The development of the SDG Series was jointly financed by the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, the Vienna Business Academy, the Interreg project SEED Hub*, and TBS Consulting.
* 85% from the bilateral cooperation programme Interreg V-A Slovakia-Austria of the EU and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
About the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, offers a jointly developed action plan for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future.At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs), which represent an urgent call to action by all countries in a global partnership.
They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand in hand with policies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and boost economic growth.reduce inequality and boost economic growth - all while combating climate change and working to protect our oceans and forests.
Video Intro (gt) | Slidedeck (gt) | Video (en) | Slidedeck (en)
Main goal: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
Today, about 700 million people live in "extreme poverty". According to the World Bank, a person is considered extremely poor as soon as he or she has less than 1.9 dollars per day at his or her disposal. About 7.4 billion people live in the world - almost every tenth person is thus affected. In Europe, no one officially lives in extreme poverty, although there are large differences in income and satisfaction here as well. The UN's goal is to reduce poverty by at least half by 2030, to promote social protection systems and policies against poverty, and to enable everyone to have a right to economic resources. The definition of poverty measured in terms of money must be viewed critically, because it neglects aspects such as social or cultural poverty and exclusion from social participation.
Main goal: End hunger, achieve food security and better nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.
In Austria, we find food in abundance on supermarket shelves. However, almost 800 million people in the world suffer from malnutrition, most affected are women and children. Even more people suffer from malnutrition, i.e. they lack certain nutrients such as iron or vitamins. The UN wants to end world hunger by 2030, for which it calls for doubling food production and reducing food waste. Special attention should be paid to sustainable agriculture, the preservation of biodiversity and fairer trade.
Main goal: Ensure a healthy life for all people of all ages and promote their well-being.
Advances in medicine are remarkable and yet many people around the world do not have access to basic health care. Millions die every year from preventable diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. That is why the UN is promoting a worldwide improvement of the health system. In the countries of the Global South, access to medicines, vaccinations, sexual education and basic medical care is to be improved. Investments should flow into medical education, research and development. The UN wants to curb the abuse of tobacco and other addictive substances such as alcohol worldwide and reduce the number of traffic accidents. A good health system is a prerequisite for a stable society.
Key objective: Ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
How can education contribute to a better society? The UN advocates for access to quality education for all worldwide. According to the lifelong learning approach, this means not only primary and secondary education, but also adult education. Education should enable all people to become active for a culture of sustainability, peace and community and thus improve their own living conditions as well as those of society. Education is a human right, as Nelson Mandela said: "Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world".
Main goal: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
In many countries, women and girls in particular have a hard time. They often have fewer rights and do not have the same access to education and work as men. In some cases, they are forced into marriage or fall victim to human trafficking. The UN calls for an end to all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls. In Europe, too, women who work in care or in the household are less valued socially and financially. Women reach fewer leadership positions in companies and are rarely active as decision-makers in politics. Therefore, the UN promotes measures for gender equality worldwide.
Key objective: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Water does not come straight from the tap everywhere in the world. Around 2.5 billion people have no access to toilets and around 750 million lack clean drinking water. Yet water is essential for survival and dirty water is often the cause of disease. Access to clean water is a human right, which is why the UN is working to ensure an equitable supply of clean drinking water for all by improving sanitation, reducing chemical and waste pollution and thus improving water quality. Water is a scarce and precious resource, especially in many hotter countries.
Main goal: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
We need energy directly or indirectly for almost everything, whether for our lights, mobile phone, heating, car or building a house. It is hard to imagine life without energy consumption. Unfortunately, the generation of electricity and heat from fossil fuels is associated with the emission of CO2, which leads to dangerous climate change. Therefore, the UN calls for a climate-friendly development of energy supply for all people with more renewable energies (e.g. wind turbines, solar panels and hydropower plants) and a doubling of energy efficiency. The energy turnaround is to be driven forward by more investment in research and the development of infrastructure.
Main goal: Promote lasting, broad-based and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Especially in the countries of the Global South, many people are unemployed or work under inhumane conditions with few rights. They are often poorly paid or not paid at all, have no regulated working hours and are exposed to physical and psychological stress; child labour is also not uncommon. The UN advocates fair pay and good working conditions for all. Employers should support women, young people and discriminated groups in particular. Economic growth should be decoupled from environmental destruction so that more jobs do not mean more environmental exploitation and destruction.
Main objective: Build resilient infrastructure, promote broad-based and sustainable industrialisation and support innovation.
In addition to transport and energy supply systems, infrastructure also includes communication and information networks such as the internet. Due to the growing population (expected to reach 10 billion by 2050) and migration to urban centres, we are facing a major infrastructure transformation. Many new investments will be made, new houses, roads, electricity, internet and water supply systems will have to be built. In order to make this sustainable, the UN is calling for heavy investment in research and development so that in the future resources will be used more efficiently in construction and environmentally sound technologies will be employed. The poorer countries in particular should be supported in their development through affordable loans.
Main goal: Reduce inequality within and between countries
The gap between rich and poor is widening not only between countries but also within countries. The rich are getting richer and thus have more power to influence global decisions. Inequality leads to frustration and discrimination, but also to violence and poverty. The UN is committed to reducing inequality and promotes inclusion, i.e. participation of all people on a political, social, cultural and economic level. In concrete terms, the aim is to increase incomes in the poorer classes, to control financial markets more closely and to promote the participation of poorer countries in global financial and economic decisions.
Key objective: Make cities and settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
More than half of the world's people live in cities and many are far larger than our cities in Europe. Mexico City has over 22 million inhabitants, while Berlin has only about 3.5 million. Migration to cities is increasing, with more than 70% of people expected to live in cities by 2050. To avoid the emergence of crime and tensions in urban areas, good planning is needed. By 2030, the UN wants to build more inclusively and sustainably, rehabilitate slums, create more green spaces and public spaces for all, make housing affordable for all and better develop the (public) transport system; especially the poorer countries should be supported in building "green" cities.
Main goal: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Every day, countless tonnes end up in the rubbish: plastic packaging, food scraps, old furniture, electrical appliances, clothes, mobile phones - by now about 3.5 million tonnes. We consume just as much every day, forgetting that the production of things requires energy, raw materials and labour, and our planet only has a limited amount of all of this. In order for us to be able to buy products so cheaply, people in other countries have to work for low wages, rainforests are cut down and landscapes are destroyed by raw material extraction. Therefore, the UN calls for sustainable consumption and production, recycling, less food waste, more sustainable corporate governance and higher environmental and social standards in business. We must respect human rights and the limits of our planet in order to leave it livable for future generations.
Key objective: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
The number and scale of extreme weather events are increasing, more and more droughts and floods are destroying crops and cities, depriving many people of food and livelihoods. Since industrialisation, our production methods and lifestyles have emitted vast amounts of CO2 into the earth's atmosphere. The CO2 leads to a steady warming of the climate, which is accompanied by more and more intense extreme weather events. The main victims are people from the Global South, such as in Africa or Asia, although it is the industrialised countries that are mainly responsible for CO2 emissions. In order to limit global warming, the UN is calling for rapid national policy measures, e.g. the conversion to renewable energies, a reduction in CO2 emissions and financial aid for the Global South.
Main objective: Conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Many people, especially from small island states and on the coasts of many poorer countries, live from fishing. However, in recent years, large corporations have virtually "fished out" many fishing areas and fishermen have lost their livelihoods. Climate change is leading to changes in ecosystems due to over-acidification of the oceans. Plastic waste floats in the sea, many fish and birds eat it accidentally and die from the non-digestible plastic residues. The UN therefore wants to stop the pollution of the oceans by chemicals and plastic, promote sustainable fishing through political measures and strengthen the rights of poorer island states. In this way, overfishing is to be stopped so that the biodiversity of the oceans is preserved.
Main objective: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, manage forests sustainably, combat desertification, end and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
Forests, mountains, soils, rivers - they are the basis of our lives and provide us with food, clean water and clean air to breathe. Due to deforestation, resource extraction and climate change, areas such as the great Amazon rainforest are threatened in their biodiversity. The UN calls for a more sustainable approach to nature, the preservation and restoration of our ecosystem, e.g. through reforestation projects and the protection of biodiversity through measures against the trade in protected plants and animal species. We should live in harmony with nature to preserve the beauty and diversity of our planet and secure our livelihoods.
Main goal: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
People who grow up in war and turmoil often face severe trauma and mental health problems later in life. A healthy development of a society requires security and peace. Therefore, the UN calls for an inclusive society with stable political leadership and peace. Because human rights are inviolable - everywhere in the world. The UN wants to fight corruption, illegal arms supplies and bribery, and end violence and crime in all its forms. To this end, it advocates for strong institutions, a well-developed judiciary and greater participation of poorer countries in global decision-making.
Main objective: Strengthen means of implementation and breathe new life into the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Achieving the Global Goals for Sustainable Development requires all countries to work together. The UN calls for strong and optimistic partnerships at eye level at all levels (personal, political and economic). Many of the goals require good financing and planning strategies and, for this, international exchange in areas of business, technology and innovation. Above all, the countries of the Global South must be supported and taken first in order to be able to work together for a better world for all.
Webinar with Q&A as part of the Action Days Sustainability 2021.
Sustainability Officer Regina Rowland and Marion Schönfeldinger from Research Burgenland provide information on SDGs 6 Water and Sanitation, 13 Climate Protection, 14 Life Under Water and 15 Life on Land, and on the e5 programme for energy-conscious and climate-friendly municipalities. Discussion afterwards.
Webinar with Q&A as part of the Action Days Sustainability 2021.
Sustainability consultant Teresa Bieler-Stütz provides information on SDGs 1 Poverty, 2 Hunger, 3 Health, 4 Quality Education, 5 Gender Equality, 7 Energy, 11 Cities and Communities, 16 Peace and Justice. Astrid Eisenkopf, Deputy Governor of the Province of Burgenland, will be one of the guests, representing the Department of Energy and Climate Protection of the Provincial Government of Burgenland. Discussion afterwards.
Webinar with Q&A as part of the Action Days Sustainability 2021.
Sustainability consultant Teresa Bieler-Stütz informs about the SDGs 8 Work and Economy, 9 Infrastructure and Industrialisation, 10 Inequality, 12 Consumption and Production. Guests are the social entrepreneurs Constanze Stockhammer from SENA (Social Entrepreneurschip Network Austria) and Elke Pichler from Impactory. Discussion afterwards, also in the interest of the goals of the EU Interreg project SEED-Hub.
Webinar with Q&A as part of the Action Days Sustainability 2021.
Sustainability Officer Regina Rowland informs about SDG 17 Global Partnerships. Guests are Elisabeth Steiner and Andreas Petz from FH Campus Wien, who will report on the Alliance of Sustainable Universities as an example of partnerships to achieve the SDGs and other sustainability goals. Discussion afterwards.
On the initiative of the ÖH UAS Burgenland and alumni UAS Burgenland, alumni and students discuss the implementation of the SDGs in their personal working environment. On the panel: Lisa Stögerer (KPMG), Christian Schiberl (Drees & Sommer), Barbara Stifter (Kardea GmbH) and Teresa Gruber (Energie Burgenland AG). Discussion afterwards.
Moderation: Florian Kaltenegger
held on 05 October 2021, from 6.30 p.m.
YOUTUBE
SDGs at the Eisenstadt Campus
The SDGs are also anchored in the seminar rooms at University of Applied Sciences Burgenland.
The Action Days Sustainability 2021 were used to bring the series closer to the public as "SDGs Made Easy".
Out of more than 300 projects, "SDGs Easily Done" was judged by the jury to be one of the 10 highlights, and in the further course of the public vote it was voted into first place: https: //www.nachhaltigesoesterreich.at/aktionstage-highlights-2021/
The series is available to all as a learning package and for further editing under CC licence.
For further in-depth study in the Austrian context, we recommend: https: //www.uninetz.at/en/optionenbericht
Teresa Bieler-Stütz is a management consultant and founder of TBS Consulting. She helps companies of all sizes to act in a future-oriented way. As a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, she teaches innovation, sustainability and CSR.
As a businesswoman and founder, business economist and lawyer, she acts as a manager in large corporations. Also as a mother of two boys and a wife, she strives to honestly rethink the world. Her mission is to help shape the future of business in an innovative, ecologically and socially responsible way by involving employees and customers on the basis of the circular economy, the common good economy and the principles of benefits corporations. In this sense, she uses the SDGs as a foundation for business and private decisions - from people to people and in harmony with nature.
More info: https: //www.tbsc.at
Regina Rowland is a transdisciplinary scholar and practitioner working at the nexus of design, business, innovation and technology.
She worked as a university professor and management consultant in the USA for 30 years. Since 2016, the centre of her life has been back in Austria, in the field of education and research. Her focus is on "Human-Centered" and "Bio-Inspired" innovation for a livable sustainable future. As a certified Biomimicry Expert, she leads the development of sustainability curricula and trainings for companies, using nature's processes as a model. Her teams were awarded 3rd place in the Austrian Sustainability Award 2020 for the design of "Circular Innovation Series", as well as silver in the IIIDesign Award 2020 for Sustainability Design of "Alphabet of Life" and 1st place in the Action Days Sustainability 2021 "SDGs Easy Made."
She is currently a transdisciplinary professor and researcher at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, where she designs and manages research projects and teaches in various departments. Her topics include organisational transformation, innovation and systemic sustainability. She also enjoys managing the Sustainability and Common Good Unit where the SDGs provide the basic framework for sustainability.
More info: https: //www.reginarowland.com/