Achieving sustainable value chains by adopting sustainable development goals: a mapping exercise

Owing the global demand for sustainable interventions and the practitioners' willingness to take into account the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their management processes, it becomes necessary to understand how they are put into practice in the business context. Thus, this study aims to explore how an organisation can operationalise the SDGs in their strategic management, leading to the creation of a sustainable value chain based on a framework developed by the authors. Using a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews, observations and secondary data sources, a framework is proposed based on the experience of a Brazilian power company. The proposed model (SDG SVCMM) has four dimensions: (1) design of the organisational value chain; (2) mapping of SDGs in the value chain; (3) selection of SDG priorities and (4) impact monitoring. The present study makes a theoretical contribution with a model that aims to link a sustainable value chain with SDGs. Also, the present research can guide managers in their attempt to generate innovative and sustainable solutions to develop sustainable value chains.