Foundational Documents

Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 

This document is the official SDG resolution adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The resolution charts the next 15 years of international sustainable development and provides shared declarations, commitments, and a new vision. In addition to establishing the 17 goals and 169 targets, the resolution also provides high-level information on means of implementation, follow-up, and review.

Global Priorities, Educated Solutions: The Role of Academia in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals    

In June 2018, the International Alliance of Research Universities hosted a half-day program on the role of academia in advancing the SDGs during the annual conference of the International Sustainable Campus Network. Led and organized by IARU professionals and faculty members, the event featured presentations from both IARU and non-IARU universities. It was composed of two plenaries, four breakout sessions, and a keynote address from Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. This report showcases the presentations, discussions, and cross-cutting themes that provided the inspiration and foundation for this publication.

Towards integration at last? The sustainable development goals as a network of targets

Using network analysis techniques, this paper demonstrates the linkages between the SDGs. It highlights that some thematic areas covered by the SDGs are well connected among one another. Other parts of the network have weaker connections with the rest of the system. The SDGs as a whole are a more integrated system than the MDGs were, which may facilitate policy integration across sectors.

Articles, Reports, & Books

Rising Leaders on the Sustainable Development Goals: Findings from a Global Survey of Business Schools

This report documents a new global study measuring awareness and engagement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals conducted by Yale University in collaboration with Global Network for Advanced Management and Schlange & Co. Yale’s Center for Business and the Environment offers an overview of major report findings as well as a visualization of the data in Tableau.

GreenTech LIU: A Roadmap for a Collaborative SDG Campus

This document outlines the framework and goals for a digital platform developed by the Long Island University GreenTech team. The goal of the integrated platform is global collaboration by faculty and students on sustainable initiatives and education.

Role for academic institutions and think tanks in speeding progress on sustainable development goals

This article lists and elaborates on suggestions for academic institutions and think tanks on what to focus their energies on to improve global adoption of the SDGs. It emphasizes both pushing for policy changes and researching policy effects, as well as knowledge sharing among influential institutions.

Green Guide for Universities: IARU Pathways Towards Sustainability 

This International Alliance of Research Universities guide consists of nine chapters that address key areas for sustainability at universities – these range from laboratory design to managerial and organizational aspects.

Getting started with the SDGs in Universities

This document is a broad guide for universities laying out steps they can take to reach the sustainable development goals, as well as assist others. It focuses particularly on those which are directly related to education.

Maximizing the impact of the partnerships for the SDGs: A practical guide to partnership value creation

(From purpose section this document) “The purpose of this guidebook is to support organizations and partnerships to maximize the value created by collaboration towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The guidebook deconstructs what “value” means and the types of value that partnerships can create. It also explores the range of partnerships that can be established and how the nature of the partnership influences the type of value created for the partners and for beneficiaries. Understanding these issues in greater detail should support organizations in the process of identifying, designing and managing effective partnerships that deliver the greatest value, and to think more ambitiously and creatively about how they partner.”

Helpful Websites

Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform

The Division for Sustainable Development Goals in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs provides substantive support and capacity-building for the SDGs and their related thematic issues. This website provides key information about UN system actions on the SDGs, key stakeholders and partners and resources.

Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development

The Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD) global portal is a tool developed by the International Association of Universities; it provides access to actions and initiatives developed around the world to promote sustainability.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) SDG Knowledge Hub

The SDG Knowledge Hub is an online resource center for news and commentary regarding the implementation of the SDGs. The platform contains news, original commentary from IISD experts, guest articles, a calendar of events, and more. 

Which SDG is the most solvable, and how?

This website has the results and analysis from the 2018 UNGA survey about the title question. It outlines some ideas about how the global community can begin to reach these goals, and why some seem more achievable than others.

Courses & Videos

SDG Academy

Free and online sustainable development courses and resources provided by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Courses cover interdisciplinary topics related to the SDGs and are either instructor paced or self-paced.

The Sustainable Development Goals – A global, transdisciplinary vision for the future

A course designed and taught by Professor Katherine Richardson, University of Copenhagen, who is a member of the 15-person panel appointed by the UN Secretary General to write the 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report.

How to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

This 7-week course, instructed by Jeffrey Sachs, provides an in-depth look at planning for SDG implementation. The range of topics covers financing, policy development, roles of stakeholders, and more. A comprehensive understanding of the societal transformations needed to achieve the SDGs is conveyed.

The SDG Accord Webinars

A web seminar to explain the overview of the ranking system of Universities based on accomplishment of the SDGs.

Projects & Implementation

Campus 2030 Challenge

University campuses are at the heart of the change: in 10 years, they should have achieved the 17 SDGs to be able to welcome and educate the next generation! What will these Campuses be like? Imagine one of the projects that will allow these sites to be considered socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

Implementing the sustainable development goals at University level 

 A mixed-methods case study from the International University of Catalonia on the principles and practice of sustainable development in university curriculum. It provides a quantitative analysis of SDG indicators in the university curriculum and semi-structured interview data.

University of Cape Town Research Reports

A collection of the research reports from past years and current research highlights from the University of Cape Town.

University of Michigan Sustainability & Postdoctoral Fellow

The University of Michigan has a post-doctoral research opportunity, focusing on research products related to sustainability and development and also the coordination of tasks for the Sustainability and Development Initiative.

The Times Higher Education University Impact Ranking  

The Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The indicators provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons across three broad areas: research, outreach, and stewardship. This first edition includes more than 450 universities from 76 countries.

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)  The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS)

AASHE STARS 2.2 provides a framework for reporting on the SDGs. Open to HEIs in the United States of America. 

EAUC: The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education The SDG Accord

The EAUC SDG Accord Task and Finish group established a simple reporting mechanism for signatories of the SDG Accord. The group consists of executive-level members from education, academics, sustainability staff, and sustainability networks, and is also being fed into by AUDE, WWF, the Office for National Statistics and UN DESA.