An Update on Our Progress in UN Global Compact’s Sustainable Development Goals Program

At Sparx, we believe in practicing what we preach. As a purpose-driven marketing agency, we work with clients who make the world better through their innovative approaches. Like many organizations, however, we wanted to take our efforts one step further with objective, quantifiable goals. That’s why in October 2021, we signed onto the UN Global Compact’s Sustainable Development Goals program.

According to the UN Global Compact, “The Sustainable Development Goals provide a powerful aspiration for improving our world — laying out where we collectively need to go and how to get there.” Businesses are encouraged to do business responsibly and then “pursue opportunities to solve societal challenges through business innovation and collaboration.” As guidance, there are 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), and to help organizations work toward them, they can join and be provided with an extensive toolbox of resources. 

The UN Global Compact program offers a framework for companies to define what “make the world better” means for them. For Sparx, participating in this program is a commitment to living our values by setting, accomplishing, and creating new objectives. 

Progress with Our Objectives

Since joining the UN Global Compact program, we’re proud to have reached our objectives so far, and we’re challenging ourselves with more ways we can help make the world better. Here are just a few of the initiatives we’ve accomplished to date.  

1.) Make The World Better Magazine and MTWB Day

After launching the first edition of our Make The World Better Magazine in September 2021, we built on that momentum with a second edition launched in April 2022. This edition focuses on the “growing” industry of regenerative agriculture and features interviews with nine companies and organizations in the industry. 

The result? Not only did this edition start and amplify conversations about this important and innovative industry, but our LinkedIn social promo received over 1,000 views. With this exciting milestone under our belt, we’re thrilled to launch our third edition this fall. Be sure to stay tuned!

In the theme of our Make The World Better Magazine, we also hold an annual Make The World Better Day, starting in 2020. During this virtual team event,  we discuss our annual progress and goals for next year, and do team activities including  a hackathon to strategize content marketing for a purpose-driven company. Our team is looking forward to this year’s MTWB Day!

2.) Participation in Key Events

As part of our commitment to education and partnerships with leaders in the social equity and environmental spaces, we sponsored and attended key events in the first half of 2022. 

In October 2021, we had a busy month for events. First, we attended Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth’s Global Inclusive Growth Summit to hear from purpose-driven leaders about inclusive growth. Then, we attended Elevate’s event, Think 2030, designed to catalyze the UN’s sustainable development goals. Lastly, we attended SOCAP21, hosted by SOCAP Global, and gained valuable insights from expert speakers on impact investing, climate action, sustainable development, and more! 

In May of this year, we attended Shift 2022, which according to their website, is “a collaborative digital impact event produced by some of the most passionate leaders in the positive impact space rallying to make business a force for change.”

In June, we attended and sponsored the morning event of the Business for Social Good Conference, hosted by UBC’s Sauder School of Business. During the six presentations, we gained many fascinating insights about sustainability, biases, indigenous economic development (Indigenomics), and more. 

We look forward to applying these insights and continuing to establish connections with individuals and organizations who are making the world better. 

3.) Recognition Holidays

At Sparx, we’re privileged to have staff, clients, and peers from all walks of life. Being a purpose-driven marketing agency,  we believe in the importance of showing our support and celebrating those who are making huge strides in important movements. 

While we understand bandwagoning on trending discussions can be opportunistic and harmful, we took steps to thoughtfully participate in various recognition holidays this year. 

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• Black History Month (BHM): In our first BHM post, we shared a Huffington Post article about Black-owned Canadian sustainable brands. In our second BHM post, we shared content from a  World Economic Forum article about five Black heroes of the environmental movement. 

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• Asian Heritage Month (AHM): In our first AHM post, we shared a list of Canadians of Asian heritage that have made many valuable contributions to Canada and beyond. In our second AHM post, we shared a Government of Canada resource that aims to preserve, celebrate, and educate Canadians about Asian cultures in Canada.

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• Pride Month: In our first Pride Month post, we shared a resource from Queer Events about the history of Pride in Canada. In our second Pride Month post, we reshared our blog, How to Avoid Rainbow-Washing During Pride Month.

• Indigenous recognition days: Sparx gratefully operates on the shared, traditional and ancestral lands of the Kwikwetlem, Katzie, and other Coast Salish Peoples and the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. It’s important, therefore, that we share content related to recognizing the atrocities of Canada’s residential schools and how we as Canadians can be better allies (such as with this post), acknowledging National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (such as with this post), and thoughtfully celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day with this post and Canada Day with this post. 

4.) Donating to Important Causes

Like they say, money makes the world go round. When it comes to important causes, monetary donations can also make a big difference. Here are some of the causes we donated to:

• Wigs for Kids: Sparx President Hamish Khamisa donated 46 cm (18 in) of his long, pandemic locks and raised over $1,300 for Wigs for Kids B.C.
• Movember: In November 2021, Sparx’s mustachioed team members participated in our annual Movember campaign and raised $500 for men’s health. 
• Holiday Gifting Campaign: As part of our annual holiday gifting campaign, we donated on behalf of our clients to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and Feed Ontario. 

What’s Next for Us

While we’re proud to have accomplished our objectives so far, we understand making the world better is a constant work in progress. We will continue to listen, learn, and grow as we move forward on our Sustainable Development Goals journey, and we will continue to be transparent and communicative about what’s next for us. 

In the meantime, be sure to check out our Make The World Better Magazine and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the UN Global Compact’s Sustainable Development Goals program, head here. And if you’re ready to join (yay!), fill in the application form now. 

Saving the World Is a Marketing Problem 

Sparx Publishing Group is a full-service marketing agency creating content to make the world better. Together, we can improve your sustainable marketing game and ensure your impact efforts shine. Reach out to the Sparx team here.