Universities, Sustainability and Businesses …
603
2 The Sustainable Development Goals
Brazil has been a crucial protagonist of the Sustainable Development creation and
evolution. In Rio de Janeiro (1992) AGENDA 21
1 was considered the consensus of
humankind’s quest for a Sustainable Planet. It paved the way for diplomacy since
then, and this consensus guided science and policy decisions for the 21st Century.
Ten years later, in Johannesburg (Rio+10), the balancing of the implementation of
Agenda 21 demonstrated progress and failures. The world was still struggling with
the weight of inequalities and violence in the aftermath of September 11 in New York.
Nevertheless, it was the year that Businesses irrupted in the theater of major global
decisions. They brought pragmatism, resources and, knowledge to the table. New
partnerships were launched, and performance issues were brought into the debate.
So, the methodology of establishing concrete and feasible TARGETS was incorporated in the global consensus. This new methodology used a typical approach
used by Businesses, and adopted indicators to measure progress, quantify results,
and evaluate efficiency; it enabled conditions for a global and collective management system. In that moment, Agenda 21 landed in the arena of the MILLENNIUM
DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs),
2 that was the first consensual step adopted by
humanity in the aurora of the III Millennium.
Ten years later, in the Rio+20 Summit held, again, in Rio de Janeiro, the conclusion
was that most of the MDGs really influenced great progress along the way towards
Sustainable Development. Extreme poverty decreased well beyond targets, child
mortality rates were down, less hunger existed, more people were able to read, more
initiatives for Nature conservation appeared, criteria for human activities on land
and sea improved, important economic growth occurred in many regions, etc. The
balance also showed, of course, that there was still much to do ahead, in the same
and in new fronts. But the most important achievement of this process was that the
Planet learned how to build and implement important technological and social tools
to widen a constructive collective path. In this context, three years after Rio+20, the
unanimity of 193 countries adopted Agenda 2030, which includes 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
At that point, more and more Academia became an essential partner required to
improve and sustain the efforts behind the SDGs. Government, Civil Society, and
Business couldn’t sustain the process by themselves; the efforts for the development
of capacities required a long-term endeavor. Science and Technology were more
needed to ensure the achievement of the Goals and to implement most of the international agreements. Knowledge sharing and creation became a must, and Research
was highlighted as crucial for innovation and development. So, this evolution gave
birth to a renewed working table sustained by four pillars: Government, Civil Society, Business, and Universities. The last of the 17 SDGs, the Partnership Goal,
3 is
the one supporting the other 16 for their implementation in practice. So, building
1 Agenda 21—Earth Summit—Rio de Janeiro 1992.
2 United Nations, The MDGs Report 2015.
3 United Nations, TRANSFORMING OUR WORLD.
603
2 The Sustainable Development Goals
Brazil has been a crucial protagonist of the Sustainable Development creation and
evolution. In Rio de Janeiro (1992) AGENDA 21
1 was considered the consensus of
humankind’s quest for a Sustainable Planet. It paved the way for diplomacy since
then, and this consensus guided science and policy decisions for the 21st Century.
Ten years later, in Johannesburg (Rio+10), the balancing of the implementation of
Agenda 21 demonstrated progress and failures. The world was still struggling with
the weight of inequalities and violence in the aftermath of September 11 in New York.
Nevertheless, it was the year that Businesses irrupted in the theater of major global
decisions. They brought pragmatism, resources and, knowledge to the table. New
partnerships were launched, and performance issues were brought into the debate.
So, the methodology of establishing concrete and feasible TARGETS was incorporated in the global consensus. This new methodology used a typical approach
used by Businesses, and adopted indicators to measure progress, quantify results,
and evaluate efficiency; it enabled conditions for a global and collective management system. In that moment, Agenda 21 landed in the arena of the MILLENNIUM
DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs),
2 that was the first consensual step adopted by
humanity in the aurora of the III Millennium.
Ten years later, in the Rio+20 Summit held, again, in Rio de Janeiro, the conclusion
was that most of the MDGs really influenced great progress along the way towards
Sustainable Development. Extreme poverty decreased well beyond targets, child
mortality rates were down, less hunger existed, more people were able to read, more
initiatives for Nature conservation appeared, criteria for human activities on land
and sea improved, important economic growth occurred in many regions, etc. The
balance also showed, of course, that there was still much to do ahead, in the same
and in new fronts. But the most important achievement of this process was that the
Planet learned how to build and implement important technological and social tools
to widen a constructive collective path. In this context, three years after Rio+20, the
unanimity of 193 countries adopted Agenda 2030, which includes 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
At that point, more and more Academia became an essential partner required to
improve and sustain the efforts behind the SDGs. Government, Civil Society, and
Business couldn’t sustain the process by themselves; the efforts for the development
of capacities required a long-term endeavor. Science and Technology were more
needed to ensure the achievement of the Goals and to implement most of the international agreements. Knowledge sharing and creation became a must, and Research
was highlighted as crucial for innovation and development. So, this evolution gave
birth to a renewed working table sustained by four pillars: Government, Civil Society, Business, and Universities. The last of the 17 SDGs, the Partnership Goal,
3 is
the one supporting the other 16 for their implementation in practice. So, building
1 Agenda 21—Earth Summit—Rio de Janeiro 1992.
2 United Nations, The MDGs Report 2015.
3 United Nations, TRANSFORMING OUR WORLD.