Realising the SDGs will require action in five key areas

From Pakistan to Brazil, the UN is helping to embed the SDGs into national and subnational policymaking

In a world wondering about the outreach and impact of the UN, the SDGs will need widespread grassroots ownership if they are to create meaningful, lasting change. These examples, from Kenya and the UK, inspire hope and offer ways forward

Businesses are critical to achieving the SDGs. We need industry leadership, government regulation and civil-society activism if they are to deliver for people and planet, as well as for profit

There are multiple ways for ‘tracker’ funds to help foster better financial and societal outcomes

When faced with the complexity of the Sustainable Development Goals, we need a digestible, precise way of measuring progress

The interconnectedness of the 17 SDGs mean development projects can no longer be designed or judged with a single benefit in mind. This is how Inter-American Development Bank is responding in Latin America and the Caribbean

Despite policy commitments to reduce poverty, the gap between the world's richest and poorest grows ever wider. How can we shift the way economies work to reward people for the work they do, not the wealth they own?

No country or society can develop and prosper if its women and girls are denied basic human rights

The SDGs have provided an ideal framework for the growing number of investors looking to ‘do the right thing’. But how can investors gauge the SDG impact of investments?

What if the pledge to ‘leave no one behind’ were interpreted as a radical re-vindication – not just of equality, but also of individual human rights?

The University of Brescia has a comprehensive programme supporting Agenda 2030 and the SDGs

Industry 4.0 promises great advancements for humankind, but also massive upheaval in labour markets. Policymakers must put in place plans for job creation, equitable distribution of gains and wider social protections

Current economic models rely on a level of resource consumption that will rapidly destroy the ecosystems on which we depend. We must now design circularity into all that we do

By acknowledging the true value of our natural resources, we will be able to direct development so that it supports economy and environment

The SEforAll initiative showed that decentralised solutions are critical to ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy by 2030

Of all the threats to sustainable development, conflict is one of the most intractable and damaging. Local partners and detailed understanding of root causes are key to constructive intervention

To create better resilience and response to disasters, international organisations must ensure their efforts are designed around and work with local communities

Fresh water is at the core of the global development agenda. We need to understand and accept the true value of water if we are to achieve long-term security and human wellbeing

There is a yawning gap between decarbonisation commitments and the cuts required to achieve the Paris Agreement. Science-based emissions reduction targets can map the route for companies

The SDGs provide a development agenda to 2030, but will also set the direction of travel for many decades. Might the goals outlive the institutions tasked with delivering them?