Challenge Question
How might corporate leaders strategically and effectively incorporate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into their business models?
Partner: MaRS Discovery District
Project Summary
At MaRS we work with companies of all sizes, from one-person startups to multinational conglomerates, who come to us for our advisory on everything “innovation.” We believe that part of this innovation should involve leveraging the power of enterprise to address the core elements of social and environmental justice. We are seeking ways to find a common ground between business innovation and inclusive growth; change the conversation; and create positive change for Canada’s communities, business norms, and beyond. The goal of this project is to improve the way MaRS meaningfully engages in these areas with its partners and ventures by focusing on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN created 17 SDGs in 2015 as a “universal call to action” to protect the planet and improve quality of life by addressing issues including climate action, poverty, education, clean and sustainable resources, inequality, and human rights. Team members for this project will use the SDGs as a benchmark to explore effective approaches for corporate leaders to engage with social and environmental justice, and they will investigate strategies for building future business models/solutions that incorporate the SDGs. Students might have disciplinary backgrounds in business/economics, policy development, computer science/technology, social science, or environmental studies. Team members will be conducting research that focuses on competitive market scans of other innovation-centred organizations and case studies of organizations that are currently contributing to the SDGs in a tangible manner, so they should be comfortable with these and other research methods. Knowledge of management consulting tools and processes is an asset.
Want to learn more? Click here!Sustainable Development Goals
Partner Video
Organizational Profile
The MaRS Discovery District is a not-for-profit corporation founded in Toronto in 2000. Today, MaRS reaches beyond its initial focus as an acronym for “Medical and Related Sciences,” extending to fields such as information and communications technology, engineering, and social innovation. As North America’s largest urban innovation hub, MaRS aims to help the 1,400+ startups and innovators in our ecosystem to create a better world. MaRS brings together the innovation community, public and private sector stakeholders, investors, and citizens to build novel solutions to grow the economy and generate impact, helping to create successful global businesses from Canada’s science, technology, and social innovation. As of 2014, startup companies emerging from MaRS have created more than 4,000 jobs, and between 2011 and 2014 have raised over $750 million in capital investments. Through our consultative engagements and introductions to our startups, our Partner Solutions Group helps MaRS’s corporate partners adopt—and adapt to—disruptive technologies that drive competitive advantage and create social impact.
Partner Website
Learn more about the kind of work the project partner does by browsing their website.
Additional Resources
MaRS Partner Solutions Group website, with info on the relevant work that MaRS does
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Key Words
- Business Innovation
- Consultation
- Social/Environmental Justice
- Sustainability
- United Nations