The 17 SDGs and their 169 targets include explicit aims to strengthen democratic accountability and rule of law; address corruption, violence, and inequities across gender and marginalized groups; and promote opportunity and inclusive economic growth while addressing climate change and environmental sustainability. Grounded in human rights, fairness, opportunity, and justice, the goals largely reflect American values and anticipate the governing vision and key priorities articulated by the Biden administration.

The SDGs thus offer a shared framework to improve the coherence of U.S. priorities and interventions across policy realms, with specific targets for the U.S. to assess its progress. They provide a common frame of reference for communicating precisely what it means to build better—and tools for demonstrating the impact for Americans if the country fails to do so. As a common language embraced and used across sectors, the SDGs also offer significant opportunities for partnership, investment, and collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, from business to civil society.

This policy brief showcases opportunities to advance U.S. priorities at home and abroad by embracing the SDGs and providing political leadership, stronger partnerships, and institutional arrangements to accelerate progress. It presents findings from a quantitative assessment of U.S. progress made prior to the COVID-19 pandemic on select SDG indicators, offering a coherent empirical basis for defining an economic recovery that leaves the country better off, with benchmarks for identifying where policy efforts may need adjustment. It outlines opportunities for the U.S. government to maximize its international impact and reinforce its leadership on the global stage, as well as advance U.S. domestic priorities through wider collaboration. It concludes with recommendations detailing how the U.S. government can harness its leadership to drive collective action and widespread, cross-sector progress.

The analysis of 49 SDG targets using 56 indicators based on data through 2019 shows that even before the pandemic, the U.S. was not on track to fully achieve a single SDG. For 75 percent of the trajectories analyzed, the U.S. must completely reverse trends that were moving in the wrong direction or greatly alter its approach to cross the relevant threshold by 2030. Flashing red warning signs suggest the future status and well-being of America’s youth, women, and minority racial and ethnic groups require urgent attention.

Read the full article about opportunities for the U.S. to advance the SDGs by Anthony F. Pipa, Krista Rasmussen, and Kait Pendrak at Brookings.