The Accelerator challenges companies to set ambitious goals, assess the effectiveness of their current goals in making progress on the SDGs, and integrate the right goals into their core business strategy. It also encourages companies to explore new areas of interest. In addition to finding strategies to accelerate progress toward existing targets, companies may get inspiration to increase the ambition of their targets to better align with the SDGs and the world’s most pressing challenges. According to the UN Global Compact’s Progress Report, 84% of UN Global Compact companies report taking action to support the global goals. However, a critical performance gap exists between businesses’ actions and the global and societal needs defined by the Sustainable Development Goals.

For example, only 39% of companies say they have targets they believe are sufficiently ambitious to deliver Agenda 2030 that are science-based and align with societal needs. At the same time, companies report that the biggest challenge they face in advancing sustainability is embedding it deeply within their strategies, operations, and value chains. In our latest progress report, less than half of participating companies report that they are embedding the SDGs into their core businesses, and only 37% design business models to support them.

SDG Ambition Accelerator is a six-month, outcome-driven Accelerator that challenges and supports companies in setting ambitious corporate targets and accelerating the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into core business management. It consists of a tailored course with on-demand content, live workshop sessions, and global sessions with peers and experts. Participants will leave the accelerator with a better understanding of what it means to set ambitious company goals required to achieve the SDGs and a plan to achieve them. The workshops are informed by the research and deliverables published as part of the SDG Ambition Accelerator and designed by Global Compact Country Networks to recognise and respond to different country contexts. Participants will learn:

▪ How to strategically prioritize actions & goals that will accelerate your company’s contribution to the 2030 Agenda.
▪ How to set targets aligned with aspirational ambition benchmarks to spearhead the transformation of economies and societies.
▪ How to identify subgoals & track performance metrics to evaluate progress and inform iterative decision-making.
▪ How to approach sustainability management and design new business processes & systems that integrate SDG goals across multiple parts of the business.
▪ How to build a business case and generate sustainability buy-in from your company.
▪ A comprehensive 8-step approach to take you through all the steps above, from strategic prioritization to actioning on system opportunities to accelerate integration. 

The objective of the SDG Ambition Accelerator is to increase the number of companies setting ambitious goals and integrating sustainability into their business practice. At the conclusion of the Accelerator, participants will have:
▪ One revised or new goal aligned with an SDG Ambition Benchmark on a priority topic.
▪ A mapped integration journey that outlines how they will achieve their selected goal.
▪ A plan of action to implement the SDG Ambition Approach.
▪ A developed pitch aligned to the SDG Ambition Benchmark to gain sustainability buy-in. 

No, we do not expect companies to set goals for each of the 17 SDGs. Instead, we encourage them to prioritize the SDGs that have the most material impacts on their direct operations and value chains. During the Accelerator, we suggest companies focus on integration planning for one ambitious target, allowing them to adapt to their unique circumstances.  

The SDG Ambition Accelerator uses the 8-step Ambition framework and will be delivered over six months. Company participants can expect a mix of on-demand sessions, live workshops with peer-to-peer breakouts, and self-guided activities. On average, participants can expect:

• 5 hours of on-demand content
• 16 hours of facilitated workshops
• 1-2 hours for global topic sessions
• 1-2 hours of self-guided activities between sessions.

In total, participants should plan to dedicate around 25 to 30 hours to the SDG Ambition accelerator over the program. Some In-Country tracks of the Accelerator will be delivered in three months. Extended deadline to be consulted with country networks.