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What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

Each Earth Day brings back the same question: what will it take for people and ecosystems to thrive, not just endure? The Sustainable Development Goals are the U.N.'s answer: 17 shared actions for a more just and equitable future.

By: Amanda Phagan and Janice Mejías Avilés, Edited by: Gabriela Pérez Jordán

Last updated: April 14, 2026

What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

The Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, are 17 interconnected priorities the United Nations (U.N.) set for 2030. They outline a shared guide for tackling poverty, inequality, the climate crisis, and other urgent challenges that shape life across the world.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals

Taken together, the SDGs give U.N. member countries a framework to take action on the world's top socioeconomic, environmental, and humanitarian challenges. The U.N.'s overarching objective is to "leave no one behind" in the wake of progress.

These are the 17 SDGs:

1. No poverty
Focus
End extreme poverty and expand access to the resources people need to live with stability and dignity
2. Zero hunger
Focus
End hunger through food security, better nutrition, and more sustainable agriculture
3. Good health and well-being
Focus
Improve health outcomes through access to healthcare, medicines, vaccines, and disease prevention
4. Quality education
Focus
Expand access to inclusive, affordable, high-quality education and lifelong learning
5. Gender equality
Focus
Advance equal rights, fair treatment, and economic opportunity for people of all genders
6. Clean water and sanitation
Focus
Make safe drinking water and sanitation more widely available, and invest in the systems that support both
7. Affordable and clean energy
Focus
Increase access to renewable, lower-emission energy and improve energy infrastructure
8. Decent work and economic growth
Focus
Promote fair wages, productive employment, and long-term economic opportunity
9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
Focus
Strengthen infrastructure, expand innovation, and support more sustainable industrial development
10. Reduced inequalities
Focus
Close social and economic disparities within and between countries
11. Sustainable cities and communities
Focus
Make urban life safer and more livable by improving housing, transportation, green space, and pollution control
12. Responsible consumption and production
Focus
Reduce waste and resource depletion through more sustainable production and consumption
13. Climate action
Focus
Push countries to respond more seriously to the climate crisis by lowering emissions and preparing for its effects
14. Life below water
Focus
Protect oceans, lakes, and rivers from pollution and other damage that puts aquatic life at risk
15. Life on land
Focus
Conserve forests, wildlife, and other land ecosystems, and restore areas that have already been damaged
16. Peace, justice, and strong institutions
Focus
Build safer, fairer societies by strengthening justice systems, public trust, and institutional accountability
17. Partnerships for the goals
Focus
Strengthen collaboration among governments, businesses, and communities to achieve the SDGs

Why are the Sustainable Development Goals important?

  • They recognize that poverty, inequality, the climate crisis, and displacement are connected. The SDGs treat these pressures as part of the same global crisis, not as separate problems to solve one by one.
  • They set a shared standard for what people need to live with dignity. The goals focus on basic conditions such as health, education, clean water, decent work, safety, and a stable environment.
  • They call on governments, institutions, and organizations to act before these pressures deepen further. Without prompt response, inequality and climate risk will keep making daily life more unstable for more people.

Careers aligned with the SDGs

The SDGs connect to careers in planning, environmental science, and business, where sustainability often complements other areas of expertise. Here are three examples, with salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):

Management analysts

Advises organizations on improving efficiency, resolving operational problems, and strengthening long-term performance, including sustainability-related strategies.


How you can support the SDGs

  1. Start by learning the connections: Poverty, education, health, climate, infrastructure, and ecosystem conservation do not exist in isolation. Understanding how they affect one another is one way to become a more informed citizen.
  2. Pay attention to your local context: The SDGs are global, but their effects show up locally. Look at what these issues mean in your community, whether that is water access, transportation, housing, inequality, or environmental risk.
  3. Get involved where you live: Support local organizations, join community efforts, and ask elected officials to prioritize these objectives to help turn SDGs into practical action.
  4. Bring that knowledge into your work: You don't need a climate job to apply sustainability thinking. It can shape decisions in business, policy, operations, education, and community work. edX offers sustainability-focused courses, certificates, and executive education for learners of all ages who want to build knowledge and apply it in their current role or future career.

Learn about sustainability with edX

Outcomes-based design
An immersive cohort-based learning experience that is designed to optimize learning outcomes and ensure global networking opportunities.
Real-world impact
Courses are tailored to address today’s organizational issues and opportunities so that you can make effective decisions to impact change.
Dedicated support
Success Advisers provide administrative and technical support 24/7 and our tutors, who are subject matter experts, offer academic support.

History of the Sustainable Development Goals

The global desire for more sustainable progress began in the early 1980s. In 1983, the U.N. created the World Commission on Environment and Development, introducing sustainable development practices to member countries. In 1992, the U.N. developed and adopted Agenda 21, a comprehensive plan for global sustainability.

In 2000, the U.N. introduced eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015. These consisted of:

  1. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
  2. Achieving universal primary education
  3. Promoting gender equality and female empowerment
  4. Reducing child mortality
  5. Improving maternal health
  6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
  7. Ensuring environmental sustainability
  8. Developing a global partnership for development

In 2011, Colombia proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals to update and expand upon the MDGs. A few years later, in 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) officially introduced the SDGs as part of its Post-2025 Development Agenda.

A UNGA resolution added specific targets and key performance indicators to each goal in 2017. Most SDGs have a deadline of 2030, but some lack a defined timeline.

What is the United Nations?

The U.N. is an international organization founded in 1945 after World War II. Its 193 member countries gather to discuss shared problems and develop solutions that benefit humanity.

More questions about the Sustainable Development Goals

Are some SDGs more important than others?

While all 17 SDGs are equally important, some goals receive more attention than others. Based on U.N. members' voluntary national reviews (VNRs) from 2016-19, the two SDGs that received the most attention were Goal 17 ("partnerships for the goals") and Goal 13 ("climate action"). The goal with the least attention was Goal 10 (reduced inequalities).

What are the three core elements of the SDGs?

The three core elements of the SDGs are economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection. Like the 17 SDGs, these core elements are interconnected and indivisible.

Why is SDG 13 so important?

Goal 13, climate action, is crucial because it affects many other SDGs. For example, life below water and life on land rely heavily on a balanced, temperate climate. As greenhouse gas emissions increase and global temperatures rise, fragile ecosystems suffer. When specific ecosystems suffer, producing food, medicines, and other key resources becomes more difficult — impacting human hunger and health.

What is an example of greenwashing?

Greenwashing is a form of deceptive marketing or advertising that leads consumers to believe an organization is more eco-friendly than it actually is. Examples of greenwashing include:

  • A health and beauty corporation repackaging diapers in green packaging and labeling them "pure and natural," without changing petrochemical contents or manufacturing processes
  • A fast-food chain changing its logo to signal a commitment to sustainability without measuring emissions or setting carbon reduction targets
  • A marketing firm posting about the dangers of pollution while continuing to use single-use plastics in its facilities

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