The following is an excerpt from The UN Sustainable Development Goals and UL Standards & Engagement: A Report.
Adopted by all member states of the United Nations (U.N.) in 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a detailed framework to help countries around the world end poverty, improve health and education, foster economic growth, and contribute to global efforts to preserve and protect the environment. The agenda spells out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), backed by 169 specific and quantifiable targets, providing civic and industry leaders with the tools they need to formulate and initiate individual efforts that support these important global imperatives.
Industry-accepted technical standards developed by UL Standards & Engagement and other standards bodies can provide an important blueprint to help bolster the efforts of governments and non-government organizations (NGOs), international companies and businesses, advocacy groups and even consumers seeking to align their products, services and practices with the SDGs. In fact, in a recently completed study of more than 1,600 UL standards, we found that requirements in more than half of current UL standards either partially or fully align with specific measures needed to support the achievement of at least one SDG.
In effect, compliance with one or more UL standards can directly support an organization’s contribution to the global effort to achieve the goals set forth in the U.N. Agenda by its target date of 2030.
In this report by UL Standards & Engagement, we’ll provide background on the SDGs and discuss the role of international companies in achieving the goals set forth in the agenda. We’ll then share details of our research into UL standards, including the quantitative and qualitative methods we used to determine which UL standards directly or indirectly align with one or more SDGs. Our report will conclude with recommendations on how companies can use the results of our research to ensure that their products, services and practices support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Read the full report.
Fast Facts
The 17 SDGs are supported by 169 individual targets and more than 200 indicators, which provide detailed benchmarks that allow leaders in government and industry to formulate specific sustainability initiatives and track their progress in achieving success.
Requirements in more than half of the 1,600+ standards in our catalogue either partially or fully align with specific measures needed to support the achievement of at least one SDG.
For each of the 17 SDGs, there is at least one UL standard that can be used to support efforts to achieve the SDG’s identified targets.
We are currently working to incorporate more direct consideration of SDGs and their individual targets in our current standards development and revision processes.
