The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) define global sustainable development priorities and aspirations for 2030 and seek to mobilize global efforts around a common set of goals and targets. The SDGs call for worldwide action among governments, business and civil society to end poverty and create a life of dignity and opportunity for all, within the boundaries of the planet.
Please click any of the 17 SDG icons below to learn more about the goal and its targets. Later in 2015, more information will be featured for each SDG, including the role of business, and illustrative examples of business solutions, indicators and tools.
Between 2000 and 2015, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provided an important development framework and achieved success in a number of areas such as reducing poverty and improving health and education in developing countries. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) succeed the MDGs, expanding the challenges that must be addressed to eliminate poverty and embracing a wide range of inter-connected topics across the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
The SDGs were born out of what is arguably the most inclusive process in the history of the United Nations, reflecting substantive input from all sectors of society and all parts of the world. Through the UN Global Compact alone, more than 1,500 companies provided input and guidance. The goals are universally applicable in developing and developed countries alike. Governments are expected to translate them into national action plans, policies and initiatives, reflecting the different realities and capacities their countries possess.
While they primarily target governments, the SDGs are designed to rally a wide range of organizations, and shape priorities and aspirations for sustainable development efforts around a common framework. Most importantly, the SDGs recognize the key role that business can and must play in achieving them.
For more information, please see the United Nations website.
