SDG Accord
The SDG Accord is a global collective of over 700 universities and colleges committed to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .
Please note we have temporarily closed new signatory applications to this programme as we update our website.
If you are a current signatory and would like to update your contact information, please use this form.
Overview
The purpose of the SDG Accord is:
To inspire, celebrate and advance the critical role that education plays in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the value the interlinked objectives brings to governments, business and wider society.
A commitment made by learning institutions to one another to do more to deliver the SDGs, annually report on individual progress as a Signatory, and do so in ways which share the learning with each other both nationally and internationally.
Objectives include annually presenting the updated Accord metrics at the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Who can sign the SDG Accord?
The Accord can be signed by:
Tertiary education institutions (universities, colleges, TVET centres and adult education providers) who commit to embedding the Sustainable Development Goals as a whole institution.
This must be signed by the highest authority such as a Vice Chancellor, Principal or President.
Related university and college support organisations who commit to supporting their networks and members to embed the Sustainable Development Goals.
How it works
Recognising that we are at unique stages in our journey towards a sustainable future, with differing strategic priorities dependant on our ambitions, areas of expertise, and organisational culture.
This Accord calls upon we, the world’s universities and colleges...
to embed the UN Sustainable Development Goals into our education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities.
We Accord Signatories recognise:
The indivisible and interconnected nature of the universal set of Goals – People, Prosperity, Planet, Partnership, Peace.
That, as educators, we have a responsibility to play a central and transformational role in attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
And we thereby assert...
that as leaders or individual practitioners, academics, students or researchers, we will:
Align all major efforts with the SDGs, targets and indicators, including through our education, research, leadership, operational and engagement activities;
Aim to involve members from all key stakeholder groups in this endeavour, including students, academics, professional staff, local communities and other external stakeholders;
Collaborate across cities, regions, countries and continents with other signatory institutions as part of a collective international response;
Using our own unique ways, inform, share our learning and account to both local and global communities our progress toward the SDGs;
Annually report on 'how does my institution contribute to the SDGs and what more can we do?'
The only type of signatory required to submit an annual report are whole institutions. Individuals, support organisations and student associations are not required to submit a report on an annual basis.
Institutional signatories will receive an email with full instructions on the reporting process in the Spring each year. This involves a mandatory online survey to fill out and an optional step to submit a case study. We publish an annual summary report each year (usually Autumn) which collates this data and provides an overview of the progress made by the sector in embedding the SDGs.
SDG Accord reports and resources
Explore more resourcesGreening Universities and Colleges: Equipping Educators to embed Sustainability into Teaching
Read More
12 January 2026
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Resource
SDG Accord Report 2023: Progress towards the Global Goals in the university and college sector
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26 November 2023
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Resource
