Despite the hype and definite buzz around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there seems to be an ever-increasing public concentration on specific issues. Issues that are part of the Sustainable Development (SD) agenda but have garnered their own following: a basket of groupies, a range of activists with sophisticated megaphones. These issues are ‘shiny’.
|Sustainable Development may be too complex for the uninitiated to understand.
SD is the overarching vision, incapsulating issues that are necessary to ensure good quality of life of earths inhabitants and an equitable sharing of this planet. But from the outside, SD may be too complex for the uninitiated to really understand. Give the quasi-informed layman photos of tortoises with plastic bags hanging out of their mouths, reports of whales beaching themselves with bellies full of plastic, or the devastating impact of climate related events and the overarching idea of SD becomes passé, a non-issue or simply boring; something for the politicians but nothing for the person on the street. Would the world be better off if coordinated activities were around the next ‘shiny’ issue and leave the race for SD up to the supra-nationals such as the UN or countries?
Sustainability, since the concept first became a talking point, has been difficult to classify and define. The prevailing comment when speaking about sustainability is, “sustainability means different things to different people.” But does it? Really? Or is it that the idea of sustainability to so large and complex, it is easier to get buy-in for issues that are smaller, shinier and gives an instant boost of that elusive ‘feel-good’ factor when one has done something to support the solution.
Let’s be clear, the laudable activities of SD are being superseded by mega-issues, via the ‘Ripple Effect.’ This effect illustrates how highly publicised issues can have a positive knock-on impact to SD but grab the attention of the public. Although SD is being pushed into the wings by climate change, championed by a smart and engaged Swedish girl who is taking the world by storm on her imaginative and highly-effective activism; also, by the plastic island and accompanied photos of marine life finding life along-side plastic refuse as impossible, there is a feedback loop. SD is being buoyed by riding on the coat tails of these attention-grabbing issues, essentially benefiting from the shiny-ness of the issues, where the solutions of these issues can also provide viable solutions to affiliated ones.
| One person’s sustainability is another person’s life-as-usual.
Sustainability, as a concept is conceptual, in-exact, and slippery. One person’s sustainability is another person’s life-as-usual. The discussions around what is sustainability vs what is not sustainability abounds. Thus, the beauty of the SDGs with it’s simple and comprehensive (and illustrative) language on what constitutes sustainability; in a broad and most appropriate sense.
Can it be that the very complex nature of sustainability, is driving the hype and buzz around single issues concerns. Or, alternatively, is one of the reasons these ‘shiny’ issues are catching the attention of the layman, is because they are simple to understand, there is a clear way to understand how these issues impact every-day lives, and they come with a clear visual element. The visual aspect is the most powerful, offering public opinion a clear issue to embrace; one that is visually impactful and with a short jump between the issue and one’s day-to-day life.
Even the institution, United Nations, that created the SDGs, is seeing a much greater up-take in issues that create a visceral effect to those who are seen as part of SD. The latest theme pushed by the UN, “beat plastic pollution,” has been the central focus of the many events around the world. Why? Because you, me, anyone can see how we can make a difference right away, with the attributed good feelings when one no longer uses single-use plastics. Some loggerhead turtle, somewhere, will be more comfortable without a plastic straw up its’ nose or being wrapped in a plastic bag.
Other issues tagged and pursued by the UN include air pollution, energy usage, and responsible consumption; all of which make up and lead toward sustainable development and a transition to health, resilient and good life for all. The ultimate goal of the SDGs.
World Wide Generation (WWG) mission is to make the journey for companies and investors in delivering sustainability, using the structure of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), more transparent and easier. The use of WWG’s platform G17Eco allows for the uninformed to quickly understand the overall wholistic work that needs to be done to deliver the SDGs. Indeed, WWG actively supports the fundamental notion of the SDGs; to be part of the solution, “leave no one behind.”
How to positively address these ‘shiny’ issues and the collective positive effects on the SDGs requires a tool such as WWGs G17Eco. A platform that delivers trusted, comparable and transparent data in such a way that makes the connections between simply doing something for the planet to leading in finding solutions to wider and more complex challenges, easy.
The “Ripple Effect” of the shiny issues can have a positive consequence on how sustainability is perceived. The linkage of the next shiny issue to the overarching strategy sustainable development makes it easier for the public to be proactive in finding and being part of a solution. The G17Eco platform makes the linkage so obvious, as to be unmissable. From the SDGs to the issues that have captured public attention is easily visualised and gives a clear way that action can be undertaken which will return the greatest impact on delivering the SDGs, locally, regionally and globally.