Page 77 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 2

STS461 Maciej T.
Beginning with description of the work with the follow up on private sector
activities, the text below sheds some light on different issues Statistics
Denmark has experienced during the work on the follow up on the SDGs:

2. Methodology
Private sector was on the ‘SDG board’ right from the adoption of the 2030
Agenda. In Denmark, the measurement of contribution of the private sector
to the global goals was and is a heavily discussed topic. The activities of the
private sector were and still are followed by various stakeholder groups that
request more and comparable data about them. There are various challenges
in measuring contribution of the private sector to the 2030 Agenda in a
statistical way. Firstly, the 2030 Agenda itself does not have many indicators
that are directly applicable to the activities of the private sector. In
consequence, there are parallel attempts to propose new indicators with
relevance for the follow up on the private sector, including activities conducted
by UNCTAD or GRI. Indicators proposed here pose new demands to data
availability which to a large extent are not yet met by the current statistical
production. Besides data gaps, the comparability of company CSR reporting is
lacking. This challenges the NSOs in compiling statistics, as the CSR reports
provide one of the best information sources for approximating the intentions
of the 2030 Agenda.
The ultimate ambition of following up on private sectors’ activities
regarding ‘doing no harm’ and ‘positive pursuits’ is far from accomplished.
Statistics Denmark is currently conducting a pilot project that aims to present
figures on private sector that complement the existing follow-up on the 2030
Agenda. The project focuses on company strategies regarding the SDG and
on some selected targets. To reach this goal, Statistics Denmark has prepared
a specific ‘company’ questionnaire and has plans of complementing the replies
with figures on UNCTAD core indicators. The full results of the pilot are to be
found on Statistics Denmark SDG web site.
The pilot project mainly addresses non-agricultural private sector and
consists of the following elements:
a. Presentation of enterprise statistics that complements the ongoing
compilation of global indicators and the Danish follow-up on the SDGs.
b. Presentation of statistical results on how and in what areas Danish
enterprises contribute to the fulfilment of the global goals. This part
includes a questionnaire.
c. A number of companies will get a possibility to present themselves and
their contribution to the fulfilment of the global goals on our SDG platform
in a specific section for enterprises – within the boundaries of Statistics
Denmark acting as a neutral ‘communicator’ of data.

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