Tech for good: 6 innovative solutions to hit your SDGs

Tech solutions are going to be the heart of our response to global challenges. In fact, they already are. 

With Global Goals Week in full swing (15 to 23 September) – an annual week of action, awareness and accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals – it feels timely to highlight some of those solutions businesses can apply right now, to hit SDG targets. 

We’re sharing a handful of favourites here that put responsible practices in place for social impact. There’s tech to help you take action for social impact, with the added bonus of improving your customer service and loyalty. And there are other solutions to help you take accountability, through measurement and due diligence. 

Elsewhere this week, the prime minister is giving a masterclass in how not to be accountable on sustainability goals. Rishi Sunak has chosen to avoid attending the annual UN general assembly, because of fears his government’s poor track record on climate policy will be exposed. 

Their lack of ambition only makes it more important for businesses to take bold steps towards SDGs. Let’s show them how it’s done. 

Tech solutions for action on social impact

Blockchain technology for supply chain transparency

Tamper-proof blockchain technology allows you to track the journey of products all the way from source to consumer. 

In terms of social impact, it gives you absolute certainty that supplier promises on things like fair labour conditions, compliance documents and sustainably sourced ingredients are all up to scratch. You can talk about your ethical supply chain with complete confidence, plus see where you might need to make changes. 

One collab between four changemakers – designer Martine Jarlgaard, Provenance, the Fashion in Innovation Agency and A Transparent Company – showed blockchain’s potential to transform fashion supply chain transparency. A full digital ledger was created for Jarlgaard’s supply chain during the project, leading to verified traceability. Shoppers could even access the data by scanning the label on her pieces – a great tool for building brand trust. 

For most businesses, implementing blockchain across the supply chain is going to be more of a piece-by-piece effort, rather than an all-at-once transformation. Focus on one area first, such as sourcing materials or distribution, then keep strengthening the chain. 

Of course, teaming up with experts who know their blockchain architecture from their smart contracts is a good starting point. Companies like Accenture, for example, can make the transition seamless. 

Internet of Things for community engagement

The Internet of Things (IoT) is making waves as a force for good. If you’re not familiar with the term, IoT refers to physical devices embedded with sensors and connectivity, making them a great tool for collecting data. 

Your smart watch, speakers and thermostats are all everyday examples of IoT technology. Meanwhile, businesses are using it for everything from vehicle fleet management to reduce environmental impact, to precision agriculture technology for monitoring crop health and weather patterns. 

In terms of social impact, we love IoT’s potential for data collection and community engagement. Our friends at Ocean Bottle are doing this with their reusable bottles. The new GO bottles launched in April 2023 feature a QR code and smart chip, which make it simple for customers to fund more plastic collection with their bottle, for free. 

The addition of this IoT technology has created a USP that drives repeat product usage and therefore brand loyalty. It’s the perfect example of using this tech to keep building a relationship and creating impact with your community beyond their initial purchase. 

Private catalogue management software

As the name suggests, private catalogue management software brings together products and services into easy-to-navigate catalogues. It streamlines the procurement process, giving you access to multiple suppliers in one place. 

This makes ethical sourcing and purchasing straightforward and accessible. That’s precisely why we created our Team Gifting Platform: to make connecting with purpose-led suppliers and elevating your social impact through corporate gifts simple.

The platform allows you to create a custom gifting page for employees and clients, full of do-good gifts from our social enterprise suppliers. Recipients choose their own gifts and enter their own delivery details. That frees you from tedious, time-consuming spreadsheet admin. Win-win. 

Social procurement software

Of course, it’s not just corporate gifts where social procurement can make a difference. You can use all of your buying power to be more ethical and sustainable. But doing the legwork to source alternatives can take time and resources you don’t have to spare. 

This is where social procurement software comes in. As well as tools that pull together and compare impact-led suppliers, there are options out there which allow you to embed social impact directly into your existing buying processes. 

Our punch-out technology is one example. Instead of creating a separate portal, we integrate thousands of social impact products into your procurement system. 

By putting social enterprise suppliers front and centre of your procurement, it makes shopping social the easy choice as well as the ethical one. 

Tech solutions for accountability on social impact

Automated impact reporting

It’s all well and good implementing new tech solutions for social impact. But how can you be sure it’s actually helping your biz progress as a force for good? 

The answer is impact reporting. This is essential for monitoring and improving your actions as a socially responsible business, helping with everything from stakeholder engagement to refining your ESG strategy. 

Our procurement and gifting tools include automated impact reporting. You receive reports showing the ripples of change your purchases create across different social and sustainability parameters. 

A breakdown might look something like this… 

This shows that the money you’re investing into our products – and therefore, into social impact – is making a real, tangible difference. It’s excellent fodder for any ESG reports on your to-do list. 

There’s other software out there that will help you with social impact measurement across your whole business and supply chain too. Like the Social Value Portal, which lets you procure, measure, manage and report social value in one place. 

Artificial intelligence for due diligence

As well as measuring outcomes, being accountable on social impact looks like doing your due diligence before and during a project. Entering into things with a thorough assessment of potential partners, suppliers and stakeholders helps you maintain high ethical and sustainable standards. 

More and more businesses are using the power and speed of artificial intelligence (AI) for their due diligence processes. AI can automate processes, analyse large volumes of data, quickly identify potential risks and keep up to date with changing regulations and standards. 

There are sustainably minded due diligence tech suppliers out there with AI capabilities to help you. EcoVadis is one example. Last year, they added AI and data mining technologies to their intelligence solution, IQ Plus. It’s being used to give businesses even greater transparency across all sustainability dimensions. 

The benefits of this kind of software are invaluable – from entering into partnerships with ethical suppliers, to avoiding reputational damage further down the line, to enhancing trust with stakeholders. 

The value of collaborating with tech partners

You might be thinking, is it worth investing in tech solutions when you could take a DIY approach to action and accountability on social impact? 

Well, to paraphrase Ocean Bottle founder Will Pearson, if there are already organisations out there doing a brilliant job, why not use them?

The access to expertise and innovation you get with tech partners is unrivalled. Not to mention far more cost-effective than having dedicated in-house teams working on similar solutions.  

Ways to collaborate and learn about tech solutions this Global Goals Week

1. Chat to us! Get in touch if we’ve piqued your curiosity about our solutions or you’re after more recommendations for impact-led tech. 
2. Get the next generation involved. Share the Global Goals Challenge with young entrepreneurs aged between 15 and 24. 
3. Listen to the Talking Tech and Social Change podcast, which looks at how technologists can be a force for good.