TGS increases member firm sustainability with the SDG Action Manager

TGS has been a member of the UN Global Compact, for four years and this demonstrates the TGS network commitment to respecting the Ten Principles and the 17 Sustainable Developments Goals (SDG) defined in 2015 by the United Nations.

However, it is easier to communicate about goals than implement them and that is why the UN Global Compact and the international Certification B Lab have teamed up to create a free self-assessment tool, the SDG Action Manager, to make the SDG more operational in the professional environment. The tool launched on January 29, 2020, and this collaboration is an interconnected approach to resiliency and global risks. 

Given the COVID19 crisis, we have been facing unprecedented environmental, social, and economic consequences. Companies rethink their strategy, re-evaluate their goals, and reinforce their SDG actions. The SDG Action Manager tool is not only a self-assessment tool, but it also allows companies to compare themselves with other players in their sector to help steer their corporate strategy.

The SDG Action Manager is a free web-based impact management solution that firms can use to understand where they stand against the SDG and advise them about taking direct and meaningful actions towards the 2030 goals. Today,  we count 3 000 companies that have been won over including TGS. 

How does the SDG Action Manager work? 

Available for everyone, this tool is available in 5 languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. 

The SDG Action Manager has several functions:

✅ Find where your company could start. Based on your firm’s profile, what kinds of actions could you take today?

✅ Have a clear idea of your impact and share your performance with those around you. How does your company integrate the SDGs in development strategy while creating positive economic, social, and environmental impacts?

✅ Track your progress. Visualize your improvement over the years thanks to a dashboard. Being aware of your performance and progression helps stay motivated and focused. 

✅ Collaborate with your team. Share expertise, invite your colleague to join the SDG Action Manager.

✅ Understand each step you take. Improvement guides, benchmarks, and actionable assessment questions are free-to-use and will assist learning at every step of your actions. 

The TGS commitment

TGS uses the SDG Action Manager and here are some examples of what we are doing to become more sustainable. 

SDG5 – Gender equality

If we speak about the SDG5 – Gender equality, we can say that we are active regarding collective actions. Indeed, we have created public awareness marketing campaigns to encourage action to achieve SDG5, especially on our social media and through webinars. Also, we have worked with other civil society organizations, such as Womennovator in India on cooperative initiatives that aim to improve contributions to SDG5.

Furthermore, in the TGS network, everybody has access to professional development opportunities like classes, training, and mentorship programs to improve their knowledge. For instance, more and more member firms across the world have increasingly been hiring women and this means we are beginning to notice a better gender balance and we are proud of this. 

Despite all of these very good points, we can mention an aspect that we want to improve in the following years. Less than 10% of women are in senior management positions in TGS firms as executives, partners, directors, or owners.  However, we will make more efforts to encourage our members to give more responsibilities to women and to be more aware of gender equality among their teams. 

SDG12 – Responsible Consumption and Production

According to the SDG Action Manager, we are active in internal operations of SDG12 – Responsible Consumption and Production. In fact, we share quantifiable results from our mission-related activities and also quantifiable targets related to our company’s mission (e.g. kgs of carbon offset). We publicly communicate the positions that we advocate for and the calculation methods we use and how they are linked to SDG12. You can find our positions in the TGS Communication On Progress 2020 by clicking here. The TGS COP is validated directly by the United Nations.

What kind of actions do we take among the network? We prevent waste from reaching landfills, incinerators, and oceans. TGS members tend to go paperless and use more digital media for their reports and contracts. 56% of TGS member firms use eco-responsible products (recycled paper, reusable bottles, and fewer plastics).

The TGS team encourages environmental awareness through webinars about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable business strategy. We know that we can still do even better: we could participate in the signed petition, or use more renewable energies such as setting up solar panels on offices. Today, a quarter of TGS members are currently investing in sustainable energy installations. 

Again, you can download our latest Communication On Progress 2020 (COP) here and see how TGS has improved its engagement towards the 2030 Goals. 

Sources from the UN Global Compact website and the webinar “Managing corporate sustainability performance through the SDG Action Manager” (June 2020).