SUSTAINABILITY

A Collective Responsibility

Global sustainability is a collective responsibility not only to be left to government, but also part of each individual’s civic responsibility. Sustainability requires the availability of social, economic and natural resources for future generations. In simplified terms, it requires us learning how to meet current needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were agreed in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030. There were 17 specific goals identified as crucial to the sustainability of the planet and of humankind.

A renewed awareness and emphasis needs to be placed on the all-important SDGs.

1. No Poverty, 2. Zero Hunger, 3. Good Health and Well-being, 4. Quality Education, 5. Gender Equality, 6. Clean Water and Sanitation, 7. Affordable and Clean Energy, 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth, 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, 10. Reduced Inequality, 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12.Responsible Consumption and Production, 13.Climate Action, 14.Life Below Water, 15. Life on Land, 16. Peace and Justice Strong Institutions and 17.Partnerships to achieve the Goal

It’s interesting to note that of the SDGs listed, those most concerning for humanity as per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey – humanitarian challenges come in as primary concerns, listed in order of importance;

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 16: Peace Justice & Strong Institutions, then followed by environmental and economic challenges such as SDG 7: Affordable & Clean Energy, SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation and SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth.

In the 2021 SDG Conference Bergen held in February, the focus was the COVID-19 pandemic. The unexpected surge of the pandemic creating a global panic, an international economic downturn and increasing mortality rates which presented totally new challenges worldwide. As a result, some of these important sustainability goals have been put on hold while trying to find suitable solutions to curb the pandemic.

This context presents an opportunity for social innovations and impact measures that break barriers to be introduced that can aid in fulfilling the goals and in so doing create further access for societies world over.

The good news is that in recent years the Third Sector, which includes civil society organizations, and more specifically social enterprise have taken on the challenge to align organisational objectives to some predetermined SDGs. Social enterprise organisation’s are known for the dual mission objectives of balancing both social and economic imperatives and their mission is to ensure sustainable social and environmental impact.

Sustainable impact is described as achieving sustainable impact in society or the environment which is evident long after intervention has ended. Impact measurement tools are commonly used in organisation’s tracking the impact over a period of time.

Examples of some generally used measurement tools include corporate sustainability reporting, Triple Bottom Line accounting, the Global Green Economy Index (GGEI), and the Environmental Sustainability Index.

It’s encouraging and important to note that sustainability is still on the agenda and being promoted in various sectors, as well as being related to an array of relevant topics.

In addition, social enterprise organisations are being recognized for the value they add.

Overall, we need to take ownership and continue promoting the idea that sustainability is each and every individual’s concern. If each person chooses just one SDG to support in a practical way, that will make a substantial contribution toward long-term sustainability and ensuring that the next few generations have a secured future.