While we may have good hearts and the best of intentions, it is difficult – if not impossible – to effect any significant change without understanding the issues and challenges we face. On the global scale these issues may seem overwhelming, but with each tiny decision we make, we either contribute to the progress or to the problem. Let’s start by taking a look at each of these major world issues and then examining how we can shift our practices to support much needed and lasting change.
Enter… the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Sustainable Development Goals were created by the United Nations to outline and tackle the major challenges facing our world. Each of these 17 goals is an ambitious call to action aimed at building a more prosperous, equal, sustainable, healthy, and peaceful world by 2030.
Listed below are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, along with a brief overview of each issue with details on both progress made and continuing challenges. Along with each goal we have included a ‘Case Studies’ section which will feature articles about specific businesses and organizations – ones that utilize methods, practices, and initiatives which support the respective goals. These case studies are intended to serve as inspiration for ways that businesses and organizations can choose responsible and beneficial practices in order to contribute to the efforts covered by these Sustainable Development Goals. Case studies coming soon!
If you’d like to visit the UN Sustainable Development Goal page for a certain goal, click on its image.
No Poverty
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
In 1990, 36% of the global population lived in extreme poverty, but over the next 25 years that number dropped to 10%. Since 2015 however, the rate of decease has slowed and the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could reverse the trend, stating, “the global pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people, or 8% of the total human population.” This potential rise in poverty threatens to be the first increase since 1990.
Poverty comes in many forms – even those who are employed can still be trapped in poverty – 8% of employed workers were considered to live in extreme poverty in 2018. About 20% of children worldwide live in extreme poverty, and the poverty rate in rural areas is more than three times that of urban areas.
> Case Studies <
Zero Hunger
End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
Approximately 9% of the world’s population currently suffers from hunger and undernourishment. This number has been slowly rising since 2015, and the COVID-19 pandemic could double the number of people at risk of acute hunger or starvation from 135 million to more than a quarter billion.
In order to decrease these rates and ensure food security for the nearly 700 million people who are hungry, we must effect drastic change to the global food and agriculture system. Sustainable food production will be a crucial component in the battle to end hunger.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Good Health and Well-Being
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, significant improvements were being made in increasing life expectancy and reducing child and maternal mortality. With the global health crisis brought on by the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting economic disruption, billions of people’s lives and health around the world have been affected.
Continued efforts and support are needed to address and eradicate a number of diseases and ensure well-funded health systems, access to sanitation and hygiene, and availability of medical personnel everywhere they are needed.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Quality Education
Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning
Education is crucial in improving quality of life through social mobility, employment opportunities, and escaping poverty.
While significant progress had been made in the decade leading up to the COVID-19 crisis, the pandemic has created unprecedented challenges and difficulties in education systems around the globe. More that 91% of students worldwide were impacted by school closures, totaling close to 1.6 billion children. This crisis puts previous global education progress in danger.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Gender Equality
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
There has been progress in protecting and ensuring the fundamental human right of gender equality, though much work is still needed in this area. Increased access to education for girls and greater participation in government and leadership roles by women have helped to advance gender equality.
Still, discriminatory practices persist through both laws and social norms, affecting representation and access to important services, including education. In addition, one out of five women and girls ages 15-49 report experiencing domestic violence within a 12-month period. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women and has intensified both existing inequalities and rates of domestic violence.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Clean Water and Sanitation
Ensure access to safe water sources and sanitation for all
Billions of people, especially those living in rural areas, still lack basic sanitation and access to clean drinking water. In fact, one third of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water. About 40% of people around the globe do not have access to a hand-washing facility with soap and water.
One of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of disease-causing pathogens, including COVID-19, is by proper hand-washing, yet so much of the world lacks even this basic sanitation. Improvements in this area are vital to a large percentage of the global population.
> Case Studies <
Affordable and Clean Energy
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy
Sustainable and accessible energy has seen encouraging progress with increased availability of electricity in developing countries, improvements in energy efficiency, and electrical energy being generated more and more from renewable sources.
While these improvements in electrical energy are signs of progress, more work is needed to ensure clean and safe cooking fuels, increase access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, and widen the use of renewable energy sources beyond the electricity sector.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, one fifth of the countries around the world were destined for stagnation or decline in their per capita incomes. This represents billions of people, many of whom are already trapped in poverty.
Now, due to the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic, billions of people’s lives have been disrupted, with the International Labor Organization estimating “that nearly half of the global workforce is at risk of losing their livelihoods.” These are unprecedented times in terms of both the global economy and the effects on individuals’ lives.
> Case Studies <
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption in an already declining global manufacturing sector. Sustainable industrialization, especially in developing countries, continues to be a key factor in bolstering economic resilience, creating employment opportunities, and encouraging trade.
Innovation and scientific research are important in mitigating economic and environmental crises, as well as for developing sustainable and efficient resource management. Progress in communication infrastructure has led to more than half of the global population now having access to the internet, and in 2019 estimates showed that 96.5% of the world’s population live in an area where mobile network coverage is available.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Reduced Inequalities
Reduce inequalities within and among countries
Some progress has been made in reducing inequalities around the world, including “reducing relative income inequality in some countries and preferential trade status benefiting lower-income countries.”
Despite this, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated existing inequalities, especially in the most vulnerable communities. Areas which were already struggling with social, political, and economic inequalities suffered greater impacts of the global pandemic. Certain vulnerable populations were at an increased disadvantage, including refugees, migrant populations, indigenous peoples, the elderly, people with disabilities, and children.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
By 2030, a projected 60% of the global population will reside in cities. Cities generate more than half of global GDP but also account for about 60% of resource use and contribute about 70% of global carbon emissions.
Current infrastructure cannot support this rate of rapid urbanization. Services such as waste collection, sanitation, and transportation are being outpaced by city expansion and urban sprawl. Air pollution and access to food continue to be issues in overcrowded urban areas.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Responsible Consumption and Production
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Sustainable development and efficient use of resources requires improvements in current production methods as well as conscious consumption with less waste.
Consumption and production necessitate the use of natural resources and result in waste products which cause pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, energy loss, and environmental degradation. Resources must be utilized more efficiently in order to maintain and improve both the global environmental health as well as current lifestyles.
Climate Action
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
2019 was a record year for carbon dioxide emissions as well as being the second warmest year on record. While the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due primarily to travel bans, this is only temporary.
Climate change leaves no country unaffected – changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and increasingly more intense weather events have not only caused economic disruption but also directly impacted the lives of people all around the globe.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Life Below Water
Conserve and sustainably use the world’s oceans, seas and marine resources
A sustainable future depends on the responsible management of our planet’s aquatic resources. The health of the oceans touches everything from the water we drink, to the weather we experience, and even the oxygen we breathe.
Ocean acidification is degrading marine ecosystems and reduce biodiversity. Coastal waters are being negatively impacted by the continued plague of pollution. Conservation areas require proper management and protection, while overfishing, pollution, and acidification must be regulated and reduced.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Life on Land
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss
Almost 75% of the Earth’s surface has been modified by human activities, leaving an ever-decreasing amount of space for nature. Biodiversity loss and ecosystem disruption are accelerating, with approximately 1 million species threatened with extinction.
Preserving natural habitats and tackling the destructive realities of deforestation and desertification has far-reaching implications – we utilize natural resources for food crops, textile sources, and medicine, and depend on ecosystems for producing oxygen, stabilizing weather patterns, and supporting our livelihoods.
> Case Studies <
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Every year, half of the children around the world experience violence. 28% of children under the age of five have no registration of their birth and therefore no proof of legal identity, making them vulnerable to abuses of their rights without access to justice or social services.
Worldwide, 31% of prisoners are currently detained without having received a sentence, a number which has remained largely unchanged over the past 10 years. The number of refugees fleeing conflict reached a peak of over 70 million within the past five years – the highest level in almost 70 years.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
Partnerships for the Goals
Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
International cooperation and global partnerships are the foundation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Financial assistance for developing countries – a necessity to promote growth and trade – has decreased due to a decline in aid donations. The global recession brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for continued aid to help struggling economies recover from the crisis.
> Case Studies <
- Coming soon!
The Ramen Phase supports the Sustainable Development Goals
In using the above Sustainable Development Goals images and themes we do not intend to imply any endorsement by the United Nations, nor do we imply that any of the case studies listed above are endorsed by the UN. All materials and themes are used in good faith to illustrate, educate, and inspire.
Sustainable Development Goals logo and icons are used in accordance with the UN SDG Guidelines.
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