Integrating the SDGs into capital investments: an interventionist research study informed by a serendipitous approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research explores how and to what extent companies can integrate sustainable development goals (SDGs) into their capital investment decisions. For a company that wants to become sustainable, evaluating where best to invest one's capital presents a practical problem because most tools for assessing returns on investment rely solely on financial indicators, not on broader measures of worth, such as environmental or social impacts. Additionally, existing frameworks that incorporate non-financial indicators tend to be targeted at shareholders looking to invest in entire companies, not at companies looking for ways to embed the SDGs into their capital outlays. To solve this problem, we undertook interventionist research devised around serendipity theory where we worked with a group of companies to develop a tool for helping companies to align their capital investments with specific SDG indicators. The result was a co-developed framework for supporting decisions about a company's capital investments informed by the SDGs. The research lasted for 17 months and evolved through five phases: identifying the problem; selecting a pilot investment and identifying the SDG targets; identifying key performance indicators (KPIs); critically assessing the KPIs and finalising the KPIs. This research contributes to accounting theory and practice in two ways. First, it outlines serendipity theory as an effective framework for guiding interventionist research towards finding helpful solutions to practical accounting problems. Second, it offers a 4-step method for integrating the SDGs into capital investment decisions. This answers the call for accounting research to engage with companies in the SDGs' pursuit.