Correlation of Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles

Abstract

The article analyzes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were set out at the 2015 United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development. The article provides a comparative analysis of the Millennium Development Goals and SDGs in the context of the efforts of the UN General Assembly in the field of sustainable development. The strengthening of integration within the SDGs of all three components of sustainable development: economic, social, environmental. The emphasis is placed on the environmental aspects of the SDGs and their role both in approving the concept of sustainable development, prerequisites for filling it with specific normative content, and their significance for the development of ESG principles. Taking into account the increasing role of business in the implementation of the concept of sustainable development, the article pays attention to the Principles of Responsible Investment developed by a group of 20 large investors from various countries on the basis of the UN Global Compact. It is concluded that, although the ESG principles are based on the concept of sustainable development and are not legal, nevertheless, special attention from interested individuals and states allows them to have a significant impact on the development of legal instruments.