UN Sustainable Development Goals

Adopted by 192 nations in 2015, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals recognize that a sustainable future is possible only when we address human health and happiness, economic development, and environmental sustainability simultaneously. The goals set 169 targets that all nations are trying to achieve by 2030.

Penn State has adopted the SDGs as its primary frame for incorporating sustainability into teaching, research, outreach, and operations. Using the SDGs, you can ask how your work contributes to a sustainable future and how work you’re doing fulfills a broader sustainability mission – connecting you to new and unexpected peers in other fields across campus, Pennsylvania, and the world. By examining the SDGs, we can all also better identify areas of sustainability where we need to devote more attention. And we all need to do better: according to a 2018 report, as a state Pennsylvania ranks 30th out of 50 in its progress implementing the SDGs.

All of the Intersections Film Series–Building Better Bonds, Driving It Home, How We Respond, Landscapes of Labor, Limits of the Imagination, Soundings, and Stories of Tomorrow–use the SDGs as an organizing principle, highlighting the connections to the SDGs of all our stories to help the Penn State community think about the intersections and interdependence of all 17 SDGs. We introduce each film with an exploration of the SDGs and we invite you to join the larger Penn State conversation about how to ensure that we achieve the SDGs in Pennsylvania and around the world. All films are free and open to the public–bringing this conversation to our neighboring communities, alumni, students, faculty, staff, and everyone!