The University Global Coalition, in partnership with the United Nations Academic Impact, has declared March 2-6, 2026 as SDG Action & Awareness Week. The purpose of this week is to raise awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among students, faculty, and staff in higher education and inspire them to act in furtherance of the goals on their campuses and in their local communities.

The 17 SDGs lay out a path to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and protect our shared environment. While some corporations have started aligning operations with the SDGs, more awareness of and attention to the goals among businesses, governments, and citizens is needed. I’ve long been a fan of the SDGs, not because I think they’re easily achievable–in fact, they’re ambitious goals representing ideals, and humanity is collectively behind on progress toward them. But I think for anyone who is not familiar with sustainability concepts or who doesn’t often think about how sustainability applies to them, to businesses and organizations, or to governments (i.e., those who aren’t sustainability wonks like me), the SDGs provide a relatively easy-to-grasp framework to guide actions and policies.

If you’d like to learn more and celebrate SDG Action & Awareness week, view a curated list of relevant SDG resources. For my “day job” as part of the technical assistance group at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) a year or so ago, I mapped how our efforts align with the SDGs and posted that on our website. Check that out here. Maybe it will inspire you to do something similar for your organization!

You might also want to check out the following videos to learn more about the UN SDGs:

  • Understanding the Dimensions of Sustainable Development: https://youtu.be/pgNLonYOc9s. Includes the 5 Ps outlined in the 2030 Agenda: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership, and relates them to the commonly recognized elements of sustainability—social, economic, and environmental factors.
  • Sustainable Development Goals: Improve Life All Around the Globe: https://youtu.be/kGcrYkHwE80. A rap performance that outlines the 17 SDGs.
  • Sustainable Development Goals explained with 3 useful tips: https://youtu.be/qfOgdj4Okdw. This is a Sustainability Illustrated video by Alexandre Magnin. I love his videos and highly recommend subscribing to his YouTube channel and checking out his website at https://sustainabilityillustrated.com/en/ to explore simple explanations of complex sustainability concepts. This video highlights the “SDG Wedding Cake” visualization of the goals.