The Contribution of Sustainable Businesses to achieve the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals

Dear Colleagues,

A few years ago, countries across the globe adopted the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined within it (United Nations, 2012). It is widely acknowledged that the SDGs may only be attained through collaborative efforts by actors across sectors.

People have often claimed that sustainable businesses have emerged as a powerful intervention for ameliorating socio-economic challenges in communities worldwide. Given the increasing gaps in the delivery of public services around the world, sustainable businesses are now being called upon to tackle these institutional voids though innovation in practice. There is a range of debates regarding their business models but all manifestations potentially align with the UN sustainable development goals, and could be the drivers of creativity and innovation that will lead to more sustainable and resilient communities.

This Special Issue seeks to host a collection of papers that explore the contribution of sustainable businesses through a sustainability lens. We are seeking theoretical as well as empirical contributions and would welcome case studies from both the North and the South.

References:

Agarwal, N., Gneiting, U., & Mhlanga, R. (2017). Raising the Bar: Rethinking the role of business in the Sustainable Development Goals. Oxfam Discussion Paper, 32.

Calvo, S; Lyon, F; Morales, A; Wade, J (2020), Educating at Scale for Sustainable Development and Social Enterprise Growth: The Impact of Online Learning and a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Sustainability, 12, 3247, 1-15.

Gicheru, P. E. (2016). The Role of the co-operative enterprise model in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). 22.

Littlewood, D. C., & Holt, D. (2018). How social enterprises can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – A conceptual framework. In N. Apostolopoulos, H. Al-Dajani, D. Holt, P. Jones, & R. Newbery (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals (Vol. 8, pp. 33– 46). Emerald. https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Entrepreneurship-and-the-Sustainable-Development-Goals/?k=9781787563766.

Morales, A; Calvo, S; Guaita, J. M; Martin, J.M (2021). Hybrid forms of business: Understanding the development of indigenous social entrepreneurship practices, , Journal of Business Research, 124, 212-222.

Pedersen, C. S. (2018). The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a Great Gift to Business! Procedia CIRP, 69, 21–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2018.01.003

Tabares, S; Calvo, S; Morales, A; Molina, V (2021), Unpacking B Corps’ Impact on Sustainable Development: An Analysis from Structuration Theory, Sustainability, 13, 23, 1-21.

Prof. Dr. Sara Calvo Martinez
Prof. Dr. Andres Morales Pachon
Prof. Dr. Rui Alexandre Castanho
Guest Editors

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