The International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) Endorses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord

Universities and Colleges leading the way in commitment to global transformation

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord is a global initiative to embed Sustainable Development Goals across post-16 education.  The Accord was launched on Saturday, 09 September at the World Congress on Environmental Education (WEEC) held in Vancouver, British Columbia. ‘The SDG Accord’ is the university and college sectors collective response to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations.

The SDG Accord reflects the key role educators have in creating a new generation that can and will balance people, planet and prosperity. It aims to inspire, celebrate and advance the embedding of the goals in our institutions through education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities.

The SDG Accord is also a commitment from one institution to another that they will share the learning they accrue on the topic with each other both nationally and internationally and annually report on their progress. This reporting component of the SDG Accord compliments ISCN Member’s commitment to reporting campus sustainability activities and sharing of best practices to promote accountability and knowledge exchange.   The ISCN will contribute to a sector overview of progress to be presented annually at the global progress review by the UN High Level Political Forum. The SDG Accord is facilitated by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), and is endorsed by 30 supporting organizations from across the world already.

“The SDG Accord compliments the work our ISCN Members undertake to support the SDGs and imbed sustainability into research, education, operations, and to equip students with skills to better the world.” remarks Zena Harris, Executive Director of the ISCN. “Reporting on campus sustainability is core to our network and we are happy to share our members progress and commitment to sustainability with others through the Accord.”

 

Endorsing Partners already include:

World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) Network

Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges, (EAUC), United Kingdom

Sulitest, France

Conférence des grandes écoles, France

rootAbility

Society for the Environment, United Kingdom

RCE Brittany, France

Intentional Endowments Network, United States

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), United States

China Green University Network, China

Sustainability Education Research Institute, Canada

The Sustainability and Education Policy Network

Entrepreneurship Educators’ Association of the Philippines, Philippines

Institution of Environmental Sciences, United Kingdom

National Union of Students, United Kingdom

Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability, Australia

Campus Responsables, France

Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative

CAS-Net JAPAN, Japan

US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development, United States

Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability, United States

Greater Portland Sustainability Education Network, United States

Foundation for Environmental Education, Ireland

International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN)

International Association of Universities (IAU)

Copernicus Alliance

PSS.Educational Development Society, India

ASRAD-MALI, Mali

Youth Foundation of Bangladesh, Bangladesh

GIESD (Global Internode for Education and Sustainable Development), Morocco

Target4Green Educational Consultancy and Training Ltd

More information can be found on the SDG Accord website – www.sdgaccord.org

 

About the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN)

The ISCN includes over 80 globally leading colleges including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, the University of British Columbia, University of Oxford, EPFL, ETH Zurich, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the National University of Singapore, The University of Hong Kong, and the University of Melbourne. ISCN universities represent over 20 countries and work together to holistically integrate sustainability into campus operations, research and teaching. The mission of the ISCN is to provide a global forum to support leading colleges, universities, and corporate campuses in the exchange of information, ideas, and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability in research and teaching.

Execution of the ISCN’s strategic goals is supported by the ISCN Secretariat, operated by Sustainserv, Inc., and led by the Executive Director of the ISCN. Sustainserv Managing Partner Bernd Kasemir serves as the Secretary of the ISCN Board. The Secretariat supports and manages member relations, network development and outreach, resource materials, and strategic program management activities.

For more information on the ISCN, please visit the ISCN’s website. For inquiries, please email the ISCN Secretariat.

Check out the ISCN on Twitter (using the hashtag, #ISCN2017 for the conference and @ISCNSecretariat Twitter handle) and visit the ISCN on Linkedin.