What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

In 2022, I’m making a big change in my practice by only taking on clients who are working towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

So what are they? And why are they so important to me?

The SDGs (as they are commonly known) is a set of international objectives laid out by the United Nations. Their purpose is ambitious but one I believe we should all get behind:

“To achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They set out defined goals in each category to be reached by 2030, calling for a concerted global development effort.”

As developed in 2015, these goals cover a range of issues that are very important to me from climate action to gender equality. Of course, they don’t just inspire me – since 2015 they have become a global benchmark to realise greater outcomes for the planet.

In essence, they are a way we can all work towards ending poverty, building prosperity, protecting our planet and being guided by the premise that no one should be left behind.

It’s literally a planet-sized ambition. I’m just one photographer, but it matters to me to know I’m making a difference.

Read about how the SGDs will inform the jobs I take on here.