Giving Compass' Take:

• Kaysie Brown at United Nations Foundation highlights the progress made toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and explains what needs to be done in 2020 to spur the greatest action. 

• The actions, policies, and ambition the world embraces today will determine whether we can achieve this bold agenda in the years ahead. What efforts are you making to advance the SDGs? 

• Here's an article examining how sustainability science can accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.


2019 marked a milestone year in the ambitious global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Four years after all countries agreed to the framework, the United Nations hosted the first high-level check-in on progress. Government leaders came together to take stock, reinvigorate commitments, and determine the path forward. The gathering elevated and connected actors working on issues across the SDGs. New partnerships were formed, and important initiatives launched.

Yet despite the first four years of effort, we know we are substantially off track to meet the Goals in full and on time. As we embark on the next decade—the ten-year countdown to realize the Global Goals—2020 must serve as a springboard point where our urgent, collective action pushes the world onto the path to success.

Here are some of this year’s highlights.

  1. COUNTRIES ARE ALIGNING WITH THE SDGS AND MAKING NEW COMMITMENTS FOR PROGRESS
  2. LOCAL ACTORS ARE LEADING BY DOING
  3. PRIVATE SECTOR CONTINUES TO EMBRACE THE GOALS
  4. WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS, BUT THE WORLD IS OFF TRACK

Read the full article about advancing SDGs in 2020 by Kaysie Brown at United Nations Foundation.