Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Half of humanity now lives in cities, and the number is increasing. For cities to thrive we must address the pressures that rapid urbanization is placing on freshwater, infrastructure, air quality and people’s health.
This SDG has several 2030 targets to which every company can contribute. These targets aim to ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services including transport; enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage; significantly reduce the number of people adversely affected by disasters; and reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, paying special attention to air quality and waste management.
Every Future-Fit Business must avoid slowing down progress toward this SDG by:
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Procurement of goods and services does not hinder progress.
The environmental and social footprints of a company’s supply chain affect society’s progress towards many of the global challenges that the SDGs seek to address. By taking steps to increase the fitness of its supply chain, the company encourages actions that support the related SDGs.
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 04 -
Eliminating operational emissions that harm people or the environment and actively encouraging suppliers to do the same.
This ensures that business operations do not emit harmful substances in the air (e.g. gaseous pollutants), land (e.g. toxic spills) and water (e.g. untreated sewage).
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 05 -
Operational waste is eliminated and actively encouraging suppliers to do the same.
This ensures that waste across the value chain is eliminated (through prevention, reduction, reuse and recycling).
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 07 -
Ensuring operations do not encroach on ecosystems or communities and actively encouraging suppliers to do the same.
This ensures that the physical presence of business operations does not negatively impact areas of high cultural significance or biological importance (e.g. protecting heritage sites and important ecosystems from commercial development).
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 08 -
Community health is safeguarded and suppliers are actively encouraged to do the same.
This ensures that communities across the value chain are empowered to voice concerns, and that such concerns are handled appropriately, thus fostering inclusivity.
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 09 -
Paying its employees a living wage and actively encouraging suppliers to do the same.
This ensures that workers across the value chain can afford a decent standard of living for their families, including adequate housing and access to basic services.
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 11 -
Ensuring products do not harm people or the environment.
This ensures that products do not release substances that (a) directly impact people’s health, or (b) indirectly do so by disrupting ecosystems (e.g. vehicles emitting air pollutants).
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 17 -
Ensuring products can be repurposed.
This ensures that end users are able to recycle end-of-life products and their packaging so they do not end up as waste.
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 19 -
Investing in assets that do not hinder progress.
The environmental and social footprints of a company’s investments affect society’s progress towards many of the global challenges that the SDGs seek to address. By taking steps to increase the fitness of its financial assets, the company encourages actions that support the related SDGs.
Learn more about Break-Even Goal 23
Any Future-Fit Business may actively speed up progress toward this SDG by:
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Ensuring others generate fewer harmful emissions.
Improving air quality by reducing harmful emissions into air positively influences people's health and prevents premature deaths from long-term exposure to air pollution.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 08 -
Ensuring harmful emissions are removed from the environment.
Improving air quality by neutralizing the effects of harmful emissions into air positively influences people's health and prevents premature deaths from long-term exposure to air pollution.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 09 -
Ensuring others generate less waste.
Reducing waste generation in consumption and production contributes to lowering the environmental impacts of cities.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 10 -
Ensuring waste is reclaimed and repurposed.
Reclaiming past waste to be repurposed as inputs contributes to lowering the environmental impacts of cities.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 11 -
Ensuring others cause less ecosystem degradation.
Protecting ecosystems from degradation will ensure that our natural heritage is protected.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 12 -
Ensuring ecosystems are restored.
Restoring degraded ecosystems will ensure that our natural heritage is protected.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 13 -
Ensuring others cause less damage to areas of high social or cultural value.
Strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage fosters cohesiveness.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 14 -
Ensuring areas of high social or cultural value are restored.
Strengthening efforts to restore the world’s cultural and natural heritage fosters cohesiveness.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 15 -
Ensuring more people are healthy and safe from harm.
Increasing access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and reducing the number of people exposed to natural disasters, foster inclusively and ensures more people are healthy and safe from harm.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 16 -
Ensuring people's capabilities are strengthened.
Strengthening people's capacity to weather natural disasters creates safer environments, and increasing access to transport and mobility brings greater capacity-building opportunities.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 17 -
Ensuring social cohesion is strengthened.
Increasing access to, or the availability of, shared spaces fosters cohesion and make cities more inclusive.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 20 -
Strengthening infrastructure in pursuit of future-fitness.
Developing quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure removes barriers to wellbeing and protects the health of the environment.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 21 -
Strengthening governance in pursuit of future-fitness.
Ensuring governance is accountable, participatory, responsive, responsible and transparent removes barriers to wellbeing and protects the health of the environment.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 22 -
Strengthening market mechanisms in pursuit of future-fitness.
Overcoming technological, knowledge and incentive barriers through the use of market mechanisms removes barriers to wellbeing and protects the health of the environment.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 23 -
Aligning social norms to increasingly support the pursuit of future-fitness.
Ensuring social norms align with socially and environmentally responsible behaviour removes barriers to wellbeing and protects the health of the environment.
Learn more about Positive Pursuit 24
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