Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global agenda, adopted by countries in 2015, with a vision of ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
The 17 SDGs and 169 targets are part of what is known as the 2030 Agenda, which recognizes "that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development." In adopting the agenda, countries resolved to take the "bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind."
The goals and targets are universal, meaning they apply to all countries around the world, not just poor countries. Reaching the goals requires action on all fronts – governments, businesses, civil society and people everywhere all have a role to play.
To learn more about efforts to implement the SDGs around the world, visit IISD’s SDG Knowledge Hub.
- Blog
How Can We Successfully Integrate the Sustainable Development Goals Into Our Current Policies?
How can we make sure that the Sustainable Development Goals are part of our governments' polices?
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How Can the SDGs Contribute to Gender Equality?
How are the Sustainable Development Goals looking to ensure gender equity. This International Women's Day, Livia Bizikova takes a look.
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Taking the Leap to Realign Trade and Sustainable Development: Now is the time
Senior Fellow Mark Halle explains why now, at this critical juncture, is the time to realign the trade sector and the concerns of the sustainable development agenda.
Read More - Interactive
Sustainable Development Goals Interactive Tool
Discover how IISD research products relate to one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals in different regions of the world.
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IISD Perspectives on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
As the Sustainable Development Goals were in the final hours of negotiation in 2015, and in the early days of implementation in 2016, IISD experts reflected on the implications for countries, the UN system, and our own programs of work. These articles, first published as a series of blog postings, are the outward expression of that thought process.
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Eight Ways the Private Sector Can Apply the Sustainable Development Goals
Cory Searcy looks at how companies can start implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in their business.
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Ending Hunger: What would it cost?
The International Institute for Sustainable Development and the International Food Policy Research Institute joined forces to estimate what it would cost to end hunger, and the contribution that donors need to make.
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Achieving the SDGs: Can we manage the pace?
The suite of global agreements adopted last year mostly focused on the coming 15-year period. So the question arises—can the intergovernmental community manage the pace necessary for success in the short time frame available?
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How Canada Can Be a Global Leader on the Sustainable Development Goals
In an opinion piece originally published in The Hill Times, Julia Sánchez (CCIC) and Scott Vaughan argue that other countries are voluntarily reporting on progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, while Canada has no clear plan.
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Trade in Transforming Our World: Options for follow-up and review of the trade-related elements of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
This paper draws on the experience of IISD and ICTSD in trade, sustainable development, and international governance to provide an overview of how and where the trade elements of the 2030 Agenda might best be reviewed.
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