Think Global, Act Local
Article by Ronja Ievers, Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa Project Manager, Hui E! Community Aotearoa
Kotahi te hoe, ka ū te waka ki uta. This whakataukī speaks of collective impact and working together - when we paddle in unison, we will reach the shore together. This provides a good introduction to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Back in 2015, the United Nations’ member countries, including Aotearoa, adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 17 SDGs, at the heart of this agenda, provide an action plan for people, planet and prosperity.
The SDGs demonstrate that when we work together in partnership, for a specific purpose, with a common framework, we can collectively and individually achieve a better, more equal world (1). The following diagram (known as the ‘SDG wedding cake’) provides a good overview about how the health of our planet or whenua is the foundation for a healthy society and economy.
Image credit: Azote Images for Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University
Image credit: Azote Images for Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University
NGOs are driving action and advocacy for the SDGs
NGOs (non-government organisations) around the world are driving action and advocacy across all areas encompassed by the SDGs. An increasing number of organisations in Aotearoa are explicitly using the framework to guide their work and measure their impact and contributions to a better society and a healthier planet. This corresponds with an increasing number of funders using the SDGs to guide their funding decisions (2).
The Eastbay REAP became aware of the framework when they started looking at using an equity and rights-based lens across the work they do in community development and lifelong learning. CEO Ryan Morrison says that they, “wanted something that literally lets us think global and act local. This [framework] was something that encapsulated global consultation, global impact and global consequence in a whole range of fields - everybody could see themselves in there.“
Wellington’s Sustainability Trust continues to explore best ways to meaningfully use the SDGs in their organisation. Sustainability Manager, Polly Griffiths, says they went through a useful exercise of mapping all their activities to the SDGs. They are currently working on their 3-year plan and have identified the SDGs that align with their strategic goals. “For us, what's beneficial about them is the fact that they are a globally aligned metric. Many other organisations are using them as well, so that we can all start talking in that sort of common language”.
The Waikato Wellbeing Project is taking a systems approach to doing things differently to get a different result, using the SDG framework. They are bringing together people and organisations in the region and build on a lot of collaborative action that is already happening in the region, “to find those acupressure points where, if we can collectively put just a little bit of pressure on something, we’ll have a disproportionately positive effect on a whole lot of Sustainable Development Goals,” says Raewyn Jones, Project Co-Chair.
At the launch of the Waikato Wellbeing Project, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, Grant Robertson said “The Wellbeing approach is the only way to address the big challenges that confront us.” (3)
Developing SDG capability for NGOs and their communities
At Hui E! we’ve been engaging in research and conversations to scope the viability of an SDG Alliance as a next step to:
share information, experiences, resources and best practice;
coordinate and align activities and share a joined-up approach;
foster an understanding of and increased commitment to achieving sustainability through a Te Ao Māori lens;
accelerate change;
increase meaningful collaboration within and across sectors, generations and populations; and
measure and demonstrate our contributions domestically and globally.
Hui E! ran its first workshop on the role an SDG Alliance might play on 2 June. This workshop was in partnership with the Waikato Wellbeing Project, the New Zealand Coalition to End Homelessness, and Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki. You can request the recording of this workshop by emailing admin@huie.org.nz.
In closing and echoing what Grant Robertson has said, an integrated sustainability approach is the only way to tackle some of the biggest challenges that confront us. The SDG framework can help us identify where those gaps are and provide a framework to assist us to find the best solutions.
Keen to know more about the SDGs?
A second workshop on the formation of an SDG Alliance will be held on 16 June and you can register for free at https://www.huie.org.nz/sdg-alliance.
The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world:
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
Check out these resources:
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/takeaction/(The lazy person’s guide to saving the world)
Hui E! Community Aotearoa is a peak body for the tangata whenua, community and voluntary sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. We champion the community sector for a fair and just Aotearoa - Tā Hui ē! Community Aotearoa he whakatairanga i ō tātou hapori, kia tika mō te katoa, kia tōtika a Aotearoa.
(1) Hui E! Community Aotearoa (2019), The People’s Report on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs – an alternate report for Aotearoa New Zealand, viewed 4 June 2021, <https://www.huie.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/Final_PeoplesReport-2019_web.pdf>
(2) Centre for Social Impact (2020), Overview of Impact Investment in Aotearoa, Centre for Social Impact (a Foundation North initiative), viewed 4 June 2021, <https://www.centreforsocialimpact.org.nz/media/1703/impact-investment-overview-_01.pdf>
(3) Waikato Wellbeing Project (2019), Waikato Wellbeing Project [online video]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdA-n0Izvuw [Accessed 4 June 2021]