In addition, “human rights” was verified as an emerging theme in the context of SDG 6 debates.

The information provided here offers good documentation of the extent to which SDG 6 is documented in the literature and can be helpful for researchers interested in the topic.

The study aims to empirically investigate whether the disclosure of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) affects the level of integrated thinking and reporting (ITR) on a sample of European listed companies.

The sample focusses on companies listed to the STOXX Europe 600 Index. Data have been gathered from Refinitiv DataStream for the period 2019–2020 for the measures of ITR level and SDG disclosure. Then, a multivariate regression analysis is developed to test whether or not, and if so, to what extent, SDG disclosure affects the level of ITR.

SDG disclosure has been increased over time and companies have primarily focussed on SDG 8, SDG12 and SDG 13 demonstrating their awareness on sustainability issues close to the core business and on the climate urgency. Furthermore, SDG disclosure leads to a higher level of ITR meaning that SDG disclosure is an important pillar contributing to ITR.

The empirical analysis has not deeply investigated each component of ITR and SDG disclosure.

The research can be useful for companies aiming to improve their commitment towards the SDG implementation with an integrated approach. Moreover, the study sheds light on the importance of the SDG disclosure as a determinant of ITR.

The research contributes to literature in the stream of sustainability accounting, by adding new insights on ITR linked to SDG disclosure. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the originality of the study lies in the inclusion of SDG disclosure as a determinant for ITR that has not been analysed by academics yet.

Sustainable development requires businesses to improve their positive and reduce their negative impacts. This chapter discusses how the impact of business on sustainable development can be measured and managed using the sustainable development goals (SDGs). First, it introduces two complementary approaches for measuring impact: a top-down approach that departs from the economic activities that companies undertake; and a bottom-up approach that defines the impacts of individual companies. Second, it argues that companies can manage their impacts on the SDGs through a nexus approach. Instead of treating SDGs as isolated silos, a nexus approach aims to advance multiple SDGs simultaneously (creating co-benefits) while reducing the risk that contributions to one SDG undermine progress on another (avoiding trade-offs).