October 30, 2020 Initiatives Toward Achieving the SDGs and Web Design

I recently heard from an in-house Director that an increasing number of our clients are requesting the creation of webpages dedicated to the SDGs. Initiated by the coronavirus pandemic, while it appears that much attention is focused on businesses committed to solving social problems; simultaneously, regardless of industry, I feel that efforts toward achieving the SDGs are starting to accelerate.

The SDGs, an acronym for "Sustainable Development Goals," are a series of universal sustainability objectives that aim to achieve a better society. As listed in the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", adopted in September 2015, specifically the SDGs are 17 goals and 169 targets. For more information, please read the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s release titled “What is the SDGs?”.

While many companies in Japan are already working on the SDGs, in the future, regardless of company size, pursuing social causes, especially making contributions toward the sustainability of society, alongside increasing sales and profits will become the norm. This is because the current initiatives toward achieving the SDGs are an evolution of corporate activities such as CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and CSV (Creating Shared Value).

Naturally, this will increase the need to share SDG-related content and the progress of any initiatives with society. The increase in inquiries about SDGs-related content that I mentioned at the beginning of this Column can be taken as a manifestation of this trend. Although rather brief, we’ve also introduced our actions on a webpage titled “Initiatives toward meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” in the About Us section of our website.

In disseminating such information, it’s also important for web professionals to consider whether the web content itself embodies a design suitable for the context of the SDGs. As I introduced in my Column titled "Sustainable Web Design" published in January, I believe that, in addition to adding SDGs-related content, it’s now necessary to implement designs in which the website itself can contribute to the sustainability of society.

Sustainable web design requirements also include accessibility – i.e. that designs are accessible and usable by everyone. This is in line with the notion that "no one will be left behind" - the basic premise of the SDGs. Ensuring and improving accessibility on the web has long been one of our strengths.

With the renewed importance of international cooperation due to the coronavirus pandemic, the "SDGs era" is beginning in earnest. So, if you have any enquiries or concerns regarding web designs that are appropriate for the current era, please feel free to contact us - we would be most grateful to support your efforts.