612
L. A. Moscato et al.
8.3 Measurement
Only 35% of companies reported performance goals related to SDGs, and only 25%
reported indicators to measure performance on the SDGs. Another very relevant
finding is that only 10% of companies have set time bound goals for their SDGrelated activity, despite the fact that targets set by United Nations are time-bounded.
The companies’ progress has also been evaluated by Price Waterhouse,
26 whose
figures show that there is a 92% awareness of the SDGs among the business communities against only 33% of the citizens’. Their statistics show that 71% of the
companies have already started to take action. They are optimistic that by 2020, 22%
of the business responders that reported doing nothing in their sample will decrease to
only 4% for those who are thinking in the usual strategic period of 5 years. This confirms that companies are moving and setting out commitments to specific, actionable,
and measurable business goals.
9 An Emblematic Solution: Continuous Education
It has been noted that the SDGs may pave the bridge between Academia and Business.
In the case of USP, its exhaustive repertory of extension courses for continuous
education
27 forms a formidable repository, built over decades to reflect the demands
of society, as a whole, for professional updating and improvement. With the advent
of the 2030 Goals, the contents of each course have to be continuously molded to
address the three fundamental pillars required for the timely achievement of goals,
namely, the understanding the relevance of the SDGs for each sector of business,
the prioritization of goals, and the design of performance targets and measurement
systems, including their communication to stakeholders.
USP’s approach to combine its expertise with local and foreign experts could be
the formula to minimize the time to attend such challenging demands. Particular
emphasis has to be given for geographic coverage by expanding the availability of
online courses. USP’s flexible norms of short, medium, and long term extended
education courses allows for certified courses from 8, 30, 180, 360 or more hours,
providing several ways to fulfill specific needs of education and training at convenient
hours of the day.
The intense activity of extension courses, which have certified hundreds of thousands specialists since 1976, has proved to be the most effective way to bridge
Academia and Business companies. The 2017 opening of the first UN Regional
Office of the Cities Program at the USP campus has widened the bridge between private sector and Academia, creating cooperation in a neutral scientific environment,
thereby creating further relevant opportunities for joint programs orchestrated with
the 2030 Agenda.
26 Price Waterhouse.
27 USP—EXTENSION COURSES https://cursosextensao.usp.br/.
L. A. Moscato et al.
8.3 Measurement
Only 35% of companies reported performance goals related to SDGs, and only 25%
reported indicators to measure performance on the SDGs. Another very relevant
finding is that only 10% of companies have set time bound goals for their SDGrelated activity, despite the fact that targets set by United Nations are time-bounded.
The companies’ progress has also been evaluated by Price Waterhouse,
26 whose
figures show that there is a 92% awareness of the SDGs among the business communities against only 33% of the citizens’. Their statistics show that 71% of the
companies have already started to take action. They are optimistic that by 2020, 22%
of the business responders that reported doing nothing in their sample will decrease to
only 4% for those who are thinking in the usual strategic period of 5 years. This confirms that companies are moving and setting out commitments to specific, actionable,
and measurable business goals.
9 An Emblematic Solution: Continuous Education
It has been noted that the SDGs may pave the bridge between Academia and Business.
In the case of USP, its exhaustive repertory of extension courses for continuous
education
27 forms a formidable repository, built over decades to reflect the demands
of society, as a whole, for professional updating and improvement. With the advent
of the 2030 Goals, the contents of each course have to be continuously molded to
address the three fundamental pillars required for the timely achievement of goals,
namely, the understanding the relevance of the SDGs for each sector of business,
the prioritization of goals, and the design of performance targets and measurement
systems, including their communication to stakeholders.
USP’s approach to combine its expertise with local and foreign experts could be
the formula to minimize the time to attend such challenging demands. Particular
emphasis has to be given for geographic coverage by expanding the availability of
online courses. USP’s flexible norms of short, medium, and long term extended
education courses allows for certified courses from 8, 30, 180, 360 or more hours,
providing several ways to fulfill specific needs of education and training at convenient
hours of the day.
The intense activity of extension courses, which have certified hundreds of thousands specialists since 1976, has proved to be the most effective way to bridge
Academia and Business companies. The 2017 opening of the first UN Regional
Office of the Cities Program at the USP campus has widened the bridge between private sector and Academia, creating cooperation in a neutral scientific environment,
thereby creating further relevant opportunities for joint programs orchestrated with
the 2030 Agenda.
26 Price Waterhouse.
27 USP—EXTENSION COURSES https://cursosextensao.usp.br/.