United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The 2030 Agenda is made of up of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to transform our world and tackle the root causes of poverty. Known as the SDGs, the goals build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the 15 years; for example, under goal 15 ‘life on land’ is the specific target to ‘promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally’.

Working towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is essential to achieving sustainability at a global level. In order to be successful, everyone needs to do their part towards the SDGs, including the private sector.

In fact, the SDGs provide a $12 trillion opportunity for business, as found in a recent report by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission. Adopting the SDGs at the centre of the world’s economic activity could open up a step-change in growth and productivity, and a new growth strategy for the private sector that opens up valuable market opportunities while creating a world that is sustainable and inclusive. The 2017 stocktake, however, indicated the need for major investments in the near-term to accelerate progress to meet the targets by 2030.