Sustainable development goals

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) came into effect on January 1, following a historic United Nations Summit in 2015 during which all UN member states adopted the agenda. The SDGs are an urgent call-to-action for global collaboration, which recognizes that social and environmental challenges are complex and intertwined. This framework of goals and targets for achieving sustainable development is now utilized globally.

To learn more about the SDGs and to gather inspiration on how it might connect to your course, you may wish to browse through this excellent resource developed by Aditi Garg at the University of Saskatchewan. In this resource, specific steps to integrating the SDGs are built into reflection questions for educators.

You can also navigate directly to a specific SDG by clicking directly on its icon below:

No poverty SDG goal 1 Zero hunger SDG goal 2 Good health and well-beign SDG goal 3 Quality education SDG goal 3 Gender equality SDG goal 5 Clean water and sanitation SDG goal 6 Affordable and clean energy SDG goal 7 Decent work and economic growth SDG goal 8 Industry, innovation and infrastructure SDG goal 9 Reduced inequalities SDG goal 10 Sustainable cities and communities SDG goal 11 Responsible consumption and production SDG goal 12 Climate action SDG goal 13 Live below water SDG goal 14 Life on land SDG goal 15 Peace, justice and strong institutions SDG goal 16 Partnerships for the goals SDG goal 17

Writing learning objectives for the SDGs

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed learning objectives for the SDGs that include sustainability competencies and instructional objectives discussed earlier in the Quick-start guide. This helpful resource also suggests topics and lists examples of pedagogical approaches and activities that align with the specific SDG.

For example, if you choose to focus on Goal 1 – No Poverty within the behavioural domain, some learning objectives could be:

Example learning objectives from UNESCO

  • The learner can plan, implement, evaluate and replicate activities that contribute to poverty reduction.
  • The learner can publicly demand and support the development and integration of policies that promote social and economic justice, risk reduction strategies and poverty eradication actions.
  • The learner can evaluate, participate in and influence decision-making related to management strategies of local, national and international enterprises concerning poverty generation and eradication.
  • The learner can include poverty reduction, social justice and anti-corruption considerations in their consumption activities.
  • The learner can propose solutions to address systemic problems related to poverty.

Aligning existing learning outcomes with SDGs

You may wish to align your sustainability learning outcomes closer to your existing course or program outcomes. In that case, the recommended step is to assess which SDG from above relates the closest to your existing learning outcome and use language from the SDG to enhance it. Following is an example from the University of Saskatchewan.

Example: Math

Original learning outcome: Support a position or decision relevant to self, family, or community by analyzing statistical data, as well as considering other factors. (Math Foundations 20, Saskatchewan)

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SDG Outcome: Learners will be able to communicate issues of health, including sexual and reproductive health, and preventative strategies. (Goal 3 Health and Well-being)

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SDG + Math Outcome: Learners will be able to support a position regarding health to community by analysing and communicating statistical data.

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A guide to embedding education for sustainability in higher education courses by Centre for Teaching and Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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