What we do
The SDG Network:
- Shares information and stories on sustainability
- Generates debate on contemporary issues regarding the SDGs
- Runs events to share knowledge or facilitate activities
- Coordinates reviews of SDG progress
- Advocates for action on the SDGs within Scotland and globally
- Partners with other organisations to leverage greater sustainability impacts
Examples of past events can be seen here and practical examples of action undertaken by members can be viewed here. For example, Scottish Power is increasing renewable energy sources for clean and affordable power. South Seeds in an NGO in south central Glasgow that is helping communities reduce carbon emissions through tool share, energy advice and community gardens. Universities of Strathclyde and St Andrews are supporting sustainability in the curriculum. Many members have been advocating for a Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill in Scotland.
Our backstory
In 2015, the First Minister pledged that Scotland would lead the way to deliver a more just world in which we live within environmental limits. The Scottish Government made a bold statement of intent not just to the people of Scotland but to the wider world, in signing Scotland up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Sometimes the UN Sustainable Development Goals are called the Global Goals, because of diverse understandings of the concept of sustainable development, but many of our members dislike this term because it implies that local action is not important. For short, they are called the SDGs.
Scotland should be a place where everyone can satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a good quality of life, held by and supporting a healthy environment. Unfortunately, Scotland, along with other places, currently has high levels of social inequality and experiences negative impacts from the climate and nature crises. The SDGs give us a framework to achieve positive change, locally, across Scotland and with our international friends and partners.
This framework allows us to tackle the multiple, complex and interconnected challenges of our time, providing solutions that promote human and planetary wellbeing. Meeting the SDGs for 2030 is not just up to the government; it is a responsibility for us as individuals and across different groups and sectors.
In Scotland, many groups with an interest in sustainability and development have been engaging with national and local government and business to explore ways of working and to undertake projects, programmes and other initiatives. SDG Network Scotland was formed in the summer of 2017. Our network organisation emerged from previous collaboration and is an important part of the current efforts towards Scotland’s commitment to sustainable development.
The Rio Group
The Rio Group was founded by Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sniffer, and CIFAL Scotland in 2011 to provide a platform for discussion in Scotland for organisations interested in engaging with the United Nations Millenium Development Goals.
The Rio Group ran several events to enable interested organisations to exchange knowledge and to collate Scottish priorities to feed into the emergence of the SDGs at a global level. One example is the document we developed – ‘A Flourishing Scotland’ – which set out ten ‘celebrations’ and ten ‘ambitions’ civil society organisations in Scotland wished to see reflected in the finalised SDGs. This was formally submitted to the United Nations in 2012.
The post-2015 group
After the SDGs were adopted in 2015, the remit of the Rio Group evolved. The mission shifted to be a catalyst for achieving the full implementation of the SDGs within Scotland.
This Post-2015 SDG group oversaw targeted events designed to help keep the SDGs high on the political agenda. It also promoted practical and policy initiatives to raise awareness of the SDGs, strengthen action and facilitate partnership working across the Scottish Government, civil society and the business community.
SDG Network Scotland
In March 2017, following a gap in activity from the Post-2015 SDG group, a meeting was convened by the Scotland-Malawi Partnership. There was an apparent demand to increase working together and partnership across Scotland and beyond to progress the SDGs. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) worked with a range of partners to establish the network to build awareness and engagement across civil society, business, and government.
SDG Network Scotland is a broad coalition in Scotland. By 2020, our coalition was built on an active membership of over 700 individuals and organisations. We welcome all members who are interested in and committed to debating, championing and achieving the SDGs in Scotland, and we engage with other groups and topics of relevance.
We aim to support debate on the SDGs, listening to people, discussing and speaking to decision makers; and to implement the SDGs in Scotland in the pursuit of sustainability. Our Steering Group offers direction and focus but members can post comments and exchange knowledge across the online forum. We collectively develop open letters, policy briefings, consultation responses, and encourage sharing and discussion on our public-facing website – globalgoals.scot.
For example, in 2019, the network played a crucial role in facilitating input into Scotland contribution to the UK Voluntary National Review on Progress towards the SDGs and in producing Scotland’s Supplementary Review: a national review to drive action.
The UN SDGs are part of an aspirational drive to transform the future; they were inspired by the voluntary and third sectors as well as by member state governments, and they have already been taken up by many significant parties in the private sector. Whilst they are not perfect, they represent the outcome of consultation by over 7 million people, and offer a current practicable approach. We can continue to constructively debate them, whilst employing them as a framework to inspire discussion and reflective learning and action.
Join our coalition
SDG Network Scotland is an open coalition in Scotland. We are here for anyone committed to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Scotland, which was one of the first nations to sign up to the SDGs. Our coalition is built on an active membership of over people and organisations across Scotland.
Our vision is for Scotland to aspire to and act for the rights and wellbeing of people and nature together.
Our mission is to make Scotland a more sustainable nation by facilitating collaborative action towards the SDGs.
Our membership is completely open. All you need to do is share our vision and mission!
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