On 23 September 2022, more than 50 UK organisations will raise an SDG flag to show their support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This September will mark seven years since the world embraced the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, reflect a shared objective and ambition across all countries to end poverty and hunger everywhere, to combat inequalities within and among countries, to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, to protect human rights and promote gender equality of women and girls, and to ensure a lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources by 2030. The 17 Goals are supported by 169 targets and 232 indicators, enabling progress to be prioritised and tracked.
On 23 September K2 is joining hundreds of businesses, government departments, civil society organisations, and schools in a global movement to fly an SDG flag to spread awareness of the SDGs and mobilise stakeholders for the 2030 agenda.
The SDGs are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. Whilst all the SDGs are important and interlinked, for 2022 K2 have chosen to focus on the following five Global Goals where it believes in can have the most impact:
5 – Gender Equality
8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
15 – Life on Land
17 – Partnerships for the Goals
These goals are particularly meaningful to us and cover areas where we can drive positive impact and make meaningful change.
Global Head of Compliance and ESG, Linda Rafferty, comments:
“Sustainability is one of the key priorities outlined in our current five year (2022 – 2026) business strategy, Kinetic. Underpinning this strategic pillar are a number of ambitious sustainability and ESG goals that really demonstrate how seriously we are taking our responsibility to put sustainability at the core of everything we do.
Having joined the UN Global Compact at the beginning of this year, we have committed to supporting the ten principles of the UNGC, and the SDGs.
We know how important education is to driving engagement so, to help raise awareness of the SDGs and their importance internally, we have organised an online talk for employees on 23 September to take them through the Global Goals and how we are aligning our actions to them.”
In the UK, there have been some significant milestones towards the SDGs. The preliminary findings of the UN Global Compact Network UK’s Measuring Up project found that since 2007, there has been an estimated 15% reduction in food waste and the UK Government have made significant progress in increasing the scale and scope of its climate change ambitions by setting a legally binding net zero target and developing a net zero strategy. However, there is still considerable progress that needs to be made.
In the past year alone, the number of children engaged in child labour in the UK has risen by a staggering 34% compared to the previous year, and childhood obesity rates have shot up in the last year alone with one in four reception-aged children and two in five year 6 children in England now overweight or obese. It is because of this that the 2030 Agenda is more important than ever, and worldwide collaboration between governments, businesses, and civil society organisations essential.
With only 1 in 10 people in Britain familiar with the SDGs, raising the SDG flag this September is essential to raise awareness and mobilise stakeholders for action. Join the global movement in championing the SDGs so together the 2030 Agenda can be achieved.
