The United Nations established the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The SDGs address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.
In 2015, the United Nations set out to solve the world’s major economic, social, and environmental challenges in 17 critical areas by 2030. While all 193 Member States signed on, governments cannot achieve these goals alone. The UN and now FundingHope are calling on businesses to actively and creatively be part of the solutions. FundingHope is born out of an extension of the SDC call to action and aims to connect investors with business owners and entrepreneurs contributing to sustainable practices in distressed communities. The FundingHope founders believe that we can create a safer, cleaner, healthier environment by bridging the gap between innovation in distressed communities and the need for funding.
The 17 UN SDGs are:
1. No Poverty. More than 700 million people still live in poverty. Together, we can eradicate systemic poverty through equal access to financial support and encouraging innovation from entrepreneurs in distressed communities who have struggled with and witnessed poverty firsthand.
2. Zero hunger. To achieve global food security, improved nutrition and widespread sustainable agriculture will require access to nutritious and sufficient food year-round for poor and vulnerable people and access to funding for small-scale food producers to implement resilient agricultural practices designed to protect biodiversity, manage natural resources, and adapt to changing climates.
3. Good Health and Well Being. Ending preventable deaths for newborns and children under 5 years of age, reducing the maternal mortality ratio and premature mortality rates, ending AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria epidemics, combating diseases, and providing universal access to health care services, medicines, education, and vaccines can be achieved only by encouraging the development of innovative technology, increased education and entrepreneurial out-of-the-box thinking. Governments have a history of failing in these areas, but businesses can transform communities.
4. Quality Education. The COVID-19 epidemic has shined a light on the failures of public education, especially in economically distressed communities. Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education that promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all can only be achieved by investment that helps educate children in communities in need. This goal seeks to ensure all boys and girls complete primary and secondary school and have access to quality early childhood development to increase the number of adults and youth who have relevant employment and entrepreneurial skills.
5. Gender Equality. Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls to end discrimination against women and girls. Funding and encouraging additional women owned businesses will help eliminate harmful gender-based practices and all forms of violence against women and girls, as well as ensure that women can participate equally in leadership and political/economic decision making, which provides women with universal, equal access to economic resources, technology, sexual and reproductive health and rights, public services, and social protections.
6. Clean Water and Sanitation. Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all and achieving universal and equitable access to drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene, improving water quality and water-use efficiency, protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems, as well as improving water resource management requires investment in water infrastructure and technology.
7. Affordable and Clean Energy. This goal seeks to provide universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services, increase renewable energy, improve energy efficiency, and expand infrastructure to support sustainable energy services in economically distressed communities in developed countries and throughout low- and middle- income countries.
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth. Promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. This goal directly relates to economic growth and productivity through support for entrepreneurship, job creation, and innovation, a decrease in environmental degradation via sustainable production and reduced consumption, and the eradication of practices such as child forced labor and modern-day slavery. A foundation of FundingHope and our mission and vision.
9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. Building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation will require building quality infrastructure at the regional and trans-border levels, developing industrialization in distressed communities, increasing access to financial services for small businesses, retrofitting infrastructure toward clean and sustainable technologies and industrial processes, as well as supporting technology development, research, and innovation in developing countries.
10. Reduced Inequalities. The poorest 40% of the global population earn less than 25% of global income. Reducing inequality within communities and among countries requires income growth at a rate higher than the national average for the bottom 40% of the population, economic and political inclusion for all regardless of age, ethnicity, or religion, the elimination of discriminatory laws and policies, improved regulation of global financial markets, as well as safe and responsible facilitation of people’s migration and mobility.
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities. 9 of 10 urban residents breathe polluted air and rural communities face urban bias when it comes to attracting investment. Distressed communities need attention and funding to advance inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable innovation. Safe and affordable housing, sustainable transport systems, sustainable urban planning and management, increased protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage, safe public spaces, and advanced support national and regional development planning can best be accomplished by providing entrepreneurs and small business owners with increased access to funding.
12. Responsible Consumption and Production. Creating sustainable consumption and production patterns are necessary to achieve this goal. A comprehensive framework is needed that focuses on responsible consumption habits, the efficient use of natural resources, significant waste reduction, the promotion of sustainable living and public procurement practices, as well as the development and implementation of sustainable consumption and production patterns, including tourism.
13. Climate Action. Global emissions of CO2 have increased by 50% since 1990, SDG Goal 13 seeks to strengthen our resilience and adaptive capacity to respond to climate-related hazards and disasters around the world by integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning while improving education and awareness on climate change migration, adaptation, and risk reduction.
14. Life Below Water. Conservation and sustainable use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development requires the prevention and reduction of marine pollution, sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems, regulation of harvesting and overfishing, including the elimination of illegal or unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices, conservation of coastal and marine areas and sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism.
15. Life on Land. Protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss requires immediate implementation of sustainable forest management to halt deforestation and biodiversity loss and increase reforestation, restoration of degradation of land and soil, reduction of natural habitat destruction, prevention of poaching and trafficking of flora, fauna and illegal wildlife products.
16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. Nearly 90 million global citizens are fleeing war, persecution, and conflict. The UN as called for the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. To reach this goal and a significant reduction of violent deaths, end of abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children, significant private investment to entrepreneurs and small business owners in economically distressed communities is necessary. Increased economic development activity works to reduce illicit financial irregularity and arms flow, corruption and bribery, while strengthening global governance, and equal access to justice and protection of fundamental freedoms.
17. Partnerships. Strengthening means of implementation and revitalizing global partnerships that drive sustainable development leads to successful outcomes for this goal which includes strengthening LMICs through resource mobilization and implementation of development assistance commitments, growing financial resources, providing access to sustainable long-term debt and financing as well as science, technology and innovation, and promoting a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization.
As we navigate out of the pandemic that radically transformed our economies and societies, private investment that reaches entrepreneurs and small business owners in distressed communities is key to achieving the lofty goals of the United Nations and the UN SDGs. Won’t You Join Us?