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W. T. Woo et al.
1 Introduction
Developed to succeed the United Nation (UN) Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs, 2000–2015), the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2015–2030)
was adopted in January 2016 (United Nation 2015), as a template for sustainable
development globally. The SDGs, officially known as “Transforming our world: the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, consist of an intergovernmental set of
17 goals, 169 constituent targets and 230 indicators. Each of these SDG targets is
designed to meet the criteria for SMART (specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic,
time-bound) for them to be useful and for which the achievement can be objectively
evaluated (Maxwell et al. 2015). These SDGs stipulate global sustainability benchmarks that apply across diverse sectors and national contexts, allowing public and
private sectors to orient and evaluate their activities, strategies, and business outcomes (Sullivan et al. 2018). The SDGs, while not legally binding, offer a pathway
for countries to mobilize efforts to end poverty, address climate change, promote
efficient use of energy and resources, pursue innovation and secure equitable livelihoods for all people (United Nation 2015). A major goal for business entities such as
the Sunway Group is to eliminate carbon emissions, reduce waste, water and fossil
fuel use across its supply chains. This can be achieved by integration of sustainable
development with industrial ecology and business strategy. As social licence to operate is critical to corporate survival, Sunway Group can and must derive competitive
advantage by integrating social-ecological management activities with its business
strategy (Hart 1995; Hart and Dowell 2011). Poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable supply chains are critical factors for success (Hahn and
Kühnen 2013). This can be achieved by embracing a more holistic approach to business strategic model, and by enhancing value in human and natural ecosystems for
the long term (Sullivan et al. 2018). Sunway University embraces the fundamental
SDGs articulated for the business sectors; with JSC pursuing research and outreach
activities to complement the efforts by the business sectors. This paper presents a
brief overview on the achievements, limitations and future strategy to sustain the
vision and support the mission of JSC as an advocate and implementer for SDGs.
Four core areas of competence in SDGs that the authors have pursued are: (a) SDG
3: good health and well-being, (b) SDG 6: clean water and sanitation, (c) SDG 13:
climate action and (d) SDG 17: partnership for the goals. These four SDGs are certainly not stand-alone goals divorced from the other SDGs. For example, SDG 13
is intimately connected to SDG 14: life under water (the ocean goal) and SDG 15:
life on land (the terrestrial goal), viewed from the perspectives of mangrove forests
in mitigating climate change impacts. This connectivity is established as mangroves
occupy areas common to both ocean and terrestrial habitats.
W. T. Woo et al.
1 Introduction
Developed to succeed the United Nation (UN) Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs, 2000–2015), the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2015–2030)
was adopted in January 2016 (United Nation 2015), as a template for sustainable
development globally. The SDGs, officially known as “Transforming our world: the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, consist of an intergovernmental set of
17 goals, 169 constituent targets and 230 indicators. Each of these SDG targets is
designed to meet the criteria for SMART (specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic,
time-bound) for them to be useful and for which the achievement can be objectively
evaluated (Maxwell et al. 2015). These SDGs stipulate global sustainability benchmarks that apply across diverse sectors and national contexts, allowing public and
private sectors to orient and evaluate their activities, strategies, and business outcomes (Sullivan et al. 2018). The SDGs, while not legally binding, offer a pathway
for countries to mobilize efforts to end poverty, address climate change, promote
efficient use of energy and resources, pursue innovation and secure equitable livelihoods for all people (United Nation 2015). A major goal for business entities such as
the Sunway Group is to eliminate carbon emissions, reduce waste, water and fossil
fuel use across its supply chains. This can be achieved by integration of sustainable
development with industrial ecology and business strategy. As social licence to operate is critical to corporate survival, Sunway Group can and must derive competitive
advantage by integrating social-ecological management activities with its business
strategy (Hart 1995; Hart and Dowell 2011). Poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable supply chains are critical factors for success (Hahn and
Kühnen 2013). This can be achieved by embracing a more holistic approach to business strategic model, and by enhancing value in human and natural ecosystems for
the long term (Sullivan et al. 2018). Sunway University embraces the fundamental
SDGs articulated for the business sectors; with JSC pursuing research and outreach
activities to complement the efforts by the business sectors. This paper presents a
brief overview on the achievements, limitations and future strategy to sustain the
vision and support the mission of JSC as an advocate and implementer for SDGs.
Four core areas of competence in SDGs that the authors have pursued are: (a) SDG
3: good health and well-being, (b) SDG 6: clean water and sanitation, (c) SDG 13:
climate action and (d) SDG 17: partnership for the goals. These four SDGs are certainly not stand-alone goals divorced from the other SDGs. For example, SDG 13
is intimately connected to SDG 14: life under water (the ocean goal) and SDG 15:
life on land (the terrestrial goal), viewed from the perspectives of mangrove forests
in mitigating climate change impacts. This connectivity is established as mangroves
occupy areas common to both ocean and terrestrial habitats.