"The UN Global Goals offer a vision of the world that I believe people in Scotland share.

The national and international dimensions to poverty and inequality are interlinked. Scotland cannot act with credibility overseas, if we are blind to inequality here at home. And our ambitions for a fairer Scotland are undermined, without global action to tackle poverty, promote prosperity and to tackle climate change."

(Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaking at NIDOS Conference November 2015)
 

The United Nations has set a series of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are ‘global goals’ and targets that are part of an internationally agreed performance framework. All countries are aiming to achieve these goals by 2030.

Scotland’s approach to the SDGs

The Former First Minister committed Scotland to the Global Goals in July 2015.

The National Performance Framework (NPF) and the Goals share the same aims. The National Performance Framework is Scotland’s way to localise the SDGs. The NPF has a focus on tackling inequalities so that no one in Scotland is left behind as we work together to achieve the Goals.

Working in partnership

The SDG Network Scotland is an open coalition bringing together the voices of over 500 people and organisations across Scotland to assist with the development of a Scotland-wide response to the challenge set by the SDGs.

The Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) work closely with the SDG Network Scotland.

Voluntary National Review

The Voluntary National Review (VNR) is a core part of the SDG process, which asks United Nations Member States to review and report on their progress towards the Goals.

The Scottish Government, COSLA and the SDG Network Scotland have worked together to contribute to the UK Government’s VNR.

A national review to drive action

This report brings together evidence, actions and stories of how we are making progress to meet the SDGs in Scotland.

The review was a collaborative effort between the SDG Network Scotland, Scottish Government and COSLA.

Please note: The initial commission for contributions for this report was made in February 2019. A final draft was made publicly available in September 2019 for comment. This publication is the final draft and is current as of September 2019. As such, it does not cover the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.