Back | Programme Area: Alternative Economies for Transformation, Social Dimensions of Sustainable Development

Fair Remuneration: Tackling Both the Top and Bottom of the Income Pyramid

• Policy Brief: 30
• Code: RPB30
• Project Title: Sustainable Development Performance Indicators
• Programme Area: Alternative Economies for Transformation, Social Dimensions of Sustainable Development
• Author(s): Peter Utting

How are corporations performing in terms of sustainable development? This is what standards and practices related to “triple bottom line” or environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting try to assess. But the current approach has a number of blind spots, rendering it impossible to gauge effectively whether corporations are working for or against a core dimension of inclusive and equitable development, namely distributive justice. Focusing on the issue of fair remuneration, this Brief highlights ways in which measurement and disclosure related to (i) income inequality within the firm and (ii) the adequacy of wages need to be repurposed if the transformative vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to be realized.

UNRISD Research and Policy Briefs aim to improve the quality of development dialogue. They situate the Institute’s research within wider social development debates, synthesize its findings and draw out issues for consideration in decision-making processes. They provide this information in a concise format that should be of use to policy makers, scholars, activists, journalists and others.

• Publication and ordering details
• Pub. Date: 28 Oct 2020
  Pub. Place: Geneva
  ISSN: 1811-0142
  From: UNRISD/UN Publications