The Observatory of the SDGs in Portuguese Companies at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics (CLSBE), UCP, has been distinguished by the United Nations (UN) as one of the 25 best practices worldwide developed by academic institutions.

This project, developed by the Centre for Responsible Business & Leadership (CRB) at the faculty of Universidade Católica, is the only Portuguese project to be distinguished by the UN.

On 18 September, Filipa Pires de Almeida, deputy director of the CRB, will present the SDG Observatory at an event promoted by the United Nations Academic Impact, which can be watched here. That same week, the UN heads of state will be meeting in New York to discuss the Agenda for Sustainable Development.

According to Filipe Santos, Dean of CLSBE and scientific director of the project, "this UN distinction is a source of pride for the Universidade Católica Portuguesa and the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, which are clearly aligned with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. This is one of several iconic projects that the School is developing to support companies in adopting the Sustainability Agenda. This award is therefore an incentive to continue developing excellent work in these areas."

For Filipa Pires de Almeida, "it is a great honour for the project to receive this recognition from the United Nations. It's the result of teamwork and constant co-operation with the companies involved, which makes this distinction even more important.  This is a unique project in the world with very relevant scientific and practical conclusions. On 3 October we will be holding an event where new data from the second year of this project will be released."

The creation of a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Observatory in Portuguese companies comes at a crucial time for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the country and in the world. We are in the so-called "Decade of Action", so named by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres - a decade of action to accelerate the fulfilment of the SDGs and achieve their targets by 2030.

In this sense, and taking into account the central role of the private sector in the fulfilment of this Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is urgent to understand whether and to what extent Portuguese companies are effectively adopting this Agenda, in order to identify potential barriers to action and opportunities for improvement.

As such, and in line with this commitment, CLSBE, in partnership with the BPI "la Caixa" Foundation and the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, launched this project in September 2021.
The Observatory of the SDGs in Portuguese companies, a totally innovative project, is a milestone in the study of this topic in Portugal and worldwide.