The Concept of Sustainable Development in the Projection of Modern Transformational Trends: A New Reality and New Opportunities for Business

Abstract

The relevance of the topic of the article is due to the importance of the concept of sustainable development for the successful functioning of enterprises in the new reality. The purpose of the article is to analyze the concept of sustainable development in the projection of modern transformational trends. Tasks: to consider the evolution of the conceptual provisions of sustainable development; perform an analysis of the UN sustainable development goals in the context of the formation of the “green” agenda; assess the impact of the digital transformation trend on sustainable development goals; identify new opportunities for implementing the concept in a new reality; identify ESG transformation risks and digital transformation risks. Methods. System approach, logical analysis, synthesis. Results. In modern conditions of the functioning of economic systems, sustainable development goals are a guideline for developing strategies not only at the state level, but also at the level of individual companies; ESG transformation is a new vector of business development. As a result of the development of globalization and the strengthening of the influence of transnational corporations, the focus of the concept of sustainable development has shifted from the national level to the corporate one. The general direction of the ESG approach to managing the development of economic systems at all levels will be set by international trends. To the greatest extent, the UN Sustainable Development Goals correlate with the social criterion (11 goals), while the environmental criterion and the criterion of corporate governance account for 8 goals each. Full coincidence in all ESG criteria is observed for two goals (“Industrialization, innovation and infrastructure; “Responsible consumption and production”). The most significant for companies in the short term are environmental and social risks; in the long term, the most significant criterion is “assessment of climate risks at the asset level”. When developing and implementing corporate strategies, it is necessary to take into account ESG risks, as well as possible threats to economic security (resource substitution, growth of intellectual property, cyberattacks, industrial espionage). Findings. The updated concept of sustainable development makes it possible to ensure economic growth when it is balanced with the needs of society to improve the quality of life, prevent degradation of the natural environment, but subject to ensuring safety and security.