Communication of Sustainable Development Goals in Social Economy organizations

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable development Goals (SDG) are a universal commitment to mobilize resources, a challenge for each State to meet its own goals, a new strategy that must rule world development programs, an action plan in favor of people and the planet. They have become a new moral commitment and the map that sets the course of governments, cities, companies, organizations, and citizens in the next ten years. Five years after their launch, the perspectives for meeting these goals by 2030 are uneven. There are critical areas and favorable trends in the international sphere (United Nations, 2019; Sachs et al., 2020); in the Spanish landscape, data is not much different, and there is a need to accelerate their implementation (Castiñeira, 2019; Ruiz & García, 2019; Sánchez et al., 2020). In this context, it is relevant to have indicators to assess and measure the degree of progress of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is also necessary to communicate and make them visible to transform the SDG into an option that allows citizens to choose organizations that offer more sustainable products and services (Silos et al., 2018). Communication is much more than an informative process; it is a management process of the relations between people. When speaking about communication as a space for dialogue and participation, it is necessary to address elements such as identity, perception, and the very action of communication for proper analysis. This article contextualizes current commitment and identification with SDG of companies and organizations; it goes deep into the perceptions and knowledge of citizens of these goals and focuses on SDG communication for social economy organizations. This research’s main objective is to review the contributions of social economy organizations to SDG communication. It departs from a perspective of its development, sensitization, and the raising of awareness towards them. To reach this objective, we start with two hypotheses: The first one, social economy organizations’ communication of the SDG is scarce; the second one, SDG communication, responds to a declarative model versus a participative model. The methodology used was a documentary and content analysis of social economy organizations’ communication of the SDG in Spain. To accomplish this analysis, we examined different representative families and entities of this sector. We tracked web sites, social media sites, studies, and reports from various organizations. We paid particular attention to organizations with greater economic relevance and representation in Spain, according to CEPES (Confederación Empresarial Española de la Economía Social -Spanish Enterprise Confederation for Social Economy). In total, we analyzed social media publications, web sites, and news spaces of close to a hundred companies between January 2018 and mid-September 2020. Additionally, we analyzed activities and published news to examine how SDG and the 2030 agenda were communicated, according to the three proposed tiers in the communication model. The three levels of the communication model are: declarative, where organizations limits to commit in writing or participate in SDG related events without thoroughly implementing the development of these goals within the organization’s policies and defined strategies; informative, where the organization considers developing some of the SDG, inform and offer basic training to its employees and may even produce a report of the achievements in a registry format, and monitors and informs about its progress; and participative, were the members of the organization get involved in the implementation and become the leading prescribers and ambassadors of SDG, and also, the organization participates actively in the diffusion of SDG, with full integration within their communication channels. Finally, the article shows four social economy organization cases representing an excellent example of the communication model’s participation level. Regarding the results obtained, the majority of the hundred organizations analyzed have a web presence. However, their presence in the principal social media networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn, is minimal and uneven. Similarly, only a few of the enterprises include SDG references or news on their web sites. The only ones that stand out with information on their websites are the cooperative organizations Cobadu, COPISO, Cajamar, Amiab Group, and Espriú Foundation. Out of 28 organizations associated with CEPES, eleven fluctuate between the communication model’s informative and participative tiers. The ten organizations are the very Spanish Enterprise Confederation for Social Economy (CEPES), CEPES Aragon, Catalunya Cooperative Confederation (Coopcat), Comunitat Valenciana Cooperative Confederation (Concoval), The Spanish Confederation of Consumer and User Cooperatives (Hispacoop), Agro-Alimentary Cooperatives of Spain, Mondragon, Coviran, Federation of Enterprise Associations of Inclusion Enterprises (FAEDEI), Espriú Foundation and Once. The article also analyzes four cases that show the ways a participative communication model may develop. The first case involves Gavina School in Picanya (Valencia), who developed a themed project on human rights and sustainable development goals with students aged 12 to 16 (1º to 4º ESO). Teachers, students, and parents were involved in the initiation and development of the educational project linked to the SDG; the second case also coincides with an academic project from the Sorolla Educational Group. It aimed at raising awareness and spreading the SDG. They produced an environmental project with the educative community’s participation (students, teachers, families, and service personnel). Various external stakeholders (companies and public offices) also participated; the third case involves an agricultural cooperative, Oleocampo, Cooperative Society of Andalucia. Oleocampo is an example of alignment with the 8th SDG creating quality job opportunities, commitment to biomass and edible oil tourism; and the fourth case, where Fruits de Ponent Cooperative includes all 17 SDG in their daily activities and produces sustainability reports. Web pages, social media, and sustainability reports are the main windows of communication of any organization with their context. The analysis’s practical conclusions do not show a decisive wager for SDG from Spanish Social Economic organizations. Very few of the organizations leading their sectors have a well-defined communication strategy for SDG. The cases that include references of the SDG have a communication model in the declarative tier, where the commitment barely extends to the organization’s members or towards society. Nevertheless, this does not mean that there is no concern or they are not working, but they are not communicating. Social Economy Organizations have in their origins SDG specific values, where people, context, and cooperation are fundamental. These values represent an opportunity we can not miss. It is necessary to continue communicating the SDG, communication must be action, and with a time frame of 10 years ahead, there is still much work citizens can do. Social economy organizations are better positioned to influence sustainability and SDG since they have good identity values to be the transmission belt of these goals. This research also shows the opportunity these organizations have to take the lead. It is a landscape of slow processes, where some goals lay far ahead. Social economy organizations have a chance to communicate their philosophy, values, and alignment with the SDG and the 2030 agenda.