Universities and the SDGs

Universities have a unique and critical role in helping the world achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their research, teaching, operations and community leadership. This SDSN Australia, New Zealand & Pacific area of work aims to mobilise universities to contribute to the SDGs and highlight the importance of the sector in local, national and international implementation.

Accelerating SDG Practice initiative

This ongoing SDSN AusNZPac and Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) joint initiative provides a forum to share and discuss a range of topics and issues relating to SDGs implementation, with the aim of helping members accelerate and scale up action on the SDGs in their own institutions. Read more>

Accelerating Education for the SDGs in Universities

Launched in 2020, this guide aims to inspire and mobilise higher education institutions to provide their learners with the knowledge, skills and mindsets to contribute to solving the world’s sustainable development challenges and achieving the SDGs. Read more>

Getting started with the SDGs in Universities

Getting Started is a practical guide to help universities, higher education institutions, and the academic sector to accelerate their contributions to SDGs. Launched in 2017, it is now also available in Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese. Read more>

University Commitment to the SDGs

The University Commitment to the SDGs, for signature by the head of the university, showcases university leadership on the SDGs and highlights the important ways the academic sector can contribute to their implementation. Read more>

National university sector input

SDSN Australia, New Zealand & Pacific is working with the university sector to provide input to government consultations and inquiries on the SDGs. Read more>

Other activities

• Integration across the SDGs and the role of research: This joint symposium with Future Earth Australia (FEA) for early career researchers will look at how research can help address interactions between the SDGs.
• Practical approaches to mapping university contributions to the SDGs: This webinar, co-hosted with ACTS, provided practical guidance on how universities can map how existing university activities – such as research expertise, courses and institutional policies – align with and contribute to the SDGs. Read more>
• Compiled list of SDG keywords: This spreadsheet provides lists of SDG-specific keywords, compiled from several universities in our region, which could be useful for mapping large sets of university-related data – such as research publications or course listings – to the SDGs. Read more>