Introduction
SDGs is an abbreviation of Sustainable Development Goals, which is translated as "Sustainable Development Goals" and generally consists of 17 items (including 169 targets) such as poverty, hunger, health and welfare adopted by the United Nations.
Sustainable means that something continues indefinitely, maintaining its current state. If the current system is not sustainable, it will eventually come to a dead end. In order for society not to come to a dead end, it is necessary to replace the system with a sustainable method.
Development means cutting down mountains and clearing forests to open up land and develop it, as well as introducing new technologies to the world. Actions such as cutting down forests and developing new technologies are carried out by nations and companies. The development by nations and companies is basically for the development of nations and companies. If development is actively carried out, it will contribute to the development of industry. However, development often destroys the environment and causes pollution. In some cases, the gap between rich and poor widens, causing social unrest and conflict.
When a nation or a company undertakes any kind of development, it is required to consider the impact on society and change the direction of development to contribute to the sustainability of society. Future development is expected to contribute to the sustainability of society.
A goal is a mark that you aim for when you do something. The United Nations has set 17 goals and calls on us to act towards them. First, let's take a closer look at each goal. Then, after considering whether the goal is correct and whether it is meaningful for the company, let's think about what kind of goal and course of action the company should set.
The first SDGs is “No Poverty”. The goal is to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere”. Poverty means being poor and having a difficult life. It is very painful for people to have no hope of continuing their lives because of their poverty, and to spend their days living in pain. Escape from poverty is very important for people to continue to live happy and healthy lives. In order for more people to escape from poverty, we must first change the social system that creates poverty.
The second SDGs is “Zero Hunger”. The goal is to "end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture". Hunger is the lack of food and starving. Without the food we need, it becomes difficult to stay healthy, and in some cases even to survive. In order for people to avoid starvation and maintain their health, it is important to build a social system that appropriately distributes food, along with maintaining appropriate agricultural development. Furthermore, it is also necessary to raise the morale of the people so that they do not buy up food, but rather actively help the hungry.
The third SDGs is "Good Health and Well-Being for All". The goal is to "ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages". Health is a state of good health and vitality, both physically and mentally. Welfare means saving people from suffering and leading them to experience happiness and abundance. Without good health, it is impossible to live a bright and active life. Without welfare, people find it difficult to experience happiness and prosperity. Health and well-being are important to people's well-being and cannot be neglected.
The fourth SDGs is "Quality Education for All". The goal is to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all". Education means teaching and nurturing, guiding immature and otherwise problematic people in some better direction. If they do not receive a good quality education, they will fail and cause trouble, will not be useful in society, will not understand things, will not be able to take correct actions, and depending on the situation, it will be a great loss for both people and society. It is very important to widely disseminate quality education in order for people to live better lives and for society as a whole to become more favorable.
The fifth SDGs is "Let's achieve gender equality." The goal is to "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls". Gender is the difference between male and female. Equality means treating people equally without discrimination. Unfair discrimination must be eliminated in society. There are various discriminations between men and women in society. In particular, it is said that historically women have been in a weak position and have been discriminated against. Achieving gender equality aims to eliminate the so-called male-dominant society and to strengthen women's abilities and positions.
The 6th SDGs is "Safe water and toilets all over the world". The goal is to "ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all". It says "safe", but the original text says "clean" (does not contain harmful substances such as bacteria or dirt). Water is a liquid that becomes essential for life on the planet Earth as it rains, creates rivers, ponds and lakes, and circulates while being purified. Toilet is a toilet bowl, but the original text says sanitation instead of toilet. Hygiene refers to efforts to prevent disease and maintain health, and refers to protecting people from threats to health through the treatment of sewage, waste, and sewage. Ensuring clean water and good sanitation is very important for people's lives and health.
The seventh SDGs is "Affordable and clean energy". The goal is to "ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all". Energy is the physical force that produces heat and power. When we talk about energy issues, we are talking about the fuels and electricity that people use for heating, cooling, and other things in our lives, as well as the energy sources for generating electricity. Soaring energy prices and environmental pollution caused by the use of energy have a serious impact on people's lives.
The eighth SDGs is “decent work and economic growth”. The goal is to “promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and full and productive employment and decent work for all”. The kanji character for economy is an abbreviation for Keisei Saimin, but the English economy means a social system in which money, goods, and services issued by the government are created and consumed. Economic growth is the growth and expansion of the economic system based on the currency. Until now, many people have always believed that economic growth is necessary to become rich, and it is said that balancing economic growth and sustainability is a major issue. Here, we also aim to achieve job satisfaction and balance with decent work.
The ninth SDGs is "Let's build a foundation for industry and technological innovation." The goal is to "build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation." An industry is a business that engages in production. Innovation is to make things new with new ideas and methods, and foundation is the basis or basics. It is expected that new ideas and methods will be created and things will become new, society will progress, and technology will improve, making it possible to do things that were thought to be impossible until now. will be Our goal here is to lay the groundwork for that.
The tenth SDGs is “Reduce inequality between people and countries”. The goal is to “reduce inequalities within and between countries”. Inequality is defined as being discriminated against or treated differently. Where there is hunger, poverty, or large disparities within and outside the country, there is often unjustified inequality. Inequality causes poverty, hunger, educational inequality, and income inequality. The goal here is to eliminate the unhappiness that many people are suffering by eliminating inequality.
The 11th SDGs is “Creating a city where people can continue to live”. The goal is to “achieve inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements”. Inclusive means accepting and embracing diversity, and resilient means being resilient and resilient. The sustainability of cities and human settlements is also important so that people do not have to worry about the future. If you are going to live here, you want to live in a town where you can continue to live with peace of mind.
The twelfth SDGs is “responsible consumption and production”. The goal is to “ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns”. Production refers to work that creates valuable things for people who need them in their daily lives, such as processing natural products. Consumption means to use and spend things. The goal is to ensure that production and consumption are sustainable. Therefore, we believe that producers and consumers have a certain responsibility.
The 13th SDGs is “Take concrete measures against climate change”. The goal is to “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”. Climate refers to the average conditions such as temperature, humidity, weather, and precipitation. For example, if the average temperature in a certain area gradually changes, the crops that can grow in that area will change. Extreme changes in precipitation have various impacts on living organisms and human life. The goal is to take concrete action against climate change that has a large impact.
The 14th SDGs is "Let's protect the abundance of the sea". The goal is to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development". When we think of marine resources, we first think of marine products such as seafood and salt, but we also include minerals, oil, methane hydrate, ocean currents, ocean temperature differences, and other energies that lie dormant in the ocean. Our goal is to use the ocean while preserving its abundant resources that nurture a variety of life forms.
The 15th SDGs is "Let's protect the richness of the land". The goal is to "protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss." I'm doing it. Ecosystems are so-called societies made up of organisms that are composed of organisms with various relationships such as food chains. Forests are one of the important natural environments that make up the biological environment. Biodiversity refers to the presence of a wide variety of organisms.
The 16th SDGs is “Peace, justice and strong institutions”. The goal is to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” I'm doing it. Peace means that there is no war and that the world is calmly governed. Fairness means fairness and righteousness without bias. It is important to realize peace and justice all over the world so that people can live peacefully without being exposed to the threat of war or persecution.
The 17th SDGs is "Let's achieve the goals through partnerships". The goal is to "strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development". A partner is a group of people who share the same interests, and a partnership is a state or relationship in which they jointly run a business. We are residents living on a single planet called Earth, and changes in the global environment have a great impact on our lives. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is important for everyone to work together by revitalizing partnerships rather than fighting and imposing blame.
The SDGs appear to be forcing companies to make major policy changes. If we follow the SDGs, we must review mass production and mass consumption, refrain from development that has a large impact on the environment, and refrain from businesses that engage in fierce competition in the pursuit of profits or widen inequality. However, businesses should pursue profits. If you can't pursue profits with the way you've been doing it, you have to change the way you do it. So how should companies think and act in the future?
SDGs are considered important for environmental protection and social sustainability. However, efforts to achieve the SDGs can also jeopardize the nation. Blindly promoting SDGs will lead to economic stagnation and contraction. If the national economy stagnate or shrinks and loses international competitiveness, the nation may perish. Rather than simply working blindly on the SDGs, we need to think strategically about how to tackle them with the aim of achieving national growth while keeping an eye on the movements and directions of other countries. In order to ensure stable growth so as not to destroy the nation, a national strategy is also necessary for SDGs initiatives.
The SDGs have a great impact on the world situation. There are countries that actively work on SDGs, and there are countries that turn their backs on SDGs. Some countries will benefit from the promotion of the SDGs, and conversely, the spread of the SDGs will put some countries at a disadvantage. Efforts to achieve the SDGs can have unintended consequences. SDGs also have a negative impact on the world. We must carefully observe trends in the world situation and be aware of how the SDGs are actually affecting the world.
SDGs are sometimes described as communism or a form of socialism. In fact, the SDGs tend to resemble communism in the past. In understanding and working on the SDGs, it is necessary to pay attention to the similarities with communism. Here, we will roughly pick up six similarities and consider their tendencies, dangers, and points to be aware of. The point is not to be wholly positive or wholly negative, but to find out where the roads lead to a better future.
