Ghent's Sustainable Development Goals
The City of Ghent publishes an annual SDG report that shows how we implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
What are Sustainable Development Goals?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in 2016 by all 193 Heads of State and representatives of the United Nations (UN). There are 17 SDGs in total to be achieved by 2030, subdivided into 5 major themes: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships.
The 17 SDGs bring the most urgent and universal needs to attention in the world today, through an action plan with 169 targets. It is up to every government, organization and individual to translate the SDGs into ambitious efforts working towards a sustainable planet.
Find out more about the SDGs on this website.
SDG Voluntary Local Reviews
The City of Ghent signed the “NY City Declaration Voluntary Local Report (VLR)” at the end of 2020. This makes Ghent part of the growing international community that annually monitors the SDGs in their city. We do this by means of our SDG Voluntary Local Reviews.
In 2020 we published a benchmark sustainability report, a picture of the City of Ghent for all 17 SDGs. We end this cycle in 2024/25 in which we return to the starting report to see which evolutions are visible in Ghent in terms of sustainability.
Between the starting and final report we highlight annually one of the pillars of sustainable development, by means of ten inspiring initiatives, with roots in Ghent. In 2021 we focus on 'People', in 2022 we put 'Prosperity' in the spotlight and in 2023 'Planet'. In each report SDG 16 ('Peace') and 17 ('Partnerships) form the common thread.
Read the SDG Voluntary Local Reviews
Ghent as an ambassador
Since 2017, the City of Ghent is one of the ambassadors to help announce and implement the SDGs in Belgium. The challenge is not only to promote the SDGs, but also to encourage citizens, organisations, the business community and educational institutes to take sustainable action. Ghent launched a successful campaign in 2018 and was internationally acclaimed for it.
In collaboration with numerous partners, the City and OCMW Ghent contribute to the recognition of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. A few examples:
