Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, the United Nations created 17 Sustainable Development Goals aimed to achieve these goals by 2030. All 193 United Nations Member States agreed on these 17 goals, which were created to focus on ending poverty, ensuring prosperity, and protecting the planet.

Sustainability of these goals relate to five specific areas of importance, which are: people, environment, economic resources, and culture. Business models are considered sustainable if they respond to and meet the needs of these specific areas. The United Nations recognizes that, “At its heart the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. Ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tracking climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.”

To achieve the 2030 initiative to achieve environmental sustainability and ensure the health of our planet it is vital for all countries to address the global issues of human rights and equity. Inequalities are not solely determined by economic disparity, but by the achievement of basic levels of good and services for all. This includes better redistribution of wealth and resources both within and between countries. Governance in both economic and environmental issues must be aimed at the balance of new approaches that will build capacities in all levels of society where they are needed. It is extremely important that we as individuals and as a society work toward helping to support the Sustainable Development goals through our personal actions and our lifestyle choices.

Resource:
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022