The University is setting the bar higher for a greener future with Sustainable Development Goals Month.
This month, Sustainable Development Solutions Network Canada (SDSN), a global chapter of the United Nations (UN) with 57 National and Regional Networks including one in Canada, is hosting a national collaborative initiative encouraging Canada’s post-secondary institutions to organize workshops, s, and other programming events to increase awareness and compliance with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The SDGs are a set of global objectives the UN adopted as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aimed at addressing global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, and peace. Queen’s SDG Month will take place throughout March, with SDSN Canada looking to unite Canadian institutions by providing a centralized place to find all programming relating to the UN SDGs.
Last year, SDSN Canada brought 33 campuses together, including Queen’s, with over 100 events taking place across these institutions.
The University will host events for multiple SDGs. For SDG five, “gender equality,” a March 7 International Women’s Day (IWD) event at the Biosciences Complex will host faculty, staff, and students to celebrate IWD the following day. For SDG10, “reduced inequalities” and 16, “peace, justice and strong institutions,” a talk on Indigenous law will take place on March 17. These fall in line with other events listed on the SDG Month calendar.
In an interview with The Journal, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane spoke about the importance of Queen’s participation when it comes to the SDGs.
“The beautiful thing about the SDGs is they’re comprehensive. They include almost everything. All 17 of them bring all forms of activity within their purview. So that means, for a place like this in which work goes on many different fronts, the SDGs can be a very helpful way of linking that work, […] you can link that into the overall effort to have impact in the world,” Deane said.
Deane also touched on the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, which ranks universities based on their success in different SDGs and cumulative success in relation to all 17 SDGs.
“We’ve done exceptionally well in the impact rankings. In fact, we’re the only Canadian institution to have been in the top 10 for as long as we have, we were eighth last year [in the rankings], but we’ve been as high as four,” Deane said.
READ MORE: Queen’s Impact Ranking falls from previous year
Alongside coming eight overall in the 2024 impact rankings, Queen’s also finished first in the world in SDG two, “Zero Hunger” and third in SDG 16. Deane referenced that in THE’s more general rankings, Queen’s usually doesn’t place as high, saying this isn’t necessarily bad, but just part of the University’s position as a smaller research-intensive school.
“We do well in the general global rankings, but there are issues like our size and the way in which we are configured by discipline. Those things, to some extent, limit how well we can rank,” Deane said.
Deane said SDG Month is multi-faceted in encouraging and showcasing work related to SDGs.
“The beauty of SDG Month is how much stuff percolates up from the grassroots. So, part of what we’re trying to do is actively shape and encourage work on the SDGs but also take note of what’s been going on anyway,” Deane said.
Faculty, departments, and clubs hosting events related to SDG Month can submit their events to the SDG Month Calendar form.
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