SDGs Implementation Final

Strategies for Sustainable Development
in Politics and Economy
- Implementation of SDGs -
Prof. Dr. Matthias Finkbeiner

Dr. Vanessa Bach
Technische Universität Berlin

Department of Environmental Technology
Chair of Sustainable Engineering
Sustainable Development Goals
• Global goals, which are to be reached by 2030
• Launched in 2015
• Clustered into 17 goals
• They are all interconnected and therefore indivisible
• SDGs are universal: goals and targets apply to all countries
• SDGs require policy coherence and government wide approaches

• If a specific policy is developed, it has to be made sure, that it is in line with the
SDGs goals and targets
• Designed for all sectors (application in business)
• Enhance communication, because all use the same “terminology”
Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

SDG - implementation
Goals, targets and indicators set at global level
 Implementation on national level
 Annual SDG report (centerpiece)
 VNR are presented at the High Political Forum (HLPF)

SDG implementation: High Political Forum (HLPF)
• Established in 2012 as the main UN platform for follow-up and review of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Goal: to keep sustainable development on high on

the political agenda
– To review the progress on (selected) SDGs
– Facilitate cooperation between different stakeholders
– Discuss relevant topics
• Participants: Member States and leaders from civil society,

business, UN System, specialized agencies, academia
and other stakeholders
• Takes part every year

– Specific topics
– National reviews
– Open and closed sessions

4

HLPF - 2020
• Took place at the UN in New York under the auspices of the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC) from 14.-16. July 2020 – party virtual, partly on site
• Theme was “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the

decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2020
– Strong focus on covid-19: what is the role of the international community to tackle
this challenge? How will it effect the SDGs?
Less
registered
participants
compared to
2020

Voluntary annual reviews
VNR countries submit

comprehensive written reports &
provide main messages summarizing
their key findings
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/25
361Knowledge_Exchange_Booklet_for_2020_VNR_Countries.pdf
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs/
One outcome of the HLPF 2020

Implementation at national level
• Implementation at national level SDGs will require at least

US$1.5 trillion extra a year
– Shaping policies (e.g. national strategy, local plans)  Conference on financing in
Addis Ababa
– Financing sustainable development
– Establishing multi-stakeholder expert groups
Data collection at local level

• Measuring progress: Annual SDG report particularly important for
the agenda that seeks to
leave no one behind
• Regional reports
Some of Germanys federal states

already adapted their sustainability
strategy accordingly, for example
Brandenburg

How to start with implementation on national level (1)
• Establishing multi-stakeholder expert groups

– Academia
– NGOs
– Civil society
– Business
1. Apply screening indicators to get a better

understanding of current status and to identify
priority issues
2. Preparing to develop SDG strategy:

– How can my country/city achieve the SDGs
– What can my company, organization or institution
contribute?

Setting up a strategy
Analysis (e.g. observing, collecting information)
Find deficiencies (e.g. areas where you want to improve)
Definition of goal (e.g. SMART goal) or vision
Define indicators for monitoring
Define actions plan (e.g. timeline, responsibilities, measures, etc.)

SDG implementation: Who should be engaged? (1)
• National governments (ministries, gov. representatives) Examples

• The German Council for
 ultimate duty-bearers of the SDG agenda Sustainable
Development (RNE)
 They are responsible for:
 comprehensive program of implementation
 developing a national strategy (-ies)
 agreeing upon a national monitoring framework
 process for annual reporting
 establishing multi-stakeholder advisory groups to support implementation
– show a strong public commitment to implementing the SDGs
http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/151211-getting-started-guide-FINAL-PDF-.pdf 10

• National governments (ministries, gov. representatives)

– national strategy (-ies) & monitoring framework
• Local governments (e.g. local representatives, planning bodies)

– Implementation in national strategies
– conduit from the national level to local citizens and community groups
– generate and compile considerable amounts of social, environmental, economic,

and private sector data



– Implementation & data collection
– Connects gov. & citizen
• Academia (e.g. universities, research centers)

 help to monitor the agenda through the collection, analysis, and interpretation of
primary data
 R&D
 Experts/advisory
 Education

http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/151211-getting-started-guide-FINAL-PDF-.pdf

– Implementation & data collection
– Connects gov. & citizen

 R&D
 Experts/advisory
 Education
• Civil society (e.g. NGOs, organizations/movements)

 Representing the needs of underrepresented communities and regions
 experience in delivering services for the poor and can recommend appropriate
interventions in different parts of the country
13


– Implementation & data collection; Connects gov. & citizen

 R&D; Experts/advisory; Education

 Representing the needs of underrepresented & experience in delivering services
• UN country teams
 have access to specialized technical expertise that can support strategic planning
 collectors of core household survey data (e.g. Multi-Indicator Cluster Surveys)
14




 technical expertise & data collectors
• International financial institutions
 Provide financial support
 World Bank’s sectoral and economic expertise can make an important contribution to
SDG needs assessments
15

 technical expertise & data collectors
• International financial institutions
 Provide financial support & DDG needs assessments
• Business
 Represented in the SDG planning process, e.g. via (i) sustainable production
processes, (ii) regenerative use of natural resources, (iii) improved social protection
for labor, (iv) corporate social responsibility, initiatives, and (v) donations
 Partnership with other stakeholders 16

Addis Ababa Action Agenda
• 2015 - Third International Conference on Financing for

Development
– Participants: 174 United Nations member states, 28 heads of
State, heads of the United Nations, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), the World Bank, World Trade Organization (WTO),
business and civil society…
 Outcome: Addis Ababa Action Agenda
– Global framework
– Provides concrete policies and actions to support implementation https://www.un.org/esa/f
fd/wp-
and financing of the Sustainable Development Agenda content/uploads/2015/08/
AAAA_Outcome.pdf
• Parallel process alongside SDGs implementation
• Follow-up: UN ECOSOC fourth Forum on Financing for
Development (FfD Forum) took place in April 2019
– Challenges were addressed
– Recommendations were given
– AAAA still in place
17

Addis Ababa Action Agenda
• Action Areas:
1. Domestic public resources
2. Domestic and international private business and finance
3. International development cooperation
4. International trade as an engine for development
5. Debt sustainability
6. Addressing systemic issues
7. Science, technology, innovation and capacity building
8. Data, monitoring and follow-up
18

Example: Addis Ababa Action Agenda
https://www.odi.org/publications/10931-monitoring-europes-fossil-fuel-subsidies-germany
https://developmentfinance.un.org/
• Action Areas:
1. Domestic public resources
• Improvements in domestic resource mobilization, e.g.

efforts to combat tax avoidance and evasion,
tax administration, fossil fuel subsidies
• Fossil fuel subsidies

– The Addis Agenda reaffirms Member States’ commitment to rationalize inefficient
fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption
– IMF staff study from 2015 estimated energy subsidies: Energy subsidy reform could
generate revenues for governments: ~ $3.0 trillion
19

Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2020
• Financing for Sustainable Development Report

(FSDR) published in 2020
– Based on expertise, analysis and data from more
than 60 agencies and international institutions,
e.g. World Bank Group & WTO
• Key messages:
– Slowing economic growth (also due to covid-19)
– Debt risks are rising: 44% of least developed

countries are at high risk of debt distress
– Increasing Trade Restrictions: ~10 times more

import-restrictive measures than 2 years ago
– Increasing Environmental Shocks: between 2014– https://developmentfinance.un.org/sites/develo

pmentfinance.un.org/files/FSDR_2020.pdf
2018, the number of weather-related loss events
worldwide increased by over 30 per cent
20

Review of AAAA (2)
https://developmentfinance.un.org/sites/developmentfinance.un.org/files/FSDR_2020.pdf
• Main recommendations
– Harness digital technologies in support of

sustainable finance
– Nurture the growing interest in sustainable

investment
• Sustainability Risk Disclosures

• Sustainability Standards
• Sustainability Preference Solicitation
 UN can support policymaking and financial
community with definitional parameters within
which to set disclosures, metrics and standards
– Aggregate and Advance, Together

implementing sustainable development is a
task which can only be achieved together
21

Europe & the SDGs
22
Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development

Europe & the SDGs?
• The EU has played an important role in shaping the 2030 Agenda

– through public consultations
– dialogue with our partners and in-depth research
• A range of EU policies contribute to this objective, involving many different

actors
23

Mapping of EU policies contributing to the SDGs
Examples
e.g. legislations on
Common health, e.g. enshrined in the
Europe 2020 Agricultural Convention on EU political and
strategy Policy (CAP) Tobacco control legal framework
Resource
efficiency
&circular
2030 economy
Climate actions
and
Energy
policy
frame-
work
Birds and Habitats Directives,

Natura 2000, Common Fisheries
Policy, Internat. Ocean Governance
24

Europe & the SDGs?
• A range of EU policies contribute to this objective, involving many different

actors
• 2016 - Commission Communication "Next steps for a sustainable European

future: European action for Sustainability “
– 2 work streams:
• i) to fully integrate the SDGs in

the European policy framework &
assessing where we stand &
identifying the most relevant
sustainability concerns
• ii) developing our longer term vision

for after 2020 & new Multiannual Financial Framework beyond 2020 will also
reorient the EU budget's
25

How the EU will take forward the implementation of
the SDGs (1)
• Governance
– Better regulation tools, e.g. all EC impact assessments must consider social,
economic and environmental issues, stakeholder involvements
– The European Semester
• strong focus on employment and social performance thereby promoting a more
sustainable socio-economic model
https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/communication-next-steps-sustainable-europe-20161122_en.pdf 26

the SDGs (2)
• Financing
– EU budget to tackle challenges both at European and at international level
– The Investment Plan for Europe references specifically the SDGs
• Different policies (e.g. EU Structural and Investments funds) finance
sustainability objectives
• Political commitment of devoting min. 20% of the EU budget to climate action
• EU is collectively committed to provide 0.7% of GNI as Official Development
Assistance (ODA)within the timeframe of the 2030 Agenda
• Horizon 2020 is expected to contribute at least 60% of its budget to sustainable
development and 35% to climate action
– Beyond 2020 - Multiannual Financial Framework
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/sustainable-development/SDGs/implementation/index_en.htm

the SDGs (3)
• Measuring progress at national, UN regional, EU and global level

– March 2016: 230 SDG indicators were agreed
– Member states & EU are measuring progress and reporting
• Shared responsibility for implementation and rewarding excellence

– The Communication (“Next steps..:”) is a framework for the EU (+Member States)
– The EU will only act when objectives can be better achieved at Union level than by
action of Member States
 Close cooperation with Member States is therefore necessary & many issues
affecting sustainable development will need to be addressed by Member States
themselves (currently establish their own national frameworks for the achievement
of the SDGs and for reporting)

Sustainable development in the European Union
• Report gives
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/4031688/11010788/KS-01-20-192-EN-
overview if the
SDGs are reached
• For most SDGs

moderate
progress can be
registered
N.pdf/ae63aff0-a6f3-1d47-da83-c6886b9daaab
• Gender equality
is the SDGs which
performs worst
• Peace and justice

is the SDG which
performs best
29

What Is an Indicator?
• Can be a sign, a number, a graphic, etc.
• Help for understanding of

– Where are you? (What´s the status)
– Which way are you going? (e.g. a target)
– How far away are you from where you want to be?
Today: People living

under the poverty line:
30%
Target: 10%
Distance: 20%
Indicator: Percentages
of people in region x
living under the
property line as defined
in this region
30

Terminology: Data, Indicators, & Indices
• Data
– Raw material
– In need of further processing (e.g. aggregation to national level, adjustment for
season, climate, economic cycles)
• Statistics
– treated amount of data, often from official sources
– describing real phenomena according to an exact definition
• Indicators
– messages without a need for further interpretation
• Indices
– may require adjustments
– Aggregation of several indicators
31

Gender equality in the EU
• Only 3 of 9 indicators show
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/4031688/11010788/KS-01-20-192-EN-
improvement
• Biggest challenge: gender pay

gap and education
N.pdf/ae63aff0-a6f3-1d47-da83-c6886b9daaab
32

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
• All selected indicators show

improvement
• Corruption was not measured
33

Business & the SDGs
34

SDGs & business: status quo
https://docs.wbcsd.org/2018/07/WBCSD_Business_and_the_SDGs.pdf
• Business are:
• Key development function as an engine of economic growth and employment
• Source of finance,
• Driver of innovation and technology
35

35
SDGs & business: What is the role of business?
https://docs.wbcsd.org/2018/07/WBCSD_Business_and_the_SDGs.pdf
36

36
• Business are:
• Key development function as an engine of economic growth and employment
• Source of finance,
• Driver of innovation and technology
• SDGs help business:

• Generate new revenue by creating new opportunities for market differentiation &
growth
• Recruit and retain talent by optimizing work- force
• Increase supply chain resilience by enhancing supply chain sustainability &

operational efficiency
• Assure license to operate by addressing regulatory compliance and managing risks
• Communication tool
37

37
• Challenges of business:
• SDGs are extremely broad; have not been made immediately accessible or
appealing to business
• Wording of SDGs does not instantly resonate with business.
• Perceived as a “cost on business”
• Dismissed as responsibility of governments. Better to wait until public sector take

action
• Several tools exist to support business to implement the SDGs

• SDG Compass
https://sdgcompass.org/wp-
content/uploads/2015/12/01910
4_SDG_Compass_Guide_2015.pdf
38

38
Linking SDGs to sectors
• Sectors with strong linkages to a single SDG

– sector is explicitly referred to as part of the delivery of certain targets
– services / products provided by the sector has a large impact in the achievement or
non-achievement of an SDG
http://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-bsdc/SDG-Sectors.pdf
 Healthcare: SDG 3 (to achieve good health and well-being for all)
 Oil & Gas: SDG 7 (affordable and sustainable energy for all), influenced by
investment choices
• Sectors with touchpoints across SDGs

– strong relevance across two or more SDGs
 Farming, fisheries & plantations: SDG 2 (zero hunger ) and SDG 12 (responsible
consumption and production) and SDG 14 (protect the marine environment)
 Extraction and production of raw materials: SDG 15 (live on land), SDG 12
• Cross-cutting sectors
– sectors are enablers across almost all the SDGs
 Financials: financial access, resources & investment are key enablers
 Telecommunications and Technology: healthcare access, pollution monitoring
39

Sector roadmap
https://docs.wbcsd.org/2018/04/SDG_roadmap%20Guidelines.pdf
• Published by the World Business Council For Sustainable
Development (WBCSD)
• Guideline to develop sector roadmaps on how to implement

the SDGs in different sectors
• 3-step framework is provided
40

Chemical sector SDG roadmap
https://docs.wbcsd.org/2018/07/Chemical_Sector_SDG_Roadmap.pdf
• Procedure:
Identify considered value chain
Identify sector interaction with

every SDGs
Identify the most releavnt SDGs for

the sector
41

• Procedure:
Identify sector interaction with each

SDGs
Identify the most releavnt SDGs for

the sector
42

• Procedure:
Identify sector interaction with each

SDGs
Identify the most relevant SDGs for

the sector
43

Identify the most relevant SDGs for the sector
Identify how the value chain interacts with

each SDG
Identify current level of positive and

negative impact on the goals
Assess potential to impact each goal and to

create business value
Identify sector priorities
44


each SDG


45

Identify current level of positive and negative impact
on the goals
46


each SDG


47

Assess potential to impact each goal and to create
business value
48


each SDG


49

• Procedure:
50

Priority SDGs for business
51

Priority SDGs for business
52

Some opinions on the SDGs
53

“The SDGs provide us with a common plan and agenda
to tackle some of the pressing challenges facing our
world such as poverty, climate change and conflict”
(UNDP)
“Whether the SDGs can work out is an open question. But

there is now an amazing amount of discussion. There is a
sense that this is a sensible framework. I’m not saying a new
dawn has broken, but at least governments are saying we
need to try.”
(US economist J. D. Sachs)
54

The Economist called the 169 proposed targets
“sprawling and misconceived,” “unfeasibly
expensive” at $2–3 trillion per year, and so unlikely to
be realized that they amount to “worse than useless”
— “a betrayal of the world’s poorest people.”
SDGs are pushing an agenda carefully calibrated to avoid upsetting the world’s
dictators, kleptocrats, and this century’s worst human rights offenders [...]
– no single mention of the word “democracy.”
– “human rights” is mentioned merely once
– citically important terms like “anti-corruption,” “civil liberties,” “free

expression,” “press freedom,” “independent judiciary,” “separation of
powers,” “free and fair elections,” and “civil society” are also absent.
By Jeffrey Smith & Alex Gladstein
55

Thank you for your attention!
Technische Universität Berlin

Department of Environmental Technology
Chair of Sustainable Engineering

SDGs Implementation Final

Uploaded by

SDGs Implementation Final

Uploaded by

Strategies for Sustainable Development

in Politics and Economy

Prof. Dr. Matthias Finkbeiner

Technische Universität Berlin

• Global goals, which are to be reached by 2030

• Clustered into 17 goals

• They are all interconnected and therefore indivisible

• SDGs are universal: goals and targets apply to all countries

• SDGs require policy coherence and government wide approaches

• Designed for all sectors (application in business)

• Enhance communication, because all use the same “terminology”

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

Goals, targets and indicators set at global level

 Implementation on national level

 Annual SDG report (centerpiece)

 VNR are presented at the High Political Forum (HLPF)

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• Goal: to keep sustainable development on high on

• Participants: Member States and leaders from civil society,

• Takes part every year

– Open and closed sessions

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• Theme was “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

VNR countries submit

One outcome of the HLPF 2020

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• Implementation at national level SDGs will require at least

– Establishing multi-stakeholder expert groups

Data collection at local level

Some of Germanys federal states

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• Establishing multi-stakeholder expert groups

1. Apply screening indicators to get a better

2. Preparing to develop SDG strategy:

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

Analysis (e.g. observing, collecting information)

Find deficiencies (e.g. areas where you want to improve)

Definition of goal (e.g. SMART goal) or vision

Define indicators for monitoring

Define actions plan (e.g. timeline, responsibilities, measures, etc.)

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• National governments (ministries, gov. representatives) Examples

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• National governments (ministries, gov. representatives)

• Local governments (e.g. local representatives, planning bodies)

– generate and compile considerable amounts of social, environmental, economic,

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• National governments (ministries, gov. representatives)

• Local governments (e.g. local representatives, planning bodies)

– Connects gov. & citizen

• Academia (e.g. universities, research centers)

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• Local governments (e.g. local representatives, planning bodies)

– Connects gov. & citizen

• Academia (e.g. universities, research centers)

• Civil society (e.g. NGOs, organizations/movements)

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• Local governments (e.g. local representatives, planning bodies)

• Academia (e.g. universities, research centers)

• Civil society (e.g. NGOs, organizations/movements)

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• Local governments (e.g. local representatives, planning bodies)

• Academia (e.g. universities, research centers)

• Civil society (e.g. NGOs, organizations/movements)

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

• 2015 - Third International Conference on Financing for

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance

2. Domestic and international private business and finance

3. International development cooperation

4. International trade as an engine for development

6. Addressing systemic issues

7. Science, technology, innovation and capacity building

8. Data, monitoring and follow-up

Finkbeiner/Bach Strategies for Sustainable Development: Policies & Governance