Sustainable Goal Research Paper Example

The selected issue for analysis is poverty eradication, which is one of the United Nations' sustainable development goals. Accordingly, the 2030 agenda appreciates the importance of eradicating all forms and poverty (Wysokinska, 2017). Lukas (2015) asserted that extreme poverty is one of the most outstanding global issues and a sustainable development requirement. The sub-goals of poverty eradication reduce extreme poverty for people everywhere the globe, reducing at least by half the number of men, women, and children languishing in poverty, and implementing a social protection system and measures for all individuals. By 2030, the United Nations hopes to have achieved conclusive coverage of the world's vulnerable and needy people (Stern, 2001). Therefore, this analysis focuses on how businesses have addressed extreme poverty globally, assesses whether the approach was social, economic, environmental, or political, and explains the importance for companies to address the issue.

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About 4 billion people in the world live in destitute and deprived conditions (Downs, 2008). They are consumed by war and diseases and rely on different forms of aid from the government, such as subsidies, polygonal assistance, and patronage (Downs, 2008). Besides, the impoverished people are marginalized hence preventing them from apprehending their potential. Businesses have worked towards reducing the margin to include those residing in extreme poverty. Currently, business-minded persons have stressed the importance of integrating social considerations into the primary business techniques. Primarily, this includes targeting low-income customers and strengthening the supply chains by involving the community and treating the members as essential components of the inclusive business strategies, otherwise called the "Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP)" concept. The idea stresses the importance of businesses to realize the fortune that lies at the four billion individuals at the bottom of the pyramid. The group can act as producers and consumers of products and services offered in a company.

Other organizations are advocating for the use of business strategies or corporate social responsibility to address social goals instead of economic gain (Baumüller et al., 2013). Profit maximization is becoming possible for companies whose business initiatives are guided by social objectives such as poverty eradication, which is one of the measures undertaken by companies to reduce extreme poverty in society. Inclusive business is another technique employed to eradicate poverty by organizations. The strategy entails an emphasis on the benefits of engaging the poor along the supply chain. Inclusive business models can include the people living in poverty on the demand side as clients or the supply side as producers, business owners, and staff members. The UNDP advocates for inclusivity in business practices as a means of fostering poverty eradication and is regarded as one of the ways the private sector can contribute to human development and the achievement of sustainable development goals (Baumüller et al., 2013).

Most of the solutions deployed in corporations to eradicate poverty globally focus on social and economic components. In particular, companies stress the importance of corporate social responsibility and have community members and issues facing them in mind when forming business strategies. Corporate social responsibility tries to address the social component of the problem where companies address the population's poverty issue. According to Baumüller et al. (2013), the BOP concept emanated from realizing the "fortune" that businesses could have from working with the four billion people living in poverty. Thus, the approach is economical and benefits companies while at the same time helping in poverty eradication. Inclusivity solves the marginalization issue by bridging the society's poverty gap; hence, it is a socially inclined solution. The approaches are promising and could help in reducing the extreme poverty issue.

Businesses should focus primarily on inclusivity since it will ensure that poor people realize their potential. It not only helps in eradicating poverty but also assists the marginalized in exploring and identifying the immense business opportunities that exist from them in society. Further, Baumüller et al. (2013) argued that corporations could foster poverty eradication by implementing programs and projects to improve living conditions in underdeveloped areas. Poverty alleviation enables people to be capable workers, and professionals can utilize the goods and services offered in organizations.

Poverty eradication is essential for companies since poverty weakens those in the middle class. Notably, the middle-class people in society are the drivers of economic growth in a country. The financial strength is based on middle-class purchasing power, which fuels the economy and workforce contributions to increase economic productivity and growth. Poverty causes health outbreaks and burdens in society. In effect, this weakens the working population, hence hindering them from working as usual, which is detrimental to a company's growth and profitability. From this, one can see the importance of poverty eradication in society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, poverty is one of the primary issues facing the people residing in the globe. Over four billion people live in poverty and poor conditions. The extreme poverty facing individuals in the world affect the purchasing power that determines organizations since a country's economy. When purchasing power is unavailable, the economy is adversely affected. Poverty eradication is one of the sustainable development goals. Ending poverty is a goal for companies with adopted practices such as inclusivity practice, corporate social responsibility, and the BOP approach. The conclusion is that poverty is a menace that should be eradicated, and companies have a role to play in ending it.

References

Baumüller, H., Husmann, C., & von Braun, J. (2013). Innovative business approaches for the reduction of extreme poverty and marginality? Marginality, 331–351. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7061-4_20

Downs, T. J. (2008). Transforming impact assessment for sustainable development and poverty eradication. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, 161(1), 39–53. https://doi.org/10.1680/ensu.2008.161.1.39

Lukas, E. N. (2015). Green economy for sustainable development and poverty eradication. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s5p434

Stern, N. (2001). Businesses are helping to overcome global poverty. Ivey Business Journal. https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/businesses-are-helping-to-overcome-global-poverty/

Wysokinska, Z. (2017). Millenium Development Goals/UN and Sustainable Development Goals/UN as Instruments for realising sustainable development concept in the global economy. Comparative Economic Research, 20(1), 101–118. https://doi.org/10.1515/cer-2017-0006