Chair

2022

• UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) (Mr. Ola Goransson)
• SULITEST (Ms. Florencia Librizzi)

2019 - 2021

• UNEP (Mr. Sam Barratt), SDSN (Ms. Florencia Librizzi)

2012 - 2019

• UN DESA

UN Partners

• UN DESA
• UNESCO
• UN Environment Programme
• UN Global Compact’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME)
• UN University
• UN-HABITAT
• UNCTAD
• UNITAR
• UN Office for Partnerships

Working Groups

Rankings, ratings, and assessments

• Duncan Ross, Times Higher Education
• Fiona Goodwin, EAUC
• Meghan Fay Zahniser, AASHE
• Sam Barratt, UNEP
• Julia Christensen, Yorkville University
• John North, GRLI
• Florencia Librizzi, SULITEST
• Meredith Storey, SDSN
• Jean-Christophe Carteron, Sulitest
• Debra Rowe, President, US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development
• Kathleen Ng, HEASC
• Heather McShane, McGill University

Education for Green Jobs

• Coordinators:
  • Noemie Metais, UNEP-YEA
  • Mari Nishimura, UNEP-YEA
  • Debra Rowe, President, US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development
• Contributors
  • Amanda Lange Salvia, University of Passo Fundo
  • Evangeline Mengelkoch, University of Wisconsin-Superior
  • Amber Reader, Arizona State University
  • Jadesola Iyowu, University of Lagos
  • Oluchi Nwaokorie, University of Lagos
  • Kendall Chappell, University of Chicago
  • Shen Shen, University of San Francisco

SDG Publishers Compact

• Coordinators:
  • Debra Rowe, President, US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development
  • Julia Christensen Hughes, President, Yorkville University
• Contributors:
  • Stuart Cooper, ScienceOpen 
  • David Steingard, Saint Joseph's University 
  • Roger Worthington, Independent Researcher
  • Gerald Beasley, Cornell University
  • Victoria Gardner, Taylor & Francis Group
  • Arend Kuester, Springer Nature
  • Claire Jackson, Emerald Publishing
  • Dana Compton, American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Hannah Ells, Cengage
  • Jason Maitland, Sustainability Institute of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Derek Lough, Illinois State University 
  • Nicola Jones, Springer Nature
  • Nikita Lad, George Mason University 
  • Ratna Lindawati Lubis, Telkom University
  • Simon Linacre, previously Cabells
  • Lucas Toutloff, Cabells
  • Chirag Jay Patel, Cactus Communications 

Featured initiatives

• SULITEST
• Green Gown Awards
• SDG Accord

International Networks & Organizations

• Amfort (or WAPTT, the World Association for Professional Tourism Training)
• Association of Commonwealth Universities 
• Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA)
• CEEMAN
• CNRD
• EFMD
• Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)
• GRLI
• International Sustainable Campus Network - ISCN
• L’Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)
• MEDIES (Mediterranean Region): Mediterranean Education Initiative for Environment and Sustainability
• Nordic Sustainable Campus Network
• ProSPER.Net (Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research Network)
• SENAI
• Second Nature
• SOS-UK: Students Organising for Sustainability UK
• Sustainability and Education Policy Network (SEPN, Canada)
• Sustainable Development Solutions Network
• The Association of African Universities (AAU)
• The Association of MBAs
• The Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF)
• The COPERNICUS Alliance
• The International Association of Universities (IAU)
• The SDG Accord
• UNITWIN
• World Business School Council for Sustainable Business (WBSCSB)

National/Regional Networks & Organizations

• American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC)
• Conférence des Grandes Ecoles (CGE)
• AACC
• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
• AGB
• ANSTI
• ASPUnivNet
• Association of African Business Schools (AABS)
• Campus Responsables (Sustainable Campus)
• Conference of University Presidents (CPU)
• EcoLeaD
• Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC)
• GUNI-AP
• HACU
• INNOVEMOS
• Instituto Global de Gestão da Sustentabilidade (IGS)
• Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture
• The Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability
• The Centre for Environment Education (CEE)
• The Himalayan University Consortium (HUC)
• Times Higher Education
• U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development
• Universities Australia

Student Organizations

• FSNSD (French Student Network for Sustainable Development)
• OIKOS
• National Union of Students (NUS)
• SENSD
• Studenten voor Morgen
• The World Student Community for Sustainable Development (WSCSD)

Higher Education Institutions

• Aalto University, Finland
• Academy USMP
• Addis Ababa University
• Agrocampus Ouest
• Ahlia University Sustainability Initiative
• Al Farabi Kazakh National University
• Alfred State College
• AlterContacts Academy for Sustainable Development
• ALTIS-Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
• Anglia Ruskin University
• Asian Institute of Technology
• Aston Business School
• Atomi University, Faculty of Management
• Bahçeşehir Cyprus University
• Baikal International Business School
• Baltic College
• Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University
• Beijing Normal University
• Benchmarking Brazil Program
• Bentley University
• Birla Institute of Management Technology
• Brookhaven College
• Bunkyo University
• Business School Lausanne
• Business School Sao Paulo
• Cairo University
• California State University, Monterey Bay
• Campus Euro-Latino-Americain de Sciences PO
• Canterbury Christ Church University
• Cardiff Metropolitan University
• Catholic University of Portugal (Porto) College of Biotechnology
• Central South University of Forestry and Technology
• Centre international d études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)
• Chalmers University of Technology - Challenge Lab
• Chatham University
• Chuo University
• Clarkson University
• COMUE Lille Nord de France
• Cranfield University
• Creating Electronic ECOWAS with Global University System
• Daffodil International University (DIU)
• Dickinson College
• Dissertations for Good
• Ebonyi State University
• Ecole des Métiers de l’Environnement
• Ecole des Mines de Douai
• Ecole des Mines de Nantes
• Ecole des Ponts ParisTech
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs en informatique, automatique, mécanique énérgétique et électronique
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie-Chimie ParisTech
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d’Aérotechnique
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne
• Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse
• Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort
• Ecole Polytechnique
• Ecole Supérieur des Sciences Commerciales d’Angers
• Ecole Supérieure de Commerce et de Management
• Educatis University
• EFREI
• Environment and Sustainable Development Initiative, University of Arizona
• EPF - Graduate School of Engineering
• Erb Institute at the University of Michigan
• ESADE Foundation
• ESCEM Tours-Poitiers
• ESCP Europe
• ESG Management School
• ESSEC Business School
• EUCLID University SDG Action Plan
• Fachhochschule Düsseldorf – University of Applied Science
• Faculdade Antonio Meneghetti
• Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la Universidad de Buenos Aires
• Faculty Of Administration and Business, University of Bucharest
• Faculty of Economics University of Ljubljana
• Faculty of Global Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University
• Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York.
• Fondation UVED (Université Virtuelle Environnement et Développement durable)
• Fordham University
• Fundação Dom Cabral
• Fundação Getúlio Vargas
• Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina
• Geneva Tsinghua Initiative for the Sustainable Development Goals
• George Mason University
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• Gordon Institute of Business Science
• Górnośląska Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa im. W. Korfantego, Katowice School of Economics
• Gotland University
• Graduate Academic Program for Educators and Practitioners
• Grenoble Ecole de Management
• Grenoble Institute of Technology
• Griffith Business School, Griffith University
• Groupe ESC Pau
• Groupe ESC Toulouse (Toulouse Business School)
• Groupe Sup de Co La Rochelle
• Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier Business School
• HAN University of Applied Science
• Hanzehogeschool Groningen
• Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale de Genève
• Hautes Etudes d’Ingénieurs HEI
• Helsinki Espana – University Network
• Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
• Higher School of Professional Business Studies, Novi Sad
• Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel
• Högskolan Väst
• Hokkaido University
• ICN Business School Nancy- Metz
• IEDC-Bled School of Management
• Institut Catholique D’arts et Métiers
• Institut de Physique Nucléaire Orsay (IPNO)
• Institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l’environnement
• Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay
• Institut national supérieur des sciences agronomiques, de l’alimentation et de l’environnement
• Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie
• Institut Polytechnique LaSalle Beauvais
• Institutional Sustainability and Resiliency
• Instituto de Estudios para la Sustentabilidad Corporativa
• Instituto Superior de Administração e Economia
• Instituto Superior de Educación Administración y Desarrollo
• Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa
• Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto
• International Culture University (ICU)
• International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering
• International Institute of Business
• International Management Institute of St. Petersburg
• International Sakharov Environmental University
• International School for Social and Business Studies
• International University of Monaco (IUM)
• ISMANS
• Issykkul State University
• Istanbul Bilgi University
• Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University
• KEDGE - Bordeaux Campus (ex BEM)
• KEDGE - Marseille Campus (ex Euromed)
• L école de design Nantes Atlantique
• La Trobe University
• Lagos Business School, Pan-African University
• Maastricht University
• Macalester College
• Mapua Institute of Technology
• Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
• McGill University
• MIB School of Management
• Mie University
• Mines ParisTech
• Miyagi University of Education
• MNHN Museum national d'Histoire naturelle
• Moscow State University of International Relations
• Nagoya University
• Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
• Naruto University of Education
• NEW WAYS Center for Sustainable Development
• Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering
• Northland College
• Notre Dame University – Louaize
• Nottingham Trent University
• Novia University of Applied Sciences, Finland
• Nuertingen-Geislingen University-NGU
• Okayama University
• Onondaga Community College
• Osaka Prefecture University
• Osh State University-OSU
• Pacific Lutheran University
• Pan African Institute of Development-West Africa (PAID-WA) Vocational Training Initiative
• Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
• Pforzheim University
• Plymouth University
• Politecnico di Bari
• Polytech Montpellier
• Portland Community College
• Portland State University
• PRES Université de Toulouse
• Proficiency Olympiad
• Public University of Navarre
• Public-private partnership to teach and implement SDG through a Master course at the University of the Basque Country
• REIMS Management School
• Renmin University of China
• Richland College
• Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration
• Rivers State University of Science and Technology
• RMIT-wide SDGs project
• Russian State University of Trade and Economics
• Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University
• Saint Monica University (SMU)
• Sapienza University of Rome
• School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University
• School of Industrial Engineering of Technical University of Madrid
• Seattle University
• Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli
• Shared Canadian Curriculum in Family Medicine
• Simpli Ed
• SKEMA Business School
• SMK University of Applied Social Sciences (SMK)
• Société de Mathématique Appliquées et Industrielles
• Southern University, Bangladesh
• State University of Management
• State University of New York (SUNY)
• State University of New York at Fredonia
• State University of New York College at Cortland
• State University of New York College at Geneseo
• State University of New York College at Oneonta
• State University of New York Empire State College
• Stevens Institute of Technology
• SUNY Delhi
• SUPELEC
• Sustainable Labs, University of Bristol
• Télécom Bretagne
• Teri University-TU
• Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University
• Texas State University Net-Impact
• The American University in Cairo
• The Contemporary University of the Americas
• The Erb Institute at the University of Michigan
• The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• The UCLan Research Centre for Applied Sport, Physical Activity and Performance
• The University of Shiga Prefecture
• The University of Tampere
• The University of Waikato
• Tongji University
• Tsinghua University
• UCL Engineering for International Development hub
• UCT Graduate School of Business
• Unitec Institute of Technology
• Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí
• Universidad Casa Grande
• Universidad de Alcalá
• Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales
• Universidad de Extremadura
• Universidad de Granada
• UNIVERSIDAD DE LEÓN
• Universidad de Salamanca
• Universidad de Santander-UDES
• Universidad Del Pacifico - Ecuador
• Universidad Iberoamericana, A.C.
• Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena
• Universidad Rafael Landìvar-URL
• Universidad Veracruzana
• Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
• Università degli Studi di Catania
• Università degli Studi di Ferrara
• Università degli Studi di Genova
• Università degli Studi di Milano
• Università degli Studi di Siena
• Universita degli Studi di Udine
• Università della Calabria
• Università for Foreigners of Perugia
• Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria
• UNIVERSITAT DE GIRONA
• Universitat de València
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
• UNIVERSITA’ DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA
• Université Blaise Pascal Clermont2
• Université catholique de Lille
• Université Catholique de Louvain
• Université Claude Bernard Lyon, Institut Lumière Matière
• Université d'Artois
• Université de Bourgogne, Dijon
• Université de Bretagne-Sud
• Université de Haute-Alsace
• Université de la Rochelle
• Université de Lille
• Université de Lorraine
• Université de Lyon (COMUE Lyon / St-Etienne)
• Université de Nantes
• UNIVERSITE DE NIMES
• Université de Paris-Sud
• Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour
• Université de Perpignan Via Domitia
• Université de Tours
• Université des Antilles et de la Guyane
• Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale
• Université du Maine
• Université d’Aix Marseille
• Université d’Angers
• Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)
• Université Jean Monnet
• Université Joseph Fourier Grenoble 1
• Université Laval
• Université libre de Bruxelles
• Université Lille 1 - Sciences et Technologies
• Université Lyon 1
• Université Montesquieu – Bordeaux IV
• Université Nice Sophia Antipolis
• Université Paris 13
• Université Paris Diderot
• Université Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défense, Nanterre
• Université Pierre et Marie Curie
• University at Albany
• University at Buffalo, the State University of New York
• University College Cork Green Campus Initiative
• University for Development Studies
• University of Alberta- Building a Sustainable Future
• University of Applied Sciences HTW Chur
• University of Ballarat
• University of Barcelona
• University of Bergen - SDG Bergen Initiative
• University of Bern
• University of Connecticut
• University of Eastern Finland
• University of Education PH Schwaebisch Gmuend-PH SG
• University of Enna Kore
• University of Essex
• University of Exeter
• University of Gävle
• University of Gloucestershire
• University of Gothenburg
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Jyväskylä
• University of Lagos
• University of Lausanne
• University of Leuven, department of architecture, urbanism and spatial planning
• University of Limerick
• University of Missouri-Kansas City
• University of Nairobi
• University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
• University of Oslo
• University of Salento
• University of Salford
• University of Santiago de Compostela
• University of Stellenbosch Business School
• University of Technology Sydney
• University of the Highlands and Islands
• University of the West of England, Bristol
• University of Valladolid
• University of Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
• University of Wales, Newport-UWN
• University of Wales: Trinity Saint David
• University of Wisconsin-Whitewater College of Business & Economics
• UNIVERZA NA PRIMORSKEM UNIVERSITÀ DEL LITORALE
• UNO College of Business Administration
• Ural State University of Economics
• Visual Communication Design Department, UNTAR
• VUZF University
• Yale University

Registered initiatives (on online platform)

• Designing Food Value Chains to foster the Agenda 2030 Education Programme
• AD CARE 4.0 (2018-2020)
• Affordability education for citizens of developing countries 2019-2030
• Arts Education for a sustainable future
• Cap-Net UNDP
• CNRS
• Educating and Empowering Women and Girls for Turn Around (EE4WaGs)
• Education is a bridge for sustainable future
• Education for All
• Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship
• Education Partner
• Enhancing Sustainability Tertiary Education in Small Island Developing States
• Environmental Conservation for Sustainable Urban and rural Development
• Establishment of a College Wide Sustainability Platform guided by an internal Task Force, weaving sustainability throughout our undergraduate, graduate and online curriculum
• Hard Rain Project
• HESI and FAOU Integration Partnership
• Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD)
• Higher Education During War Times
• Higher Education for Sustainable Development
• Implementation and socialization of technological tools Repository of Environmental Knowledge
• Industrial ecology and green economy
• international platform for 21st Century skills and new techniques
• Introducing interconnected thinking in primary and high schools
• Mainstreaming Education for Sustainable development
• Mainstreaming sustainability in business education at Business School Lausanne
• Remote Emergency and Primary Care Services in Nepal (REPSIN)
• Responsible Futures
• SDG Bay Area
• Smart City Planning and Management for Sustainable Habitat
• Social Entrepreneurship Training Program and Support
• Songs of Adaptation
• Student Switch Off
• SUST - RCNJ + HESI
• Sustainability Knowledge Lab
• Sustainable Development Certification - Nongovernmental Administration
• Swiss Sustainability Hub-Sustainable Consumption and Waste Project
• The Boutros Boutros-Ghali Chair for Sustainable Peace
• The CIAAD | UN Design Challenge for a rapidly deployable reusable habitat system for the maintenance of communities in disaster zones over the medium term.
• The Library Study Hall
• THE PHILIPPINE LEARNING COMMONS AT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF KAOHSIUNG (PLC@NUK)
• The Gap Frame: a new global framework for a better world
• The Saltillo Declaration: Educating Resilient Societies
• UB Sustainability Action Plan
• UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education
• UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education
• United Nations Association-USA GenUN Network
• Universal Diploma in Sustainable Development (UDSD)
• VALYU - educational game for entrepreneurship and sustainability
• Vision2020 Climate and Sustainability Action Plan
• Ways of Knowing - Community Challenge
• Well being for All, Sustainably

• World Top 20 Project

Sulitest

Higher Education should play a key role in building a sustainable future by providing current and future decision-makers with sufficient knowledge, skills and mindsets to make informed and effective decisions to this end.

Sulitest is an online platform developing training and assessment tools to improve sustainability literacy for all and to provide tangible indicators to monitor this journey. Sulitest's ecosystem of tools include: the Quiz, consisting of a set of around 10 questions and played as an interactive game between several teams, it can be used during board meetings, classes, and other events; Looping, a platform that proposes a reverse pedagogy experience where learners play an active role in co-creating new knowledge, creating questions and using critical thinking and collective intelligence in a peer evaluation process; and lastly, the most well-known tool, the Test, an individual exam that includes a core module of 30 international questions, and optionally, customized modules linked to a specific country, SDG, or topic of choice through customization.

In only a few years, the Sulitest has grown into a learning tool of reference. It is widely used by almost 1000 HEIs and organizations in 80 countries and almost 160,000 tests have already been taken on the Sulitest platform. Building on its community, Sulitest is developing a diversity of modules to provide internationally recognized and locally relevant tools aligned with the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sulitest is a tangible implementation of HESI and a contributor to the review of the 2030 Agenda through the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). Each Sulitest question is aligned with one or more SDG in order to create the largest database on citizens’ awareness and understanding of the goals. An annual report highlights these indicators to map awareness of the SDGs and to monitor progress.

Download the 2020 Sulitest HLPF Report here.

In addition, complementary modules are supporting the learning journey toward the SDGs. In 2017, Sulitest and UN DESA launched a first module on the SDGs framework and processes to empower citizens to contribute to the global agenda. Since then, modules on SDG 7, SDG 11 (focused on holistic waste management) and SDG 12 (focused on Circular Economy) were developed and made available. Currently, Sulitest is co-creating with UN DESA and Mercator Ocean International a SDG 14 modules with questions about ocean-related issues.

Sign-up your organization here (or use your existing account) and start expanding your knowledge and assessing your sustainability literacy with Sulitest!

Green Gown Awards

Established in 2004, the Green Gown Awards recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges. With sustainability moving up the agenda, the Awards have become established as the most prestigious recognition of best practice within the further and higher education sector.

The Green Gown Awards are administered by EAUC and each region are governed by a local cross agency steering group. The judging panel are representatives of sector organisations relevant to each region.

More information: https://www.greengownawards.org/

Each year, HESI designates working groups to tackle topics related to higher education for sustainable development. Working groups draw upon the full HESI community to carry out its work and is often composed of several organizations and contributors. Results are published on the HESI website and promoted by the network.

There are currently three working groups:

1. Rankings, ratings, and assessments
2. Education for Green Jobs
3. SDG Publishers Compact

Rankings ratings and assessment

Rankings, ratings, and assessment (RRA) organizations have significant influence - and thus significant responsibility - to guide the academic sector. As we approach the threshold of irreversible climate change, many of these have recognized the need to change their criteria for assessment of the performance of higher education institutions to include contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Numerous initiatives aimed either at improving current standards or creating new ones have emerged.

Given the scale of the issues and the deadlines involved, this is likely a paradigm shift rather than merely improvement on the surface. However, as with any paradigm shift, it is never easy to have a clear idea of what to do and what pitfalls to avoid.

HESI therefore tasked a multi-stakeholder working group of sustainability experts/practitioners with creating advice that would guide these assessments to best practice.

Leading RRA organizations who have committed to these guidelines in the lead-up to the 2021 High-Level Political Forum include:

• The Association for the Advancement of Higher Education;
• Corporate Knights;
• The Financial Times;
• Round University Ranking;
• Times Higher Education; and
• UBI Global.

Since then, other organizations have committed to these guidelines, including Elsevier, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Positive Impact Ranking, and Cabells.

Documents

• Assessments of Higher Education’s progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Volume 1)
• Assessments of Higher Education’s progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Volume 2)
• Assessments of Higher Education’s progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Volume 3)

Education for Green Jobs

The Education for Green Jobs initiative focuses on :

• Supporting curricula updates to build the workforce we need for a sustainable and inclusive future.
• Improving education, career advising and job placement processes to promote green and sustainability careers.
• Enhancing communication processes between employers and educators around workforce needs for ongoing improvements.

This initiative supports the fulfillment of national climate commitments. The components of the initiative include: events for employers and educators, Solutions Summits and a virtual community for sharing of strategies and successes, support and continuous communication, and the global guidance document.

The initiative is an outgrowth from the United Nations Environment Programme, through the Youth Education Alliance (UNEP-YEA). Along with the US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development and with input from staff at multiple UN agencies and the World Bank, UNEP-YEA produced the Global Guidance for Education on Green Jobs: Connecting Higher Education and Green Opportunities for Planetary Health. This document includes a framework, dozens of resources and key actions for educators to prepare students to participate in the transition to a green and more inclusive economy. It includes content on knowledge enhancement, skills and competency development, and job opportunities. See more about the initiative here. 

A series of events on connecting higher education and the green economy community are planned. To get more information and opportunities to participate, sign up for the virtual community.  

SDG Publishers Compact

Aligning academic research and education with the SDGs is crucial for a sustainable future. HESI therefore tasked a multi-stakeholder working group of sustainability experts/practitioners/academic leaders with creating advice that would guide these alignments.

The SDG Publishers Compact, launched by the International Publishers Association and the United Nations back in 2020, has continued to gather momentum for the wider publishing sector and is a focus area to amplify. In practice, the Compact requires aligning daily practices, content, and measures of success with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One sector accelerating progress has been academic publishing. Academic publishers joined with over 150 organisations, including academic publishing industry associations such as STM and the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers.

In support of the Compact, HESI facilitated a SDG Publishers Compact Fellows program.  These Fellows, from publishing and academia, are working on 4 key initiatives; 

• Integration of SDG Educational Materials: The Academic Societies and Textbooks group is developing ways for publishers to better recognize and address the lack of SDG-related content in their educational materials. This includes presentation materials for conferences and other relevant stakeholder meetings to build awareness around the SDGs. Furthermore, the Fellows are addressing the complex question of what will make an educational resource an SDG resource. The expected outcome is that instructors, traditional-aged students, and lifelong learners will  feel inspired and empowered with quality knowledge and resources around the SDGs so they will be motivated to act with confidence, knowing how to contribute to a sustainable future. 
   
• Putting the SDGs into practice: The Connecting Academic Researchers and Practitioners group is focused on developing best practices that will foster communication and build stronger relationships between academic research and those who use research - the practitioners (such as Businesses). The group is working on encouraging authors, editors, and publishers to create synopsized content and alternate formats that are useful and appealing to practitioners. They are also creating the “Top Actions” tips to encourage the integration of SDGs into daily practice and to stimulate research based on the challenges and opportunities practitioners face.
   
• Redefining impact: The Impact and Reach group is focused on changing the traditional ways research impact is measured and viewed, specifically looking at academic rankings and incentives.  Multiple “Top Actions” tips for publishers, editors, authors, librarians and graduate students are being completed.The group is preparing a resource to highlight seminal SDG research articles and their impact on policy, education, society and beyond. In addition, to ease the identification, collection, and labelling of SDG-aligned content (that can help with rankings), the group is considering the development of a standardised SDG taxonomy to be used by researchers, publishers and policymakers alike.
   
• Changing the culture in Higher Education: A final, broad-focused sub-group on Changing Culture is taking steps to affect culture change throughout the academic and publishing ecosystem. This group is evaluating the various stakeholders and what their needs are to move the focus toward the SDGs. While the initial focus will be on connecting with and elevating those already working with SDGs, eventually the group will transition to highlighting additional associations (e.g. journal editors), companies (e.g. publishers)  and institutions (e.g. educators and researchers) and the spaces where they could immediately incorporate the SDGs. 

HESI is supporting the STM SDG Academic Publishers Forum 

The STM Association supports over 140 publishers from 20 countries in their mission to advance trusted research worldwide. STM signed up to the SDG Publishers Compact earlier this year and will convene a new SDG Publishers Forum in the new year. The idea is to create a place to gather like minded publishers to discuss and take action on industry wide SDG related initiatives. It provides the ideal place to discuss the output, best practises and top 10 tips from the HESI group and others as the wider sector steps up to the challenges and opportunities that the SDGs present for research and education.  

Partnerships for the goals 

The 17 SDGs are broad and ambitious. Each goal is interlinked, requiring progress to be made across several goals at the same time. It is why the last goal, SDG 17, is dedicated towards partnerships. The academic sector has recognized that partnerships, projects and initiatives from all parts of academia are needed. The HESI SDG fellows, members of the STM SDG forum and academic publishers signed up to the Compact provide a great blueprint of how working together can create this important movement that is redefining research and education with SDGs in mind. 

If you are an academic publisher and would like to get involved, please sign up to the SDG Publishers Compact and start taking action.