UN Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a comprehensive framework designed to address global challenges.

The goals aim to foster cooperation, guiding society towards a more sustainable and equitable future by 2030.

Through their integrated approach, the goals aim to tackle the root causes of inequality, environmental degradation, and social injustice. The goals promote a holistic vision for development that leaves no one behind.

Adopted in 2015, we are now over halfway through the agreed timescales, but the world remains a long way from achieving these goals.

In the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, we ranked joint top for our overall score amongst the MillionPlus universities. We are the only MillionPlus university to return against all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals

No poverty

Eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030 is a pivotal goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

No poverty goal

Zero hunger

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

Zero hunger goal

Good health and well-being

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Achieving universal health coverage, and providing access to safe and affordable medicines and vaccines for all.

Our world-leading research in stroke care, maternity care and infant nutrition contributes to this goal.

We ranked 6th in the UK in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for this goal.

Good health and well-being goal

Quality education

Promote inclusive and equitable quality education. Ensure lifelong learning opportunities for all, enabling free primary and secondary schooling for all boys and girls by 2030. Provide equal access to affordable vocational training. Eliminate gender and wealth disparities, and achieve universal access to quality higher education.

We ranked in the top ten in the UK in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for this goal.

Quality education goal

Gender equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Gender equality is a cross-cutting objective and must be a key focus of national policies, budgets and institutions.

We ranked 6th in the UK in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for this goal.

Gender equality goal

Clean water and sanitation

Ensure access to water and sanitation for all. Ensuring that everyone has access to sustainable water and sanitation services is a critical climate change mitigation strategy for the years ahead.

Clean water and sanitation goal

Affordable and clean energy

Guarantee access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. Ensuring access to clean and affordable energy, which is key to the development of agriculture, business, communications, education, healthcare and transportation.

Affordable and clean energy goal

Decent work and economic growth

Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.

Implementing adequate health and safety measures and promoting supportive working environments.

Decent work and economic growth goal

Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

Economic growth, social development and climate action are heavily dependent on investments in infrastructure, sustainable industrial development and technological progress.

Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Reduced inequalities

Reduce inequality within and among countries.

We cannot achieve sustainable development and make the planet better for all if people are excluded from the chance for a better life.

Our innovative and inclusive teaching environment helps open university education open to wider communities, contributing to this goal.

Reduced inequalities goal

Sustainable cities and communities

Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way urban spaces are built and managed.

Sustainable cities and communities goal

Responsible consumption and production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, which is key to sustain the livelihoods of current and future generations.

Responsible consumption and production goal

Climate action

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Every person, in every country in every continent will be impacted in some shape or form by climate change. 

Climate action

Life below water

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Healthy oceans and seas are essential to human existence and life on Earth.

Life below water

Life on land

Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.

Conserving life on land, protecting and restoring terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managing forests, combatting desertification, halting and reversing land degradation and stopping biodiversity loss.

Life on land goal

Peace, justice and strong institutions

Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies.

Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Peace, justice and strong institutions goal

Partnerships for the goals

Revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.

A call for action by all countries – developed and developing – to ensure no one is left behind, requiring partnerships between governments, the private sector, and civil society.

We ranked in the top 100 in the UK in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. This highlights our commitment to addressing challenges within the Sustainable Development Goals.

Partnerships for the goals

Continue your journey

  • Research

    We have a growing and vibrant community of innovative academics who nurture our postgraduate students and early-career researchers, producing high quality international and world-leading research that addresses today’s challenges.
  • Sustainability

    The University has refreshed its Strategic Plan to further recognise that sustaining and enhancing the wellbeing of people, places and the planet are amongst the most important challenges we face today.
  • Institute for Applied Health and Wellbeing (LIFE)

    Our Research and Knowledge Exchange Institute supports the development of globally relevant applied health and wellbeing research and knowledge exchange activities across the University.