Implementation of the Concept of Sustainable Development in the Activities of Transnational Corporations

The purpose of the issue is to identify the features, new forms and mechanisms of participation of transnational corporations in the implementation of sustainable development goals and to identify possible directions for further involvement of transnational business in achieving global sustainable development. The paper defines the concept of sustainable development, explains its key aspects, highlights and characterizes the main directions of usage in the activities of transnational corporations. Using a three-pronged approach, the SDG Compass, the methodology for monitoring progress toward achieving the SDGs, the classification of the SDGs by the criterion of “significance” for business, as well as the method of case studies, the contribution of corporations to achieving the sustainable development goals was measured and tracked. The cases of participation of individual TNCs (transnational companies Unilever, Coca-Cola, SBERBANK of Russia) in the implementation of the SDGs and their experience in reorienting their own business strategies to build sustainable development served as the basis for analysis and allowed the authors of the article to conclude that participation in the concept opens up broad prospects for transnational corporations—ensures the growth of consumer demand, allows to attract a PPP mechanism, highly qualified personnel, receive additional investments, benefits and subsidies from the state, opens up prospects for the implementation of new projects, makes it possible to enter the market with new services and innovative solutions, etc. As a result, companies gain additional competitive advantages, which, in turn, becomes a strong incentive for them to strengthen their activities in this area.