The private sector & UN Sustainable Development Goals : an evaluation of progress using Twitter

In September 2015, the UN unanimously ratified the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, an action which would come to represent ‘a paradigm shift for the planet.’ Under this new agenda, Secretary Ban Ki-moon called for increased participation from businesses around the world to help ensure the success of these global goals. To date, private sector involvement in the implementation, financing, and evaluation of the SDGs has received considerable attention. This report proposes another useful lens to evaluate progress: Twitter metrics. Review of Twitter usage during the annual UN General Assembly (2015- 2019) reveals important trends about which companies engage in the SDGs conversation, and which companies do not. Further analysis of two distinct case studies – Coca-Cola and Unilever – point towards useful recommendations for all companies to consider when engaging with the SDGs