The Gap Frame - Translating the SDGs into relevant national grand challenges for strategic business opportunities

•The Gap Frame clarifies the national and business relevance of the SDGs (GapFrame.org).•The Gap Frame is a normative framework designed to enable a „safe space for all of us“.•The SDG Compass can be enriched by relevant process knowhow & content knowledge.•The outside-in perspective connects the SDGs to white-space business opportunities.•The Gap Frame, True Business Sustainability & the Collaboratory as a tool-kit for PRME.

The global agenda of Grand Challenges until 2030 is set: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) enjoy broad global governmental acceptance and increasing business awareness. This paper takes a concrete look at how we can reach a state-of-the-world by 2030 that is 'safe for all of us'. Getting there requires relevant national measures that are easily accessible for business, which is considered a key transformative force with its innovation power. The global nature and focus of the SDGs make it challenging to serve as a relevant source for measuring national progress. This paper offers a solution to this challenge by introducing the Gap Frame; a normative framework built on the SDGs and developed in a multi-step expert-consultation approach. The Gap Frame supports the global SDG by enriching the SDG Compass, a planning tool developed by GRI, UNGC and WBCSD. Building on the SDG Compass, this paper shows how the Gap Frame translates the SGDs into relevant actions for different nations, and how it can be used as a strategic business tool and as an educational tool for business schools.