Integrating the SDGs into the assessment of business Investments: Results from an interventionist approach
The private sector plays a crucial role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, scarce research has engaged with companies to help them tackle such goals. Therefore, this research explores how and to what extent companies can integrate the SDGs into the evaluation of corporate investments. The research adopts an interventionist methodology in which the researchers and the companies co-develop a solution for the problem at hand. The research underwent five phases spread over 17 months: identification of the problem; selection of the SDG targets; identification of key performance indicators (KPIs); critical assessment of KPIs; and final selection of KPIs. The research contributes to accounting theory and practice in three ways. First, it offers a practical method to integrate the SDGs into corporate investment decision-making and answers the calls for accounting research to engage with companies in the pursuit of the SDGs. Second, it identifies a spectrum of practical problems that companies face in embedding SDG targets within their investment assessments and provides possible ways to address said problems. Third, the research identifies a broader viewpoint on what the performance of a company looks like, nowadays. Specifically, the research suggests considering the performance and impact of a company beyond financial measures as a relevant and pressing issue for future accounting research and practice.
Keywords: Sustainable development, Performance, Investment evaluation, SDG.
