UN Sustainable Development Goals
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all 193 United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
The Sustainable Development Goals:
Goal 1 End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4 Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Goal 9 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10 Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
Goal 14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Goal 15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Business cannot thrive in a world of poverty, inequality, unrest and environmental stress, and so it has a vital interest in ensuring that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs are delivered. By upholding recognized standards and principles on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption, business makes an essential contribution to the SDGs.
Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
- We offer all staff top tier private healthcare through BUPA, with the option to add their family at an additional small cost;
- We promote wellbeing amongst our staff through fitness challenges, free fresh fruit, educational talks and articles, and regular social activities.
Goal 4: Quality Education
- We partner with local schools to help educate pupils about careers in STEM. We facilitate work experience and internships, and attend careers and young enterprise events;
- We facilitate placement years for university students;
- We partner with universities in the provision of apprenticeships;
- We promote ongoing learning and career development for all our staff.
Goal 5: Gender Equality
- We have signed and adhere to the Equality Commission STEM Charter for Business in NI;
- Our Senior Management Team gender split is representative of our workforce gender split;
- We are committed to the provision of gender equality in the administration of pay and benefits;
- We promote the employee voice through a number of different channels to ensure that any issues can be raised and dealt with;
- We offer flexible working options to all employees.
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- We have installed solar panels and battery storage at our office;
- We offer staff EV and a Cycle to Work salary sacrifice schemes;
- We are committed to using the most environmentally friendly transport options when travelling for business;
- Home working at GCD is an option which will help reduce commuting impact.
Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- We are always striving to make GCD the best place to work;
- We are committed to the consistent growth of our team;
- We constantly benchmark our salaries to ensure that we provide a competitive wage to all of our staff;
- We aim, year on year, to increase our sales.
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- We are always striving to help other businesses to do their job in an innovative way;
- Our MD is a co-founder and Director of the NI Software Alliance, which exists to lobby and support strategy and policy development to ensure that Northern Ireland becomes the world leading region for innovative software businesses leading to a sustainable and prosperous economic future.
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- We prioritise the procurement of environmentally friendly and sustainable products;
- We are a paperless office;
- We are committed to minimising energy consumption in all that we do;
- We encourage recycling of various materials in our office.
