21
example is the World Green Building Council, which represents about 70 members around the world,
and including rating tools such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), The
Living Building Challenge, BREEAM, Green Star, and The Well Building Standard, amongst others.
However, in the larger scale of our global society, the impacts and applications of these voluntary
schemes are minimal.
Undeniably, the most globally reached-for and used framework for sustainable development is the
United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as described previously in Chap. 1. But
what does this mean when an organisation like the United Nations issues such a requirement? It is
worth further investigating these UN SDGs and identify how and if they align with a much-needed
regenerative paradigm.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are at the core of The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development (2015), were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. An
urgent call to all countries was issued to participate in a global partnership to adopt the 17 SDGs (UN,
2015). This agenda for sustainable development is a plan of action that is applicable for people, the
planet and prosperity. As part of this agenda, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals included 169
targets to achieve to demonstrate an integrated balance within the three economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability.
Listed in The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015), these ambitious sustainable
development goals and targets include:
• Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere;
• Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture;
• Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages;
• Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;
• Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;
• Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all;
• Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all;
• Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all;
• Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster
innovation;
• Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries;
• Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;
• Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns;
• Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts;
• Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable
development;
• Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss;
• Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to
justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; and
• Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
According to the United Nations, these goals and targets will stimulate action over the next 15 years
in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet. However, in the recent Global Sustainable
Development Report 2016 Edition (UN, 2016), in Chap. 3, which reports on the perspectives of scientists on technology and the SDGs, there is a large focus on technology, and the needs of a global
society. Generally, the impression from the SDGs and targets is that the overall agenda still revolves
2.4 Sustainable Development Goals
example is the World Green Building Council, which represents about 70 members around the world,
and including rating tools such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), The
Living Building Challenge, BREEAM, Green Star, and The Well Building Standard, amongst others.
However, in the larger scale of our global society, the impacts and applications of these voluntary
schemes are minimal.
Undeniably, the most globally reached-for and used framework for sustainable development is the
United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as described previously in Chap. 1. But
what does this mean when an organisation like the United Nations issues such a requirement? It is
worth further investigating these UN SDGs and identify how and if they align with a much-needed
regenerative paradigm.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are at the core of The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development (2015), were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. An
urgent call to all countries was issued to participate in a global partnership to adopt the 17 SDGs (UN,
2015). This agenda for sustainable development is a plan of action that is applicable for people, the
planet and prosperity. As part of this agenda, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals included 169
targets to achieve to demonstrate an integrated balance within the three economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability.
Listed in The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015), these ambitious sustainable
development goals and targets include:
• Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere;
• Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture;
• Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages;
• Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;
• Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;
• Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all;
• Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all;
• Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all;
• Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster
innovation;
• Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries;
• Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;
• Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns;
• Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts;
• Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable
development;
• Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss;
• Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to
justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; and
• Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
According to the United Nations, these goals and targets will stimulate action over the next 15 years
in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet. However, in the recent Global Sustainable
Development Report 2016 Edition (UN, 2016), in Chap. 3, which reports on the perspectives of scientists on technology and the SDGs, there is a large focus on technology, and the needs of a global
society. Generally, the impression from the SDGs and targets is that the overall agenda still revolves
2.4 Sustainable Development Goals