{"id":31818,"date":"2019-07-29T08:30:14","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T06:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/?p=31818"},"modified":"2025-12-12T00:23:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T23:23:11","slug":"social-entrepreneurship-to-meet-the-millennium-development-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/en\/2019\/07\/social-entrepreneurship-to-meet-the-millennium-development-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Entrepreneurship to Meet the Millennium Development Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world is in the middle of a total transformation. Looking for effective solutions to climate change<\/strong>, social <\/strong>and economic inequality<\/strong>, poverty<\/strong>, hunger<\/strong>, sustainability for production systems <\/strong>and consumer habits<\/strong>, and justice<\/strong> have become a priority for society worldwide. To these ends, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)<\/a> and their 169 objectives have a central place in government, regulatory, investor, and consumer agendas. It is an ambitious challenge, known as the 2030 Agenda, that 193 member states of the United Nations agreed to take on in 2015.<\/p>\n

The SDGs are obviously global objectives, but to meet them, we must take local actions that carry us in the direction that these goals indicate. Regulatory pressure and growing awareness among investors and clients are causing companies to shift their focus away from the stockholder to \u201ca greater number of interest groups impacted by business activity,\u201d as a recent report published by For\u00e9tica<\/a> highlights. In this sense, the consulting firm PWC affirms that 72% of companies mention the SDGs<\/a> in their annual reports, 50% have indicated that they have been prioritized, and 19% of CEOs mentioned them in their presentations. The data backs up this global trend.<\/p>\n

Environmental, social, and governance criteria in company management<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Corporate responsibility (CR) has arisen in order to respond to society\u2019s growing demand regarding businesses with more social, sustainable values. It involves voluntary involvement<\/strong> in so-called ESG concerns – environmental, social, and governance \u2013 of the previously mentioned interest groups in day-to-day operations. The objective of this focus on CR is generating a positive, lasting impact in the communities where each organization operates, as opposed to other alternative focuses linked to reputation that typically appear in politically correct institutional statements. Harvard professor Michael Porter<\/a> has already stated that \u201cbusinesses that have creating shared value as a strategy are the ones that will be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following in this line of work, here at Ferrovial Services we\u2019ve recently launched the\u00a0 Strategic Plan for Corporate Responsibility and Social Innovation in Spain. This plan, designed from analyzing our activities and the concerns identified by our interest groups, and aligned with Ferrovial\u2019s strategic plan for Corporate Responsibility, defines six major lines of work to develop in the coming years<\/strong>:<\/p>\n