A Study to Improve the Social Impact through Contribution to the Sustainable Development

Goals - The Case of Startups & SMEs in Mauritius

NAME SURNAME

Research Proposal

August 2021
Abstract

With major developments in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks within organizations, the importance of sustainability
reporting has also increased. As the world moves towards a unified framework of sustainable
development through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is crucial to measure the
contribution of corporations in achieving these goals. This allows for course correction to
continue the work that is better for the planet and people.

This research aims to study current sustainability reporting methods in Mauritius and suggest an
accessible and organized approach to measuring impact in the form of contribution to the 17
goals. Through the outcome of the study, business heads of startups and SMEs (Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprises) in Mauritius will be enabled to integrate the SDG targets and
indicators into their business operations while also measuring results and reporting on their
impact.

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Table of Contents

Abstract 2

1. Introduction 3

2. Background and Related Research 4

3. Research Questions 6

4. Aim and Objectives 6

5. Research Methodology 7

6. Expected Outcomes 8

7. Requirements / Resources 8

8. Research Plan 9

References 10

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1. Introduction

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations (UN) member
states in 2015, has provided a shared blueprint for people and the planet. The agenda puts forth
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), each with a unique set of targets and indicators, that
encourages action by all countries in a global partnership. While the public sector advocates for
the SDGs through governmental support, numerous studies and policy makers have posited that
corporate support is essential for meeting the SDGs.

Keeping the aforementioned discussion into consideration, this research aims to produce
recommendations to improve the understanding and implementation of the SDGs in Mauritius by
startups and small-to-medium sized businesses while also improving their sustainability
reporting methods. A mix of primary data and secondary sources will be considered. Primary
data on Mauritian startups and SMEs will be collected to check their understanding, reporting
and tracking of the 17 SDGs. For the secondary data, the SDG Action Manager, developed by B
Labs and the UN Global Compact will be studied. According to it’s developers, the SDG Action
Manager enables companies to take meaningful business action and track progress through
dynamic self-assessment, benchmarking and improvement and could emerge as a globally
preferred tool to measure the social impact of corporations. By analysing the primary and
secondary data, this research will make recommendations to enable business heads of Mauritian
startups and SMEs to integrate the SDG targets and indicators into their business operations
while also measuring results and reporting on their impact.

2. Background and Related Research

The need for improved sustainability reporting methods:

Due to popularity and global acceptance, research on the SDGs is abundant, yet there is no
uniform methodology for measuring business progress and impact on the SDGs (Compact,
G.U.G., 2017). Diez-Busto et al. (2021) recommend that the private sector must invest in
including these objectives (SDGs) at the core of its businesses and ensure they have positive
social and environmental impact.

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ICLEI’s Briefing Sheet on Urban Issues by Woodbridge (2015) mentions the need for a ”data
revolution” accompanied by a much needed data ”presentation revolution” suggesting that data
tracking and reporting are critical for achieving the vision of the 2030 Agenda. Woolbridge
(2015) also posits that well-presented, intuitive and communicable data can strengthen decision-
making, progress measurement, and the transparency and accountability of the entire SDG
framework. Through these discussions, a need for improved sustainability reporting methods
through tools that allow businesses to measure their contribution to the SGDs has been
identified.

Lack of effort in sustainability reporting methods in Mauritius:

Mauritius is a small island nation and conservation efforts are crucial in maintaining its delicate
ecological ecosystem. Rising sea-levels as a result of climate change have already begun to
impact it’s coastal inhabitants (Sea level rise Mauritius: Relocation as a prospective solution,
2020). The results in the paper published by Rosati and Faria (2019) show that organizations
reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals through the different tools available are more
likely to be located in countries with higher levels of climate change vulnerability amongst other
factors. Yet, in the performance audit report titled ‘Preparedness for Implementation of
Sustainable Development Goals’, the National Audit Office of Mauritius discovered that
Mauritius does not have an effective strategy to measure the commitment of NGOs and business
communities involved in the implementation of SDGs. While systems to measure results and
monitor progress toward national targets were put in place, they could not be implemented
appropriately. There was also no platform or tool to report progress toward the national targets.
(National Audit Office, Mauritius, 2019). Some corporations, such as Ceridian Mauritius, were
found to actively engage with the United Nations Global Compact and reported on the action
taken towards supporting those goals (Ceridian Mauritius Ltd. – Communication on Progress |
UN Global Compact, 2021) but no Mauritian startup or SME was identified on the UNGC
website.

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Relevance of the SDG Action Manager tool for Startups and SMEs:
Historically, SDG related implementation methods have been mostly aimed at large corporations
with relatively little attention given to SDG activities undertaken by SMEs (Rubio-Mozos et al.,
2019). Most sustainable development tools have been created with large companies in mind and
very few of them have been specifically proposed to SMEs (Johnson and Schaltegger, 2016).
Moreover, local companies in Africa still lag behind when it comes to sustainability reporting
(Gungadeen and Paull, 2020).

The United Nations Global Compact advertises the SDG Action Manager as a tool to provide all
types of businesses with an opportunity to learn about, manage, and directly improve their
sustainability performance (SDG Action Manager | UN Global Compact, 2021). This puts the
SDG Action Manager in a unique position to serve as a global sustainability reporting tool for
businesses of all sizes, especially startups and SMEs. Academic research in sustainability
management tools for SMEs and the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda by SMEs are still
at an early stage (Diez-Cañamero et al., 2020) and while there are studies related to sustainability
reporting, there is not enough research on the SDG Action Manager tool as an effective reporting
framework. This research aims to address this knowledge gap with a focus on the startups and
SMEs in Mauritius.

3. Research Questions

1. How do Mauritian startups and SMEs measure their social impact currently?
2. Is the SDG Action Manager a comprehensive enough tool that can enable Mauritian
startups and SMEs to measure social impact through their contribution to the 17
Sustainable Development Goals?

4. Aim and Objectives

This study aims to:

1. Improve the social impact of startups and SMEs in Mauritius by improving their
understanding of the SDGs

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 2. Enable businesses heads of Mauritian startups and SMEs to incorporate the targets under
the SDGs into their organizations
3. Enable Mauritian startups and SMEs to improve their sustainability reporting methods by
measuring contribution to the SDGs

The objectives of this research are:

1. To collect data from local startups and SMEs to check the current sustainability and
impact reporting in Mauritius
2. To analyse the SDG Action Manager tool developed by B Lab and the UN Global
Compact
3. To compare the current sustainability reporting practices with the suggested tool (SDG
Action Manager) to identify gaps in current reporting
4. To make recommendations based on gaps identified to enable business heads to measure
impact in the form of contribution to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

5. Research Methodology

Collection of primary data (September - October 2021)

Primary data will be collected from Mauritian businesses, mainly startups and SMEs, through a
survey and interview to assess three areas -
1. Understanding of and adherence to the SDGs
2. Current sustainability and social impact reporting methods, if any
3. Reasons for the mentioned reporting methods

Access to secondary data (September - October 2021)

Secondary data can be utilized from the SDG Action Manager website. This free tool is
developed by B Labs and the UN Global Compact and both organizations provide additional
related data on their websites.

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Analysis of primary data (October - November 2021)
The analysis will include both quantitative and qualitative measures to explore the current status
of social impact and SDG reporting in Mauritius. Quantitative analysis of the data set will check
how many businesses incorporate sustainability reporting and contribute to the SDGs.
Qualitative analysis of the data set will look deeper into the rationale behind the preferred
reporting methods. This analysis will be crucial to generate recommendations and thus, the
outcome of this research.

Analysis of secondary data (October - December 2021)

The analysis of the secondary data is exploratory in nature. Using the analysis of the primary
data, the SDG Action Manager tool is studied to determine its effectiveness and relevance in
sustainability reporting for Mauritian businesses.

Comparison of data sets (October - December 2021)

After studying the two data sets, the research can make informed recommendations to Mauritian
businesses about improving sustainability reporting practices and thus their contribution to the
SDGs.

6. Expected Outcomes
1. Current impact assessment and sustainability reporting practices of Mauritian startups
and SMEs are rectified and improved
2. Overall contribution of Mauritian startups and SMEs to the SDGs is increased

7. Requirements / Resources

1. A PC with at least intel i5 processor and 8GB RAM

2. Access to the Internet
3. Google Suite to generate documents, PDFs, surveys and spreadsheets
4. Primary data (to be collected)
5. Secondary data (available on SDG Action Manager website)
6. Additional tools such as Grammarly, Mendeley and Turnitin

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8. Research Plan

AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

ACTIVITIES DEADLINES
W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2

Background Study 20 August 2021

LIterature Review 27 August 2021

Proposal 30 August
Submission 2021

Questionnaire 11 September
Preparation 2021

Primary Data 30 September

Collection 2021

Secondary Data 30 September

Collection 2021

Primary Data 11 October

Analysis 2021

Secondary Data 11 October

Analysis 2021

Interim Report 11 October

Writing 2021

Interim Report 11 October

Submission 2021

Final Report 13 December

Writing 2021

Final Report 13 December

Submission 2021

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References

App.bimpactassessment.net. 2021. B Impact Assessment. [online] Available at:

https://app.bimpactassessment.net/get-started/partner/ungc [Accessed 30 August 2021].

Compact, G.U.G., 2017. Business Reporting on the SDGs: An Analysis of the Goals and Targets.
GRI: Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Diez-Busto, E., Sanchez-Ruiz, L. & Fernandez-Laviada, A., 2021. The B Corp Movement:
A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, 13(5), p.2508. Available at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13052508.

Diez-Cañamero, B., Bishara, T., Otegi-Olaso, J., Minguez, R. and Fernández, J., 2020.
Measurement of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review of Corporate Sustainability Indexes,
Rankings and Ratings. Sustainability, 12(5), p.2153.

Gungadeen, S. and Paull, M., 2019. Sustainability Reporting and Its Impact on the
Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in Island Economies in Africa: A
Comparative Study of Private Sector Organisations in Mauritius, Madagascar and Seychelles.
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Jimenez, D., Franco, I. and Smith, T., 2021. A Review of Corporate Purpose: An Approach
to Actioning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainability, 13(7), p.3899.

Jiménez, E., de la Cuesta-González, M. and Boronat-Navarro, M., 2021. How Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprises Can Uptake the Sustainable Development Goals through a
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Johnson, M. and Schaltegger, S., 2016. Two Decades of Sustainability Management Tools for
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National Audit Office, Mauritius, 2019. Preparedness for Implementation of Sustainable
Development Goals. Performance Audit Report. [online] Port Louis: Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade. Available at:
https://nao.govmu.org/Documents/Reports/P02_Impln_SDG.pdf [Accessed 26 August 2021].

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