Georgia Tech’s Sustainable Development Goals Action and Awareness Week 2024 and the Sustainability Showcase bring a variety of sustainable development-focused activities to campus the week of March 4 – 8. This annual week of engagement and learning helps showcase the various ways that Georgia Tech is advancing the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through teaching, research, operations, and partnerships.
The SDGs were adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They address the world’s most monumental challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, and peace and justice. The SDGs appear by name in the Institute’s strategic plan as long-term goals that should guide Georgia Tech’s teaching, research, and operations.
A key feature of this year’s program, the Sustainability Showcase, co-hosted by the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems and the Office of Sustainability, includes a series of leadership panels and lightning-round talks throughout the week, including:
- Conversations With Cabrera: “Higher Education and SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals."
- Georgia Tech Climate Action Plan panel hosted by the Office of Sustainability.
- Tech Talks Business with Scheller College of Business Dean Anuj Mehrotra featuring Laurel Hurd, president and chief executive officer, Interface Inc.
- “The Role of Philanthropy in Climate Action and Sustainable Development,” hosted by Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Dean Kaye Husbands Fealing.
- “Connecting for Sustainability: Collaborative Paths to Environmental Justice,” featuring Community Partners, hosted by the Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education.
- Alumni Keynote: “Exploring Pathways to and Partnerships in Advancing Energy Equity” with Andrew White, CE 2019.
- "Innovation, R&D, and Sustainability,” discussion hosted by EVPR Chaouki Abdallah.
- A series of seven-minute lightning talks from faculty, staff, and students on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, March 6 – 8.
More than 20 additional events on the SDG Week calendar will be hosted by campus units and student organizations. These include arts-focused opportunities like the SDG mobile film festival on the evening of March 6, a “Teaching the SDGs” faculty workshop, and a variety of events for students to explore sustainability and international education opportunities.
SDG Action and Awareness Week is part of a larger global effort through the University Global Coalition (UGC), which Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera chairs and helped found. The UGC comprises higher education leaders from around the world who work to advance the SDGs through system change and global partnerships.
SDG Action and Awareness Week is an annual event occurring in early March. To collaborate next year, contact the Office of Sustainability at sustain@gatech.edu.
