Scotland's Goals - Scotland's Sustainable Development Goals Network

Scotland's Goals for Sustainable Development

Scotland and the SDGs

In 2015, the First Minister pledged that Scotland would lead the way to deliver a more equal, more just world. In signing Scotland up to the Sustainable Development Goals - also known as the SDGs or the Global Goals - the Scottish Government made a bold statement of intent not just to the people of Scotland but to the world.

Scotland should be a place where people can satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a good quality of life. Unfortunately, this is simply not a reality across our country today. These Goals give us the framework to achieve real change, from eradicating poverty to ensuring a good home for everyone. Meeting these goals for 2030 is not just up to politicians, it is a responsibility for us all.

Recent progress

In Scotland, many groups with an interest in sustainability and development have been engaging with national and local government to explore ways of working and to undertake projects, programmes and initiatives.

The SDG Network Scotland, an open coalition bringing together the voices of over 500 people and organisations across Scotland, was formed by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) in 2017 to assist with the development of a Scotland-wide response to the Goals challenge.

Alongside developing this website to serve as Scotland's National Platform for the SDGs, and launching an online forum to host the Network, SDG Network Scotland published an open letter in January 2018 with the support of nearly 100 organisations asking for action on the SDGs.

Since then, the Network has worked with the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) to produce material for the UK’s 2019 Voluntary National Review and Scotland's National Review - both of which can be accessed on our reporting hub - and worked to fuel a vibrant community within our coalition. We have also conributed a range of briefings to inform the work of governments and parliaments. This includes a collective briefing submitted to MSPs in January 2020 for a Scottish Parliament debate on progress towards the SDGs in Scotland.

In 2018, the Scottish Government launched a refreshed National Performance Framework (NPF) with the SDGs embedded throughout. The Scottish Government consider that the NPF and the Goals share the same aims, and it is viewed as Scotland’s way to localise and implement the SDGs.

Towards the end of 2020, members of SDG Network Scotland elected the coalition's first official steering group. In January 2021, over 70 organisations across Scotland supported SDG Network Scotland's open letter to Scotland’s First Minister and other Party Leaders in Scotland asking them to bring forward a Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (Scotland) Bill during the next Parliament (WSD Bill).