In 2015, the United Nations Member States, including the United States, unanimously approved 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. This program explores the potential for the U.S. to use the SDGs as a sustainable development policy framework to help accelerate the transition to a sustainable society. It draws upon lessons gathered in the Environmental Law Reporter article, “Making America a Better Place for All: Sustainable Development Recommendations for the Biden Administration.” The piece compiles recommendations from 21 leading subject matter experts on how the SDGs can form a critical normative framework to improve human quality of life, freedom, and opportunity by integrating economic and social development with environmental protection.
What is the value for federal, state, and local governments as well as companies and other organizations in employing SDGs as metrics for sustainability goals? Could employing an SDG framework risk watering down environmental protection? In the face of multiple challenges and opportunities, join the Environmental Law Institute, article authors, and leading experts for a dynamic investigation of the potential for SDGs to inform federal, state, local, and private policy moving forward.
Panelists:
John Dernbach, Director, Environmental Law and Sustainability Center, and Commonwealth Professor of Environmental Law and Sustainability, Widener University Commonwealth Law School, Moderator