How it started

Aviva, Index Initiative, the UN Foundation and the Business and Sustainable Development Commission were brought together by a common belief that the private sector can strongly contribute to, as well as benefit from, the global ambition of the SDGs and that corporate performance benchmarks are powerful levers for change. Each saw that SDG-centred benchmarks were a missing piece of the puzzle, and the WBA represented an opportunity that could not be missed to fill that gap.

In September 2017, the WBA’s consultation phase was launched on the margins of the 72nd UN General Assembly. This phase consisted of a series of roundtable discussions across the world and three online surveys to gather insights from the general public, professionals and key opinion leaders and influencers in the sustainability field.

During the consultation phase, we examined the potential for WBA benchmarks and the Alliance to drive change.

The 2030 Agenda requires that we challenge our current thinking and no longer act in silos. We need to place a strong emphasis on transforming those systems which have the greatest potential to drive economic, environmental and social progress and achieve the SDGs.

WBA has identified seven systems transformations we believe are vital to put our society, planet and economy on a more sustainable and resilient path to accomplish the 2030 Agenda.

The Seafood Stewardship Index was the first benchmark to be published having travelled the long journey from an Index Initiative concept to a fully-fledged ranking of 30 seafood companies across the world. It was launched at the Our Ocean’s Conference in Oslo where industry leaders, civil society and government all joined forces to discuss and exchange ideas on how to save our oceans.