Sustainable Development Goals | Sustainable Campus

What Are the Sustainable Development Goals?

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were developed in 2015 to serve as a global call to action around the globe, working to reduce poverty, protect the planet, and create the best possible standards of living for citizens of the world by 2030. There are seventeen goals, each indivisible with each other. When work is done to achieve one goal, many times it helps further another - or special precautions must be taken to ensure it does not undermine another. The goals are as follows:

No Poverty

To end poverty in all its forms everywhere.
Includes work involving:
- Extreme poverty
- Social protection systems and measures
- Equal rights for economic resources
- Resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations
- Mobilization of resources for developing countries

Zero Hunger

To end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.
Includes work involving:
- Malnutrition
- Agricultural productivity/resiliency
- Sustainable food production systems
- Genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and animals
- Investment in rural infrastructure
- Food commodity markets

Good Health and Wellbeing

To ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Includes work involving:
- Maternal and infant mortality
- AIDs, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis, water-borne diseases
- Substance abuse
- Sexual and reproductive healthcare
- Universal health coverage
- Hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution
- Vaccines
- Recruitment and retention of health workforce
- Mental health

Quality Education

To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities.
Includes work involving:
- Equitable and quality education
- Early childhood development
- Gender disparities in education
- Literacy and numeracy
- Effective learning environments
- Qualified teachers

Gender Equality

To achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Includes work involving:
- Violence against women and girls
- Early and forced marriage
- Female genital mutilation
- Unpaid care and domestic work
- Women’s full and effective participation in political, economic, public life
- Sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights

Clean Water and Sanitation

To achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
This includes work involving:
- Safe and affordable drinking water
- Equitable sanitation and hygiene
- Water pollution
- Water-use efficiency

Affordable and Clean Energy

To ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services for all.
Includes work involving:
- Affordable, reliable, and modern energy services
- Renewable energy
- Solar, photovoltaics
- Energy efficiency
- Clean energy

Decent Work and Economic Growth

To promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
Includes work involving:
- Economic productivity, Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Labor rights (forced labor, modern slavery, and humantrafficking)
- Safe and secure working environments
- Sustainable tourism
- Banking and financial services
- Taxes

Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

To build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.
Includes work involving:
- Sustainable and resilient infrastructure and grid systems
- Affordable credit
- Clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes
- Technology development in developing countries
- Access to information and communication technology
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Reduced Inequalities

To reduce inequality within and among countries.
Includes work involving:
- Social, economic, and political inclusion
- Elimination of discriminatory laws, policies, and practices
- Social protection policies
- Enhanced representation and voice for developing countries
- Responsible migration and mobility of people
- Persons with disabilities

Sustainable Cities and Communities

To make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
Includes work involving:
- Safe and affordable housing
- Safe, affordable, accessible transport systems
- Sustainable urbanization
- Cultural and natural heritage
- Environmental impact of cities
- Accessible, green and public spaces
- National and regional development planning
- Community-engaged neighborhoods

Responsible Consumption and Production

To ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Includes work involving:
- Sustainable management of natural resources
- Prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
- Waste (food, chemicals)
- Chemical pollution
- Radiation
- Sustainability reporting
- Sustainable procurement practices
- Market distortions
- Oil spills

Climate Action

To take urgent steps to combat climate change and its impacts
Includes work involving:
- Climate-related hazards and natural disasters
- Climate change
- Impact reduction, and early warning
- Atmosphere
- Tropical cyclones

Life Below Water

To conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.
This includes work involving:
- Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Marine pollution (marine debris and nutrient pollution)
- Ocean acidification
- Fisheries (overfishing, unregulated fishing)
- Small Island developing states

Life on Land

To protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
This includes work involving:
- Terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems (forests, wetlands, mountains, drylands)
- Deforestation
- Desertification (degraded land and soil)
- Biodiversity
- Poaching and trafficking of protected species
- Invasive/endangered species

Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

To promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
This includes work involving:
- Abuse, exploitation, trafficking and violence
- Terrorism and crime
- Corruption and bribery
- Accountable and transparent institutions
- Representative decision-making
- Non-discriminatory laws

Partnership For The Goals

To strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
This includes work involving:
- Finance -resources for developing countries
- Technology -environmentally sound technologies
- Capacity building -capacity building in developing countries
- Stakeholder science
- Trade -multilateral trading system
- Systemic issues
- Policy and institutional coherence
- Multi-stakeholder partnerships
- Nonprofits and NGOs
- Data, monitoring, and accountability

How Do We Incorporate These Goals on Campus?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are used as guiding principles across all Sustainable Campus programs. They help shape Sustainable Campus activities, events, and more. For example, the Garnet and Gold Goes Green or G4 program centers around SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, both of which should be featured on all posts and discussions surrounding the program. One place the SDGs can be seen on campus is at the Askew Student Life Center (ASLC) where some of the slides during the pre-show will share various Sustainable Campus initiatives. Additionally, if you follow our Instagram at @fsusustainable , you’ll find more about events, initiatives, and various educational campaigns. In both of these places, at the ASLC and on social media, the graphic will show what SDGs those initiatives and events relate to by using one or more of the SDG icons featured in the section above.

Check out our Course Listing here to find sustainability-related courses in your major! Find out which FSU Faculty are incorporating sustainability into their research here. For more information on how the SDGs are implemented across FSU academics, view the University Review on the UN SDGs here.