What sustainable development goals should Australia aim for?

This initiative, led by the Monash Sustainability Institute (MSI), aimed to provide Australian leadership in the development of the SDGs and the solutions for implementing them. It was carried out from 2013 to 2016, primary during the period the SDGs were still being negotiated.

The international SDG discussions and negotiations have been justly focussed on continuing and finishing the work of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in “developing” countries. But what would – and could – the SDGs mean for a developed country like Australia? How relevant are the SDG to Australia? And what sustainable development goals and targets should Australia aim for?

Sir Bob Watson, one of the world’s leading experts on the science of sustainable development and a former UK representative on the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, chaired the initiative.

• Third National workshop: Implementing the SDGs in Australia: This workshop, held on 6–7 May 2015 in Melbourne, brought together leaders and experts from government, business, civil society and academia to develop concrete proposals for how Australia can address priority SDGs implementation issues. Specifically, it aimed to identify the opportunities, the most relevant SDGs, and roles of different sectors in implementation. Workshop website.
• Sustainable development goals and targets for Australia: An interim proposal: This report provides a proposal for sustainable development goals and targets for Australia based on the work undertaken by the initiative so far. It includes background material on the development of the proposal, including discussion papers on the Australian and global challenges for each of the goal areas. Download report.
• Second national workshop on what sustainable development goals should Australia aim for? This workshop took place on 19-20 May 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. It got a broad range of participants to consider the key issues that proposed goals and targets for Australia should cover and the interlinkages between them. It also examined ways to engage various stakeholder groups in Australia on the importance of the SDGs and on implementing them. See workshop summary.
• First national workshop on what sustainable development goals should Australia aim for? This workshop, held on 13-14 May 2013 in Melbourne, Australia, brought together senior leaders from government, business, civil society and academia to examine Australia’s current sustainability performance and challenges, its impact on the world, its relationship with its neighbours, and the role of SDGs in an advanced country like Australia. See news article and workshop report.