The UN Global Compact Network UK has published its ‘SDG Storytelling for Sustainability’ toolkit.

Urgent action is required to meet targets aligned to 17 globally-recognised Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are part of the UN’s Agenda 2030. Last year the UN announced the world is only 17% towards achieving the targets.

While the toolkit from UN Global Compact Network UK is principally aimed at helping businesses to articulate more effectively how they are meeting ‘ESG’ (environmental, social, governance) requirements, it also provides useful guidance for how content creators and media officers – for example at sport for development charities – can support the ESG work of corporate partners or sponsors.

Steve Kenzie, Executive Director of UN Global Compact Network UK, explained: “We need bold action to achieve the SDGs and unlock significant business benefits, and we need companies to be confident in communicating their ambitious sustainability efforts. To that end, we have developed the SDG Storytelling for Sustainability Toolkit. We hope it will help align impact with purpose, and support organisations in crafting narratives that drive progress forward, faster.”

LANGUAGE

The toolkit references a popular statistic about story-telling which has been attributed to cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner.

It says: “When people think of advocating for their ideas, they think of convincing arguments based on data, facts and figures. However, studies show that stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone. Furthermore, the SDGs provide a common language to meaningfully communicate and discuss issues around sustainability and sustainable development in a global context.”

ConnectSport CIC helps to train students across multiple Universities in sport, sustainable development and media, and aligns each of their stories to specific SDGs.

Access the UNGC Storytelling Toolkit.