Global Goals Week is happening from 20-29th September. It’s a chance to promote the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, come together in community, call for action, and raise ambition for a better future. But what are the Sustainable Development Goals and why should we all get behind them? Here’s everything you need to know.

What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

In 2015, all United Nations Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The idea behind the agenda was to eradicate poverty, protect the planet from degradation, allow all people to prosper, and promote peace. It was an enormous, global task so the UN broke it down into 17 key Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.

The goals are: no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals. Together, the goals form a united roadmap towards a better future.

Why do we need the Sustainable Development Goals?

We’re facing a great many challenges. In 2017 more than 750 million people went to bed hungry each night, today more than 1 billion people live in extreme poverty, 25% of all mammals are threatened with extinction, and the world generates around 1.3 billion tons of waste annually.

These figures are overwhelming but by breaking down the issues into clear goals, UN Member States, governments, companies, communities, and individuals can focus on specific areas and make much more targeted progress.

And, importantly, the goals are for everyone everywhere, and they take into account both the symptoms and the causes of global issues. So, while on one hand the UN is targeting extreme poverty, it is also targeting quality education which is known to help lift people out of poverty. While decent work and economic growth are a goal, so too is responsible production and consumption so that growth doesn’t come at the expense of the environment.

It's vital that we all work towards a fairer, safer, more just future and the SDGs can help us do that.

What’s happening during Global Goals Week?

The UN says that progress towards the SDGs is “significantly behind schedule”, therefore Global Goals Week 2024 is all about “demanding urgency” and “supercharging solutions”.

In 2023, over 1.3 million people attended Global Goals Week events in person and online, and there’s plenty to get involved with this year too, from a climate film festival to action summits. All the official events are listed on the Global Goals Week calendar, and to get into the spirit of things, you can watch a wide selection of last year’s talks on demand via the SDG action zone.

Citizens are also invited to get involved via social media using the Global Goals Week hashtag to post actions, support, and pledges. Last year there were over 265,000 social media engagements. For visuals, hashtags, templates for social media posts and lots of helpful information for getting involved, use the Global Goals Week 2024 toolkit.

How does Untouched World support Sustainable Development Goals?

To encourage you to get involved, we want to share a little about some of the ways in which we support the SDGs as a brand. For example, we support goal number four, “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”, via the Untouched World Foundation. For over 20 years we have opened up environmental education and inspired the leaders within our young adults so they can become changemakers and tackle some of the most urgent issues facing our future. Our dedicated journal post covers the history and the future of the foundation.

We tackle goal eight, “Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”, with Project U, our not-for-profit capsule collection. Through our handpicked supply partners Joyya, the women who make our t-shirts have access to fair and decent work and a living wage. The women working for Joyya were once marginalised by extreme poverty and exploitation, therefore our collaboration also supports goal two, “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Beyond receiving fair pay for decent work, the women are also given access to other benefits available including professional development opportunities, health education, vocational training, money management classes, and retirement plans.

Since 2018, we’ve been able to give over 206,000 days of clean drinking water via our partnership with B1G1, supporting goal six which ensures the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. And we’re also working to support goal 14, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”, by manufacturing microplastic free clothing.

For many of the goals, there are multiple strands to the ways in which we promote and support them. For instance, goal 15 aims to “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. We achieve this via our environmental education with the Untouched World Foundation, by the promotion of regenerative farming practices, and by our use of possum fibre which protects native species and habitats.

How can you take action?

We have carefully tracked what we do as a brand against all the SDGs, so we know exactly where we are making good progress and where we’d like to do even more. What we do will naturally look different to what you are able to do as an individual, but you can still take a similar approach: look at the list, see which goals you feel like you are already support and then choose one or two that you would like to take action on during Global Goals Week and beyond.

If you choose to take action on goal 15 too, for instance, that could include everything from growing native plants in your garden to joining a campaign to restore natural habitats in your local area. There are no actions that are too small, it’s all about making progress in any way we can.

To learn more about Sustainable Development Goals:

• Read: The UN’s run down of all 17 SDGs
• Watch: The SDG Report 2023
• Listen: The SDG Learncast