Ukrainian context of sustainable development and the role of business in its achievement

Abstract

Sustainable development is one of the most important challenges facing the world community, including for developing countries, and social responsibility, in particular corporate responsibility, could make an important contribution in this regard. This paper is devoted to the study of corporate social responsibility in Ukraine, which can also serve to overcome the consequences of Russian aggression. The key research question is whether socially responsible business in Ukraine is ready to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as identifying for which goals the efforts of business structures will be most noticeable. The application of dialectical analysis demonstrates the growing role of business in achieving the SDGs. Meanwhile, the case analysis shows that a significant number of companies are working voluntarily to mitigate acute social problems. On the basis of an analysis of numerous nonfinancial reports and websites of companies, the authors identified 15 areas where businesses have been providing support to those in need since the beginning of the full‐scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. The main conclusion is that the priority SDGs for business after the war will be: Goal 8 “Decent work and economic growth,” Goal 9 “Industry, innovation, and infrastructure”, Goal 11 “Development of cities and communities.” The activation of business social responsibility will be facilitated by the strengthening of mandatory requirements and standardization of nonfinancial reporting.