The Good Life Goals: Making sustainable development more personal

Today, the global change agency Futerra and the UN 10YFP Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme launch the Good Life Goals – a set of actions for individuals around the world to help support the Sustainable Development Goals.

These new Good Life Goals highlight the vital role of individual action in achieving the ambitions of the SDGs. They were created to be relevant, easily understood and accessible to individuals all around the world. Simple, positive, and engaging by design, the Good Life Goals detail the things that people can do to have tangible impact on the SDGs.

Governments of Sweden and Japan

The Good Life Goals have been shaped through a multi-stakeholder collaboration between Futerra, the 10YFP SLE Programme, co-led by the governments of Sweden and Japan represented by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), as well as UNESCO, UN Environment and WBCSD.

Launching the Good Life Goals at the United Nations Headquarters, Solitaire Townsend, Co-founder of Futerra said:

“I believe that individuals are just as important as institutions when it comes to changing the world. As citizens, parents, neighbors and consumers, our decisions matter. By sharing a set of clear Good Life Goals and meaningful actions for each Sustainable Development Goal, we can build confidence that everyone is important, needed, and can contribute to achieving the SDGs. Changing the world has never just been about policies or products, it always comes down to people.”

Julian Hill-Landolt, Director of Sustainable Lifestyles at WBCSD said:

“The Good Life Goals provide an exciting new perspective and opportunity for business. More and more companies are aligning their strategies to the SDGs but there hasn’t always been a clear way to engage employees and customers in the conversation, or the steps being taken to make businesses more sustainable. The Good Life Goals can help companies understand how their products and services are associated with the SDGs, using that as a way to connect with, engage and even inspire their communities into action in support of the goals.”

An ‘on-ramp’ to discuss sustainable lifestyles

Peter Repinski, Senior Expert and Co-lead Representative of the UN 10YFP Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme at Stockholm Environment Institute said:

“These Good Life Goals offer an ‘on-ramp’ to a wider discussion around sustainable lifestyles and development. Their value comes from reaching those that the SDGs have not yet reached. Sustainability won’t be solved by institutions without individuals. The Good Life Goals are an invitation for each of us to take part, backed up by clear and concise actions relevant to lifestyles worldwide and in different cultural contexts.”

The Good Life Goals should be used as a communications and educational tool to engage the global public in the SDGs. Companies who support ‘sustainable lifestyles’ will also be invited to focus their efforts on how their work can align with personal behavior. The goals are created for individual action and will be used by brands, NGOs, and governments to engage their audiences effectively in influencing our collective sustainable development.

The Good Life Goals will be formally launched by Solitaire Townsend of Futerra during the Global Action Hour event at the SDG Media Zone tent, United Nations Headquarters, on Tuesday 25 September from 13:00-14:00 ET.

More information

Ylva Rylander, Press Officer at Stockholm Environment Institute
[email protected] +46 73150 3384

Hannah Phang at Futerrra, [email protected]

Futerra is a global change agency with offices in New York, London, Stockholm and Mexico City. Established in 2001, Futerra works with the world’s largest brands, breakthrough entrepreneurs and national governments on the logic of sustainability strategy and magic of creative ideas.

The UN 10YFP Sustainable Lifestyles and Education (SLE) Programme is one of six programmes within the UN’s 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP). The programme is co-led by the governments of Japan and Sweden represented by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in partnership with a multi-stakeholder advisory committee representing civil society, international organisations, business, policy and research.

WBCSD is a global, CEO-led organization of 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world.