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Frame 18
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Aligning SDG,
Targets, and
Indicators

Align portfolio or project with Sustainable Development Goals, Targets & Indicators

WHAT IS UN SDG

The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, also known as The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, comprises 17 Global Goals, 169 associated targets, and 230 individual indicators. This international collaboration between 193 UN Member States and global organizations and agencies is outlined in the UN Resolution A/RES/70/1 established in September 2015.

 “We don’t have plan B because there is no planet B.”

- United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon

Before the SDGs, the UN launched the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of 8 Global Goals outlined in 2000. There were mixed reactions at the close of the 2015 campaign as to the success of the project. Most agreed that the absence of targets and indicators hindered the actionable and measurable collaborative effort. This aspect was purposefully incorporated in the subsequent SDGs.

The SDGs are seen as a step towards international collective impact efforts, focusing and guiding humanitarian efforts worldwide.

Aligning with SDG

WHY ALIGN WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

There are important reasons why companies align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in their impact reporting. 

  • Communicate local impact in a global language. While there are multiple impact frameworks, standards, and tools, most organizations still struggle to measure, manage, and communicate the impact. The SDGs offer a shared impact framework and language, making it more accessible worldwide and easier to compare results across the globe.
  • Millennials seek transparency when accepting jobs, buying products, and making investments.  The corporate impact is much more important to this generation than previous generations. They are asking hard questions beyond surface-level statistics and reporting.  How are you creating an impact? What are the externalities? Who are stakeholders and beneficiaries? Aligning with the SDGs in the right way shows that a company understands the context of its desired impact and its role in the greater global effort for its specific impact area.
  • Social impact has become a centerpiece in business strategy. Business needs permission (positive engagement) from people to do well. One of the biggest challenges facing private equity, corporate, impact investors, and other asset owners is how to build a portfolio that defines and generates true impact. This challenge is addressed by groups such as the Impact Management Project (IMP), TONIIC T-100, and OCED.

 

A global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The Partnerships for SDGs online platform is the United Nations’ global registry of voluntary commitments and multi-stakeholder partnerships made in support of sustainable development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Partnerships for SDGs platform also facilitates sharing knowledge and expertise among multi-stakeholder SDG-related partnerships and voluntary commitments and providing periodic updates on their progress.

Sustainable Development Goal indicators should be disaggregated, where relevant, by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, and geographic location, or other characteristics, by the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.1

What is SDG Washing, Impact Washing, or Green Washing?

SDG REPORTING VS. SDG WASHING

What is SDG washing? There are two ways to define it:

  • When companies make a profit by doing well on one SDG, one situation occurs when companies are harming other SDGs.
  •  The other involves businesses who talk about their commitment to SDGs yet don’t have any data to back the impact reports. In other words, they’re all bark and no bite...

I know that as a socially-conscious company, the last thing you want to do is fall into this SDG-washing category. So here are some tips to avoid falling into the trap:

  • Align your indicators to SDG targets and not just SDG Goals
  • Measure and report on the actual outcomes, not just the activities
  • Measure unintended and negative outcomes too
  • Collaborate in multi-stakeholder partnerships

Everyone knows that there are 17 Global Goals, but did you know that the UN has also defined 169 SDG targets that give us a clear guideline on each goal's impact and context? 

For example, goal 4, “Quality Education,” has 10 targets. Target 4.3, as an example, talks about ensuring equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university. So if you have a program with a high-quality education, but it’s not “affordable” according to your community and context, you can’t really claim that you align to SDG 4. 

Let me give you another example. Your organization has a program focused on educating students from an underserved community, and you want to report alignment to SDG 1, “No Poverty.” You assume that by providing job-related skills to your students, they will find a job and reduce their poverty level. 

So What do you do next to make sure you measure what matters in terms of SDGs? You guessed it! Let’s first examine the list of targets for SDG 1 to understand what poverty reduction means. Target 1.1 talks about eradicating extreme poverty, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day. 

First, make sure to know what the poverty level is in the community you are working with; is it $1.25 a day? Has the data been updated recently? 

Second, make sure to collect data that indicates how much money your beneficiaries are making in their new job. If their salary doesn’t go above the poverty line, it doesn’t matter that they have a new job; the specific target is not being fulfilled. 

If we go back to our previous example, reporting on activities would mean tracking the number of people enrolled in your program or the graduation rate. While these numbers are important to track your program’s performance, it is more important to understand how the skills learned in your program are useful to the participants in their current jobs. Or how having this additional training improves the participant's chances to get a job that satisfies them. 

The main purpose of impact measurement is to identify what we are doing right and improve. You obviously don’t intend to affect your stakeholders in any way, but sometimes it could happen without you noticing. 

For example, you could be focusing on providing skills and tools for a community to subsist on fishing. Maybe your community members are using the fish to feed their families, which is great for SDG Zero Hunger. Maybe they are even making good money by selling the fish to other communities, which helps SDG No Poverty. But if you are not careful, you could end up affecting SDG Land underwater, which has a target focused on ending overfishing and implementing plans to restore fish stocks. 

Your SDG efforts will be strengthened not only in terms of credibility but also in reach and impact if you partner with experts like UN-based subgroups, NGOs, cause-related organizations, and think tanks. 

 

So, to recap:

  • When aligning to the Sustainable Development Goals, make sure to understand their underlying targets. 
  • Measure outcomes and collect the appropriate data to make sure that your organization is really improving your beneficiaries' lives according to the SDG targets. 
  • Manage negative outcomes to make sure that you don’t affect your stakeholders in ways that contradict other SDGs. 
  • Collaborate with similar players to increase your reach and impact. 
How to align with SDG?

Aligning with SDG Goals and Targets

Businesses cannot thrive in poverty, inequality, unrest, and environmental stress. The SDGs are anticipated to generate at least US$12 trillion worth of market opportunities by 2030, which makes a strong business case for investing in opportunities aligned with the SDGs for investors and businesses. 

So if you’re a fund manager, you might want to focus on SDG-aligned companies. And if you’re a social enterprise or nonprofit, it’s in your best interest to demonstrate your impact as part of the efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

To help you achieve those goals, here are the 4 actionable tips for selecting the right outcomes, metrics and aligning them to SDG:

  • Social Value International (in short, S-V-I) is changing how society accounts for value through principles, practice, people, and power. Their seven principles guide businesses, investors, and accelerators in aligning social value in decision-making.  According to Social Value International’s principles of “Involve Stakeholders” and “Understand what changes,” you should talk to your beneficiaries and identify what they consider material outcomes. Then, explore how the outcomes are linked to each other and develop indicators to measure if the outcome has occurred and how much of the outcome.
  • Before you develop your indicators, before creating any bespoke metrics, please take a look at the IRIS+ standard developed by the  Global Impact Investing Network. IRIS+ has a catalog with generally accepted output and outcome metrics already aligned to SDG and categorized by impact areas such as Agriculture, Climate, Education, and many more.  Chances are 40% to 50% of your metrics needs will be covered by IRIS+, and even if you have to create the rest of the metrics as custom, you will have a better idea of how to define them.
  • If you’re still not clear where your impact fits in the 17 SDGs, don’t take a guess; review all the SDG targets in detail.   For example, if your organization provides free breakfast to students in rural schools, you might think you fit in SDG 4 - Quality Education. But in reality, this SDG only focuses on equal access to quality education to acquire relevant skills. However, looking at SDG 2 - Zero Hunger, you might find alignment with target 2.2 related to ending malnutrition in children. On the other hand, you could be aligned to more than one SDG at once. For example, if you run a program to help smallholder women farmers in a developing country, you might be hitting the goals “No Poverty,” “Zero Hunger,” “Gender Equality,” and “Decent Work & Economic Growth.” 
  • Finally, if you’re in the private sector working on private impact investment funds, impact investment bonds, or enterprise, you might want to keep an eye on

 

SDG Impact

This initiative focuses on generating and leveraging private sector capital in delivering Sustainable Development Goals.   SDG Impact is in the process of refining the “SDG Impact Practice Assurance Standards for Private Equity Funds,” which include:

  • The Practice Assurance Standard for Private Equity
  • The Certification Framework
  • The Mapping Principals

Although these standards are still in the pilot phase, you can already see that they are pretty much aligned with other frameworks and principles that we have been reviewing in this channel. So, that gives you a good idea of where the market is going. 

So, to recap:

  • Any organization working to benefit society or the planet can measure impact in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals. 
  • A large amount of capital is moving towards organizations and initiatives supporting the achievement of the SDG. 
  • To make the SDG alignment process smoother for your organization, start with the standards, frameworks, and guidelines that are already available. 

Step-by-Step SDG Alignment

The UN SDGs consist of 17 goals and 169 targets with 230 agreed-upon indicators. Aligning to the SDGs requires planning and understanding the SDGs framework and many other standards from your industry.  SoPact's Impact Cloud can help create and align an organization's theory of change with SDG indicators while also combining other standard metrics (and/or custom metrics) smartly.

  • It makes SDG reporting simple, whatever the size of the organization.
  • What is Sustainable Development Goals SDG or Global Goals?
  • Why is it essential to avoid SDG washing?

SDG INDICATORS VS IMPACT INDICATORS

SDG Indicators are Global and National and not effective for organizational impact

HOW TO ALIGN IMPACT INDICATORS

If you are a corporate entity,  an impact investor, an international development agency, or a philanthropic organization, and you need to align your metrics to SDG goals and targets, you need metrics mapping. SoPact has built about 4000 metrics, which help make this process seamless and cost-effective.

For example,  a business would likely use SDGCompass-based mapping with 10+ standards such as GRI, CDP, etc. Impact investors might use TONIIC T-100 mapping between SDG and IRIS. The Sopact platform includes all these frameworks. Users can also cross-link various other standards such as GRI (which tends to use more qualitative metrics) with IRIS (which tends to have quantitative metrics). By linking them together, different users can create a rich reporting result. 

If you are starting the impact measurement process, the first step is to define the goals and targets as per a Theory of Change. Then you'll align with other standards as described above and select appropriate metrics. 

The UN's Sustainable Development Goals Report from 2017 cites that "the rate of progress in many areas is far slower than needed to meet the targets by 2030," flagging the urgency to accelerate action. While working hard towards achieving global goals, how can we prevent over-claiming?

Impact Investment Reporting Starts Here but needs a lot more.

Aligning Impact Metrics With SDG

Standard metrics are an essential language to learn and use because they help us communicate with different stakeholders who may be accustomed to using that language because of its relevance to their context. It must be noted that standard metrics have both pros and cons for social impact measurement. 

  • You’re communicating your impact to a particular audience (within a particular field). Think of standards as languages for communicating with particular audiences (including your funding source(s)). For example, if the stakeholder you are communicating with is an impact investor, 8 out of 10 times, they will prefer to use IRIS metrics. There are many other languages: nonprofit languages, sustainability languages, environment languages, women’s empowerment languages, etc.
  • You want to learn the best practices for writing metrics. Extensive research and development have already been completed. Even if you end up tweaking the standard to fit your needs, you can learn lessons from the standards catalogs.

 

  • SDG Indicators
  • IRIS Indicators
  • B Analytics

Themes & SDG-05-2

 

GIIRS Metrics are commonly known as IRIS Indicators, are defined by GIIN.   IRIS Metrics is a comprehensive IRIS catalog or database of indicators often used by impact investors and small growing businesses. While IRIS Metrics is fairly adopted, there are many challenges with IRIS indicators, mainly by limited scope in both comprehensiveness and context-specific necessity by entrepreneurs. 

IRIS metrics are designed for small and growing businesses (SGB)  to measure an investment's social, environmental, and financial performance. 

Key Guidelines:

  • Align your impact investment indicators with sustainability Linking IRIS with GRI
  • This is a great way of aligning both qualitative indicators from GRI to quantitative IRIS metrics.
  • Effective reporting perhaps requires aligning SDG Goals & Targets with IRIS and GRI indicators. 

B Impact Assessment is a tool that allows impact investors allows to measure a company’s overall social and environmental performance.  B Impact Assessment does so by measuring the impact of a business on all stakeholders through an online platform.  B Lab also provides a comprehensive tool called B Analytics. On the other provides a tool that automatically aggregates and analyzes B Impact Assessment data from the companies impact investors work with.

The final result is GIIRS rating and bench-marking, which can allow investors to understand relative performance.  There are many challenges on going all out on this path for various reasons.

  • IRIS metrics or indicators are limited and mostly output oriented.  Do not always from context-specific to core impact with a higher level of specificity.
  • B Impact Assessment is a good tool to understand the relative company's governance, environmental, and social policies; it cannot understand the company's real social change. It would be best to have a more comprehensive tool like SoPact Impact Cloud.
  • GIIRS rating provides a bench-marking; most investors find it difficult as it doesn't allow them to understand a true social impact or outcome 

 

Complete Guide

SDG INDICATORS

GOAL 1: No Poverty

Goals and targets (from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development) Indicators UNSD Indicator Codes†
Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere    
1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day 1.1.1 Proportion of population below the international poverty line, by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural) C010101
1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions 1.2.1 Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age C010201
  1.2.2 Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions C010202
1.3 Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable 1.3.1 Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable C010301
1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance 1.4.1 Proportion of population living in households with access to basic services C010401
  1.4.2 Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, (a) with legally recognized documentation, and (b) who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and type of tenure C010402
1.5 By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters 1.5.1 Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population C200303
  1.5.2 Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP) C010502
  1.5.3 Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 C200304
  1.5.4 Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies C200305
1.a Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions 1.a.1 Proportion of domestically generated resources allocated by the government directly to poverty reduction programmes C010a01
  1.a.2 Proportion of total government spending on essential services (education, health and social protection) C010a02
  1.a.3 Sum of total grants and non-debt-creating inflows directly allocated to poverty reduction programmes as a proportion of GDP C010a03
1.b Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions 1.b.1 Proportion of government recurrent and capital spending to sectors that disproportionately benefit women, the poor and vulnerable groups C010b01

 

GOAL 2: Zero Hunger

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture    
2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round 2.1.1 Prevalence of undernourishment C020101
  2.1.2 Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) C020102
2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons 2.2.1 Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age C020201
  2.2.2 Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight) C020202
2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment 2.3.1 Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size C020301
  2.3.2 Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status C020302
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality 2.4.1 Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture C020401
2.5 By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed 2.5.1 Number of plant and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture secured in either medium- or long-term conservation facilities C020501
  2.5.2 Proportion of local breeds classified as being at risk, not at risk or at unknown level of risk of extinction C020502
2.a Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries 2.a.1 The agriculture orientation index for government expenditures C020a01
  2.a.2 Total official flows (official development assistance plus other official flows) to the agriculture sector C020a02
2.b Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round 2.b.1 Agricultural export subsidies C020b02
2.c Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility 2.c.1 Indicator of food price anomalies C020c01

 

GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages    
3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births 3.1.1 Maternal mortality ratio C030101
  3.1.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel C030102
3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under‑5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births 3.2.1 Under‑5 mortality rate C030201
  3.2.2 Neonatal mortality rate C030202
3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases 3.3.1 Number of new HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population, by sex, age and key populations C030301
  3.3.2 Tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 population C030302
  3.3.3 Malaria incidence per 1,000 population C030303
  3.3.4 Hepatitis B incidence per 100,000 population C030304
  3.3.5 Number of people requiring interventions against neglected tropical diseases C030305
3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being 3.4.1 Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease C030401
  3.4.2 Suicide mortality rate C030402
3.5 Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol 3.5.1 Coverage of treatment interventions (pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services) for substance use disorders C030501
  3.5.2 Harmful use of alcohol, defined according to the national context as alcohol per capita consumption (aged 15 years and older) within a calendar year in litres of pure alcohol C030502
3.6 By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents 3.6.1 Death rate due to road traffic injuries C030601
3.7 By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes 3.7.1 Proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15–49 years) who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods C030701
  3.7.2 Adolescent birth rate (aged 10–14 years; aged 15–19 years) per 1,000 women in that age group C030702
3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all 3.8.1 Coverage of essential health services (defined as the average coverage of essential services based on tracer interventions that include reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and service capacity and access, among the general and the most disadvantaged population) C030801
  3.8.2 Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or income C030802
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination 3.9.1 Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution C030901
  3.9.2 Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene (exposure to unsafe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All (WASH) services) C030902
  3.9.3 Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisoning C030903
3.a Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate 3.a.1 Age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among persons aged 15 years and older C030a01
3.b Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non‑communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all 3.b.1 Proportion of the target population covered by all vaccines included in their national programme C030b01
  3.b.2 Total net official development assistance to medical research and basic health sectors C030b02
  3.b.3 Proportion of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basis C030b03
3.c Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States 3.c.1 Health worker density and distribution C030c01
3.d Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks 3.d.1 International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity and health emergency preparedness C030d01

 

GOAL 4: Quality Education

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all    
4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes 4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex C040101
4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre‑primary education so that they are ready for primary education 4.2.1 Proportion of children under 5 years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex C040201
  4.2.2 Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sex C040202
4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university 4.3.1 Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex C040301
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship 4.4.1 Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill C040401
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations 4.5.1 Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregated C040501
4.6 By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy 4.6.1 Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex C040601
4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development 4.7.1 Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights, are mainstreamed at all levels in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment C040701
4.a Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all 4.a.1 Proportion of schools with access to (a) electricity; (b) the Internet for pedagogical purposes; (c) computers for pedagogical purposes; (d) adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities; (e) basic drinking water; (f) single-sex basic sanitation facilities; and (g) basic handwashing facilities (as per the WASH indicator definitions) C040a01
4.b By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries 4.b.1 Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships by sector and type of study C040b01
4.c By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States 4.c.1 Proportion of teachers in: (a) pre-primary; (b) primary; (c) lower secondary; and (d) upper secondary education who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training (e.g. pedagogical training) pre-service or in-service required for teaching at the relevant level in a given country C040c01

 

GOAL 5: Gender Equality

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls    
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere 5.1.1 Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex C050101
5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation 5.2.1 Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age C050201
  5.2.2 Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence C050202
5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation 5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18 C050301
  5.3.2 Proportion of girls and women aged 15–49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age C050302
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate 5.4.1 Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location C050401
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life 5.5.1 Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments C050501
  5.5.2 Proportion of women in managerial positions C050502
5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences 5.6.1 Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care C050601
  5.6.2 Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education C050602
5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws 5.a.1 (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure C050a01
  5.a.2 Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control C050a02
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women 5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex C050b01
5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels 5.c.1 Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment C050c01

 

GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all    
6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all 6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services C060101
6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations 6.2.1 Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water C060201
6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally 6.3.1 Proportion of wastewater safely treated C060301
  6.3.2 Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality C060302
6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity 6.4.1 Change in water-use efficiency over time C060401
  6.4.2 Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources C060402
6.5 By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate 6.5.1 Degree of integrated water resources management implementation (0–100) C060501
  6.5.2 Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation C060502
6.6 By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes 6.6.1 Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time C060601
6.a By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies 6.a.1 Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan C060a01
6.b Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management 6.b.1 Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management C060b01

 

GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services 7.1.1 Proportion of population with access to electricity C070101
  7.1.2 Proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology C070102
7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix 7.2.1 Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption C070201
7.3 By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency 7.3.1 Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP C070301
7.a By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology 7.a.1 International financial flows to developing countries in support of clean energy research and development and renewable energy production, including in hybrid systems C070a01
7.b By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support 7.b.1 Investments in energy efficiency as a proportion of GDP and the amount of foreign direct investment in financial transfer for infrastructure and technology to sustainable development services C070b01

 

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all    
8.1 Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries 8.1.1 Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita C080101
8.2 Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors 8.2.1 Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person C080201
8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services 8.3.1 Proportion of informal employment in non‑agriculture employment, by sex C080301
8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10‑Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead 8.4.1 Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP C200202
  8.4.2 Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP C200203
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value 8.5.1 Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age and persons with disabilities C080501
  8.5.2 Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities C080502
8.6 By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training 8.6.1 Proportion of youth (aged 15–24 years) not in education, employment or training C080601
8.7 Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms  8.7.1 Proportion and number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age C080701
8.8 Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment 8.8.1 Frequency rates of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries, by sex and migrant status C080801
  8.8.2 Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining) based on International Labour Organization (ILO) textual sources and national legislation, by sex and migrant status C080802
8.9 By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products 8.9.1 Tourism direct GDP as a proportion of total GDP and in growth rate C080901
  8.9.2 Proportion of jobs in sustainable tourism industries out of total tourism jobs C080902
8.10 Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all 8.10.1 (a) Number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults and (b) number of automated teller machines (ATMs) per 100,000 adults C081001
  8.10.2 Proportion of adults (15 years and older) with an account at a bank or other financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider C081002
8.a Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries 8.a.1 Aid for Trade commitments and disbursements C080a01
8.b By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization 8.b.1 Existence of a developed and operationalized national strategy for youth employment, as a distinct strategy or as part of a national employment strategy C080b01

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation    
9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all 9.1.1 Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road C090101
  9.1.2 Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport C090102
9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries 9.2.1 Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita C090201
  9.2.2 Manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment C090202
9.3 Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets 9.3.1 Proportion of small-scale industries in total industry value added C090301
  9.3.2 Proportion of small-scale industries with a loan or line of credit C090302
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities 9.4.1 CO2 emission per unit of value added C090401
9.5 Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending 9.5.1 Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP C090501
  9.5.2 Researchers (in full-time equivalent) per million inhabitants C090502
9.a Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States 9.a.1 Total official international support (official development assistance plus other official flows) to infrastructure C090a01
9.b Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities 9.b.1 Proportion of medium and high-tech industry value added in total value added C090b01
9.c Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020 9.c.1 Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology C090c01

 

GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries    
10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average 10.1.1 Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the population and the total population C100101
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status 10.2.1 Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income, by sex, age and persons with disabilities C100201
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard 10.3.1 Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law C200204
10.4 Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality 10.4.1 Labour share of GDP, comprising wages and social protection transfers C100401
10.5 Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations 10.5.1 Financial Soundness Indicators C100501
10.6 Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions 10.6.1 Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations C200205
10.7 Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies 10.7.1 Recruitment cost borne by employee as a proportion of yearly income earned in country of destination C100701
  10.7.2 Number of countries that have implemented well-managed migration policies C100702
10.a Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements 10.a.1 Proportion of tariff lines applied to imports from least developed countries and developing countries with zero-tariff C100a01
10.b Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes 10.b.1 Total resource flows for development, by recipient and donor countries and type of flow (e.g. official development assistance, foreign direct investment and other flows) C100b01
10.c By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent 10.c.1 Remittance costs as a proportion of the amount remitted C100c01

GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable    
11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums 11.1.1 Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing C110101
11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons 11.2.1 Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities C110201
11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries 11.3.1 Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate C110301
  11.3.2 Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically C110302
11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage 11.4.1 Total expenditure (public and private) per capita spent on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by type of heritage (cultural, natural, mixed and World Heritage Centre designation), level of government (national, regional and local/municipal), type of expenditure (operating expenditure/investment) and type of private funding (donations in kind, private non-profit sector and sponsorship) C110401
11.5 By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations 11.5.1 Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population C200303
  11.5.2 Direct economic loss in relation to global GDP, damage to critical infrastructure and number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters C110502
11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management 11.6.1 Proportion of urban solid waste regularly collected and with adequate final discharge out of total urban solid waste generated, by cities C110601
  11.6.2 Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population weighted) C110602
11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities 11.7.1 Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities C110701
  11.7.2 Proportion of persons victim of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months C110702
11.a Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning 11.a.1 Proportion of population living in cities that implement urban and regional development plans integrating population projections and resource needs, by size of city C110a01
11.b By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels 11.b.1 Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 C200304
  11.b.2 Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies C200305
11.c Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials 11.c.1 Proportion of financial support to the least developed countries that is allocated to the construction and retrofitting of sustainable, resilient and resource-efficient buildings utilizing local materials C110c01

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GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns    
12.1 Implement the 10‑Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries 12.1.1 Number of countries with sustainable consumption and production (SCP) national action plans or SCP mainstreamed as a priority or a target into national policies C120101
12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources 12.2.1 Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP C200202
  12.2.2 Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP C200203
12.3 By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses 12.3.1 Global food loss index C120301
12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment 12.4.1 Number of parties to international multilateral environmental agreements on hazardous waste, and other chemicals that meet their commitments and obligations in transmitting information as required by each relevant agreement C120401
  12.4.2 Hazardous waste generated per capita and proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment C120402
12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse 12.5.1 National recycling rate, tons of material recycled C120501
12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle 12.6.1 Number of companies publishing sustainability reports C120601
12.7 Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities 12.7.1 Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans C120701
12.8 By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature 12.8.1 Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development (including climate change education) are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment C120801
12.a Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production 12.a.1 Amount of support to developing countries on research and development for sustainable consumption and production and environmentally sound technologies C120a01
12.b Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products 12.b.1 Number of sustainable tourism strategies or policies and implemented action plans with agreed monitoring and evaluation tools C120b01
12.c Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities 12.c.1 Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies per unit of GDP (production and consumption) and as a proportion of total national expenditure on fossil fuels C120c01

GOAL 13: Climate Action

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts2    
13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries 13.1.1 Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population C200303
  13.1.2 Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 C200304
  13.1.3 Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies C200305
13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning 13.2.1 Number of countries that have communicated the establishment or operationalization of an integrated policy/strategy/plan which increases their ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development in a manner that does not threaten food production (including a national adaptation plan, nationally determined contribution, national communication, biennial update report or other) C130201
13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning 13.3.1 Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula C130301
  13.3.2 Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer, and development actions C130302
13.a Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible 13.a.1 Mobilized amount of United States dollars per year between 2020 and 2025 accountable towards the $100 billion commitment C130a01
13.b Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities 13.b.1 Number of least developed countries and small island developing States that are receiving specialized support, and amount of support, including finance, technology and capacity-building, for mechanisms for raising capacities for effective climate change-related planning and management, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities C130b01

GOAL 14: Life Below Water

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development    
14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution 14.1.1 Index of coastal eutrophication and floating plastic debris density C140101
14.2 By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans 14.2.1 Proportion of national exclusive economic zones managed using ecosystem-based approaches C140201
14.3 Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels 14.3.1 Average marine acidity (pH) measured at agreed suite of representative sampling stations C140301
14.4 By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics 14.4.1 Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels C140401
14.5 By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information 14.5.1 Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas C140501
14.6 By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation3 14.6.1 Progress by countries in the degree of implementation of international instruments aiming to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing C140601
14.7 By 2030, increase the economic benefits to small island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism 14.7.1 Sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP in small island developing States, least developed countries and all countries C140701
14.a Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries 14.a.1 Proportion of total research budget allocated to research in the field of marine technology C140a01
14.b Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets 14.b.1 Progress by countries in the degree of application of a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small-scale fisheries C140b01
14.c Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of “The future we want” 14.c.1 Number of countries making progress in ratifying, accepting and implementing through legal, policy and institutional frameworks, ocean-related instruments that implement international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources C140c01

GOAL 15: Life on Land

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss    
15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements 15.1.1 Forest area as a proportion of total land area C150101
  15.1.2 Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered by protected areas, by ecosystem type C150102
15.2 By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally 15.2.1 Progress towards sustainable forest management C150201
15.3 By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world 15.3.1 Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area C150301
15.4 By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development 15.4.1 Coverage by protected areas of important sites for mountain biodiversity C150401
  15.4.2 Mountain Green Cover Index C150402
15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species 15.5.1 Red List Index C150501
15.6 Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed 15.6.1 Number of countries that have adopted legislative, administrative and policy frameworks to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits C150601
15.7 Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products 15.7.1 Proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked C200206
15.8 By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species 15.8.1 Proportion of countries adopting relevant national legislation and adequately resourcing the prevention or control of invasive alien species C150801
15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts 15.9.1 Progress towards national targets established in accordance with Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 C150901
15.a Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems 15.a.1 Official development assistance and public expenditure on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems C200207
15.b Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation 15.b.1 Official development assistance and public expenditure on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems C200207
15.c Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities 15.c.1 Proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked C200206

GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels    
16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere 16.1.1 Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age C160101
  16.1.2 Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population, by sex, age and cause C160102
  16.1.3 Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months C160103
  16.1.4 Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live C160104
16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children 16.2.1 Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month C160201
  16.2.2 Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation C160202
  16.2.3 Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18 C160203
16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all 16.3.1 Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms C160301
  16.3.2 Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population C160302
16.4 By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime 16.4.1 Total value of inward and outward illicit financial flows (in current United States dollars) C160401
  16.4.2 Proportion of seized, found or surrendered arms whose illicit origin or context has been traced or established by a competent authority in line with international instruments C160402
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms 16.5.1 Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 months C160501
  16.5.2 Proportion of businesses that had at least one contact with a public official and that paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials during the previous 12 months C160502
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels 16.6.1 Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget, by sector (or by budget codes or similar) C160601
  16.6.2 Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services C160602
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels 16.7.1 Proportions of positions (by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups) in public institutions (national and local legislatures, public service, and judiciary) compared to national distributions C160701
  16.7.2 Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population group C160702
16.8 Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance 16.8.1 Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations C200205
16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration 16.9.1 Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by age C160901
16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements 16.10.1 Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months C161001
  16.10.2 Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information C161002
16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime 16.a.1 Existence of independent national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles C160a01
16.b Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development 16.b.1 Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law C200204

GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development    
Finance    
17.1 Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection 17.1.1 Total government revenue as a proportion of GDP, by source C170101
  17.1.2 Proportion of domestic budget funded by domestic taxes C170102
17.2 Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance (ODA/GNI) to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries 17.2.1 Net official development assistance, total and to least developed countries, as a proportion of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee donors’ gross national income (GNI) C170201
17.3 Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources 17.3.1 Foreign direct investment (FDI), official development assistance and South-South cooperation as a proportion of total domestic budget C170301
  17.3.2 Volume of remittances (in United States dollars) as a proportion of total GDP C170302
17.4 Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress 17.4.1 Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods and services C170401
17.5 Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries 17.5.1 Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries C170501
Technology    
17.6 Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge-sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism 17.6.1 Number of science and/or technology cooperation agreements and programmes between countries, by type of cooperation C170601
  17.6.2 Fixed Internet broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed C170602
17.7 Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed 17.7.1 Total amount of approved funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies C170701
17.8 Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology 17.8.1 Proportion of individuals using the Internet C170801
Capacity-building    
17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation 17.9.1 Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries C170901
Trade    
17.10 Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non‑discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda 17.10.1 Worldwide weighted tariff-average C171001
17.11 Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020 17.11.1 Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports C171101
17.12 Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access 17.12.1 Average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States C171201
Systemic issues    
Policy and institutional coherence    
17.13 Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence 17.13.1 Macroeconomic Dashboard C171301
17.14 Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development 17.14.1 Number of countries with mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence of sustainable development C171401
17.15 Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development 17.15.1 Extent of use of country-owned results frameworks and planning tools by providers of development cooperation C171501
Multi-stakeholder partnerships    
17.16 Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries 17.16.1 Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the sustainable development goals C171601
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships 17.17.1 Amount of United States dollars committed to (a) public-private partnerships and (b) civil society partnerships C171701
Data, monitoring and accountability    
17.18 By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts 17.18.1 Proportion of sustainable development indicators produced at the national level with full disaggregation when relevant to the target, in accordance with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics C171801
  17.18.2 Number of countries that have national statistical legislation that complies with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics C171802
  17.18.3 Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding C171803
17.19 By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries 17.19.1 Dollar value of all resources made available to strengthen statistical capacity in developing countries C171901
  17.19.2 Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration C171902
LEADERSHIP SERIES (WEBINAR)

AVOIDING SDG WASHING

Join us in an inspirational conversation with Ben Carpenter, CEO of Social Value International at (SVI) Social Value International. SVI is a network of networks, united by a shared mission to change the way the world accounts for value.

The UN's Sustainable Development Goals Report from 2017 cites that "the rate of progress in many areas is far slower than needed to meet the targets by 2030," flagging the urgency to accelerate action. While working hard towards achieving global goals, how can we prevent over-claiming?

CONCLUSION

Sustainable Development Goals bring players from businesses, impact investors, and philanthropies together.  By aligning with SDG, Targets, and Indicators each of us can align around collective goals and targets.  Post COVID-19, their intentionality will be tested in many ways.  SDG Framework is the best way to improve social and environmental impact.
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