Sustainable Development Goals- Rio Tinto Annual Report 2020

Sustainable Development Goals refers to the goals and priorities which have been decided upon across the world in order to ensure sustainable business development and better aspirations for businesses for the year of 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals call upon businesses and traders in various countries of the world to be more creative and innovative with their business actions. Even though the Sustainable Development Goals have been agreed upon by the governments of various countries in the world, it is actually the business owners and big corporations across the world who have to do the most important job of implementing actions which go with the goals which have been set up. The Sustainable Development Goals cover a huge variety of problems and areas which could lead to a more sustainable environment. These include eradicating poverty, providing good quality education, providing healthcare to all citizens, managing climate change and preventing environmental degradation.

The company which is analyzed in this task is Rio Tinto. Based on their annual report for the year 2020, it has been observed that out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals decided upon by the United Nations, the company had decided to focus on three major goals. These include the SDG 8, SDG 12 and SDG 17. The SDG 12 refers to responsible consumption and production by the businesses. Sustainable Development Goal 12 is one of the most relevant goals for Rio Tinto. They have a business related to mining natural and mineral resources. The SDG 12 says that as they are the business dealing with mining of natural resources, they need to make sure that they operate and process those resources in a sustainable manner and ensure that their products go through a supply chain which is ethical in nature and has a smooth lifecycle. The company talks about how this particular SDG builds upon their existing health and safety standards and their continued efforts to create a safe and healthy work environment for their workers. The company also mentions in their annual report how this SDG 12 aligns with their membership with various stewardship programmed.  

The second Sustainable Development Goal which Rio Tinto decided to focus upon was SDG 8 which was aimed at focusing on decent work and economic growth. The SDG 8 is aligned with their business objectives because of how it includes their values and aims to create a safe and inclusive environment for all of their workers. According to their annual report, Rio Tinto is committed to promoting education and training opportunities in order to develop social skills of their employees and all people affiliated with them for the future. The company is specifically committed to ensuring that the Indigenous and Traditional Owners have a bigger say in the decisions made related to their lands. The company is also working towards issues such as poverty, climate change and pollution and trying to find ways to end them.

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