THE U . N SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
A FOUNDATION FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
Tristan Cartmel , Principal Economic Development Officer , Fraser Coast Regional Council ,
Recent years have demonstrated the unpredictability of the world in which we live . Whilst still in the first quarter of 2022 , Australia has already experienced devastating weather and flooding on the east coast , bushfires on the west coast , an outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 , and witnessed the unfolding events of the conflict in Ukraine . Despite the massive economic and social impacts these events will have , it is unlikely that many long-term economic development strategies created in the past few years in Australia ( or around the world ) would have accounted for the disruption that they will cause . As many areas are now having to consider the need to update or replace their local economic development strategies , there is an opportunity for Councils and regional development groups to consider adopting or adapting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) as the foundation of their strategies .
In 2014 , United Nations member states proposed a set of Sustainable Development Goals as reference goals for the international community for the period 2015-2030 . The SDGs have been considered much more ambitious than their predecessors – the Millennium Development Goals , as they not only cover a much broader range of issues , they also aim to be applicable to all member states and not just developing countries .
There are 17 goals that make up the SDGs , each with specific outcomes to be achieved , as well as 169 targets to facilitate monitoring and reporting on the progress towards achieving the goals . A number of the goals have a direct correlation with local economic development – such as :
• Goal 8 : Promote sustained , inclusive and sustainable economic growth , full and productive employment and decent work for all .
• Goal 9 : Build resilient infrastructure , promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation .
• Goal 10 : Reduce inequality within and among countries .
• Goal 12 : Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns .
Many of the other goals , such as Goal 4 ( Quality Education ), Goal 7 ( Affordable and Clean Energy ), and Goal 11 ( Sustainable Cities and Communities ) are also directly and indirectly related to the work undertaken in local government economic development . Whilst the goals themselves may seem very broad and ambitious , it is the indicators and targets underlying these goals that can provide significant contributions to economic development strategies through outlining clear and effective measures that can improve the lives of community members . In Australia , a number of local government councils have already undertaken work to incorporate the SDGs into their broader strategies such as The City of Sydney , The City of Melbourne , and the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council in Perth .
The SDGs are not simply the result of the UN thinking about the world ’ s poorest nations , as was the focus of the Millennium Development Goals . Rather , the SDGs were the most widely debated and consulted goals that the UN has ever completed , and included the broadest consultation with every member state , with civil society and most significantly business . From an economic development perspective , the Goals recognise that economic growth is not a panacea and have been structured to counter some of the harmful types of Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) growth such as jobless growth , growth with increasing inequality and growth from undermining finite natural resources . It has been recognised that whilst GDP and other monetary aggregate indicators are important indicators of economic performance , their ability to be used as accurate measures of well-being are limited . For economic development practitioners , particularly those working at a local level , the SDGs can provide a guide for developing programs and measuring progress on economic development strategies that manifest genuine improvements to the prosperity and economic well-being of individual members of the community .
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 15 NO 1 2022 13