The metals industry and the Sustainable Development Goals: The relationship explored based on SDG reporting

Abstract

Growing public interest in environmental, social, and governance issues requires all organizations to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Because the metals industry has been less likely to report engagement with the SDGs than other sectors, exploring its relationship with the SDGs is essential in accelerating its engagement with these goals. This study examines the relationship between the metals industry and the SDGs by analyzing reports of 61 metal companies. The analysis adopts the number of activities associated with SDGs as a proxy indicator in measuring the intensity of association between the company and 17 SDGs. The results show that the metals industry places most focus on SDGs 8, 3, and 12, but its activities are less associated with SDGs 14, 2, and 1 on the whole. Furthermore, this relationship with the SDGs shows different trends among metal producers: the steel industry places great weight on SDG 12 and less on SDGs 1 and 2, whereas the copper industry recognizes the relevance to SDGs 1 and 2. This is attributed to the different positions of the production companies in the supply chain because current SDG reporting seems to be strongly affected by the circumstances and stakeholders they face directly. For further commitment to the SDGs, these findings recommend that metal producers consider the values and benefits that the metals provide throughout the value chain. This study is of value in increasing knowledge about the metal industry's strengths and weaknesses within the SDG framework and suggests future involvement.

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