Accelerating progress towards the Global Goals

Never have the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) been more relevant.  Global crises, from heatwaves and devastating floods to shocking revelations about the scale of Antarctic ice loss, are being reported with increasing regularity in our chosen news streams.

Marking the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the ambitions of the Global Goals, the 2023 SDG Summit is taking place on 18-19 September 2023.  Convened by the President of the General Assembly the summit marks the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

We continue to play an active role in the implementation of the Scottish sustainable development agenda through our work to combat climate change, tackle litter and waste, restore nature and biodiversity, and protect places.  We are committed to evidencing and demonstrating how our activities contribute to the SDGs and the wider sustainability agenda and have fully aligned our activities across the 17 SDGs and their 169 targets. We have identified 10 goals that we can strongly evidence contribution to and our latest Impact Report celebrates this.

Catherine Gee, our Deputy CEO and Interim Chair of the SDG Scotland Network, commented, “We have consistently called for the SDGs to be used to support and future proof plans to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are prioritised, that coherent policies for a healthy planet are built and that all sectors unite and use them as a framework for building organisational strategies that support the creation of stronger and more resilient economies.

“This summit is set against a backdrop of anxiety, fear and a real threat of destruction of the nature and planet we know; but, there is a real hope and optimism as we move forward.  Yes, we must accelerate progress, but every single positive action we take now will move us towards a more sustainable planet, for our people and nature.”

You can find out more about our work to support the ambitions of the UN Sustainable Development Goals | Keep Scotland Beautiful

If you would like to find out more about the UN SDGs why not join others at the SDG Scotland Network by visiting their website and keep a look out for updates on plans for a Network Gathering on 16 November 2023.