SDG 17 - Strategic Initiatives

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Relationships
Cross-Sectoral SDG Dialogue
SDG Best Practice
Collaboration with NGOs
Other NGO Partners
International Collaboration
Education for SDGs
Sustainability Courses
Community Education

Relationships

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Western University collaborates with NGOs and government on SDG policy development and strategies. Some key partnerships include:

  • Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction: Conducts multidisciplinary disaster prevention research, including modeling potential futures with and without interventions; focuses on monitoring and reporting the effectiveness of these interventions and enabling adaptive management strategies; and partners with NGOs like the Canadian Red Cross Society to reduce the loss of life and property caused by severe weather and earthquakes.
  • United Way: Partners with Western in the local community to advocate for public policy changes aimed at reducing poverty, providing food and basic needs, and reducing homelessness.
  • Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research: Unites experts, researchers, NGOs, policymakers, and other stakeholders to tackle water quality issues. It also encourages collaboration, knowledge sharing, and problem-solving through interactive workshops that provide strategies for improving and conserving water quality in support of SDG6.
  • London Environmental Network: Partners with Western to protect the environment and build a more sustainable city by offering environmental programs and climate action opportunities locally.
  • The Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance: Contributes to SDG policy development by identifying urban challenges, developing innovative policies, and modeling future scenarios through projects like LoGov-RISE. It also studies the responsibilities of different government levels, financial arrangements, and public participation.
  • WeCLISH (Western Centre for Climate Change, Sustainable Livelihoods and Health): Engages with researchers, policymakers, civil society organizations, NGOs, and local communities to co-produce knowledge that informs policy development. This collaborative approach helps identify problems and challenges related to climate change and sustainable development.
  • The Northern Tornadoes Project: Collaborates with Environment and Climate Change Canada and other organizations to improve tornado detection and inform policy development. It provides critical data for emergency response planning, models future scenarios, and maintains transparency through public data reporting, enhancing climate resilience and disaster preparedness.
  • The Centre for Multi-hazard Risk and Resilience: Conducts extensive research to understand the risks associated with natural hazards and their impacts on communities and infrastructure. It uses advanced modeling techniques to predict outcomes of various scenarios and monitors the effectiveness of implemented policies and strategies.
  • The Carbon Solutions initiative: Collaborates with industry, government, and community organizations to address carbon reduction and replacement. Funded projects explore, demonstrate, or validate viable solutions, including demonstration projects, prototypes, system testing, designs, and intellectual property. This initiative focuses on the circular economy to develop sustainable life cycle strategies for products, energy usage, and recycling.
  • The Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre: Collaborates with industry, government, and academia to develop effective energy policies and strategies. It conducts extensive research and provides expert consultation to inform policy-making and support sustainable energy practices. It also educates future leaders and monitors the effectiveness of energy interventions to enable adaptive management.
  • ICFAR (Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources): Specializes in biomass conversion, waste-to-energy technologies, and sustainable chemical processes. ICFAR collaborates with governments and NGOs to address environmental and energy challenges, contributing to SDG policy development. Additionally, it identifies problems, develops strategies, models future scenarios, and monitors the effectiveness of interventions to ensure adaptable and research-based policies.

Cross-Sectoral Dialogue About SDGs

Western University actively engages in cross-sectoral dialogue about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The university hosts and participates in various events and initiatives that involve collaboration with government bodies, NGOs, and other stakeholders. 

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  • Interdisciplinary Approaches to Development through SDGs: During SDG Week, Western hosted this seminar exploring local, national, and global development to increase awareness and engagement in the UN SDGs. 
  • Western Sustainable Leaders Program: Guest speakers from across campus and the broader community are engaged to provide opportunities for students to network with professionals and peers involved with a wide range of sustainability initiatives on campus and in the community. 
  • Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research: Unites experts, researchers, NGOs, and stakeholders to address water quality issues. 
  • Gender Equality Coalition of Ontario: Through virtual panel discussions, the coalition brings together activists, experts, and allies to explore diverse topics through a gendered lens, aiming to empower individuals, promote inclusion, and raise consciousness in communities across Ontario. 
  • Local Government Alumni Conference: Municipal working professionals and anyone involved in or aspiring to work in municipal government, or any organization interacting with local government explore how to put vision and values into practice. 
  • Canada’s Role in the Future of Nuclear Energy: This conference explores the future of Canada’s nuclear sector, both domestically and internationally, with speakers from across Canada. 
  • Building Reconciliation Forum: An initiative of Universities Canada, Western’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII) hosted the annual Building Reconciliation Forum providing this event for educators, administrators, and students in the postsecondary sector to share promising practices and innovative ideas for advancing Reconciliation in the academy. 
  • London Environmental Network: Western partners with this NGO to strengthen connections to local community groups doing environmental work in areas such as climate action, ecosystem health, environmental education, food systems, horticulture, pollination, transportation, waste reduction, and water stewardship. 

SDG Best Practice

Western University collaborates for SDG best practices through international collaboration and research, reviews comparative approaches, and develops international best practices on tackling the SDGs.

We are active members of Sustainability Organizations:

  • Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education: AASHE’s mission is to inspire and catalyze higher education to lead the global sustainability transformation.
  • London Environmental Network: This NGO strengthens connections with local community groups that are doing environmental work across many different facets of sustainability.
  • Ontario College and University Sustainability Professionals: OCUSP shares ideas and best practices for sustainability programming and operation among institutions.
  • Sustainable Development Solutions Network: The SDSN operates at the intersections of science, policy, and development practice to maximize SDG achievements at the global, regional, national, and local levels. They support peer-to-peer learning to promote the identification of best practices and local solutions, as well as global and regional cooperation to achieve the SDGs.
  • University Climate Change Coalition: UC3 connects some of the world’s leading research universities committed to accelerating climate action on campus, in communities, and at a global scale. The coalition applies its strengths in teaching, research, and building community resilience.

Collaboration with NGOs

Western collaborates with NGOs to tackle the SDGs. Western Research facilitates flexible and beneficial relationships among the university research community and industry, government, and non-profit partners.

Volunteering Programs:

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Research Programs:

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Educational Resources:

  • Ivey’s 39 Country Initiative: Provides free access to Ivey Publishing, disseminating teaching content for faculty in the world’s poorest 46 countries, to support SDG 1 No poverty, SDG 4 Quality Education, and SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth.
  • SDG Week Canada: Western partnered with SDG Cities and Pillar Nonprofit Network to educate students and the local community on how to advance the SDGs in their own sphere of influence.
  • Climate Crisis Coalition – Western Chapter: CCC is an NGO that facilitates, participates in, and publicizes local and national climate actions that draw attention to the climate crisis and the strong measures needed to address it.
  • Engineers without Borders – Western Chapter: This NGO educates about the SDGs through toolkits, workshops, community engagement, and online resources to contribute to an equitable and sustainable future for marginalized people and the planet.
  • Discovery Healthcare: This one-week medical science summer camp is designed to connect high school students with local NGOs to mentor and inspire interest in a career in healthcare.
  • Purple Hands: This student-run NGO bridges the gap between the student populations and marginalized and vulnerable individuals in London through outreach, advocacy, and educational events and campaigns about homelessness.

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Other NGO partners include:

International Collaboration to Measure SDGs

Western University participates in gathering and measuring data for SDGs through membership in several local, regional, and global networks. Participation in these networks supports collaboration, learning, and impact in sustainability. These networks represent a wide range of organizations working in the field of sustainability at different scales and with different focus areas. Participating in these networks helps Western to advance sustainability initiatives on campus and in partnership with other organizations. 

  • AASHE: The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education is a global organization dedicated to promoting sustainability in higher education. Since 2011, Western has submitted data for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, which is a framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. 
  • Sustainable Development Solutions Network: Works under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General to mobilize the world's universities, think tanks, and national laboratories for action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change; empower societies through free online education; and translate scientific evidence and ideas into solutions and accountability. 
  • University Climate Change Coalition (UC3): This coalition connects 23 of the world’s leading research universities committed to accelerating climate action on campus, in communities, and at a global scale. Second Nature supports UC3 universities to collaborate effectively, share knowledge, foster cross-sector partnerships, and drive meaningful and scalable action on climate change, including annual progress reporting. 

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Education for SDGs

 

Western University is committed to meaningful education around the SDGs across the university, that is relevant and applicable to all students. Western has a Sustainability Course Inventory that lists all undergraduate and graduate courses related to the SDGs. Moreover, Ivey Business School has reviewed and tagged all their teaching cases for their relevance and connection to the each of the 17 SDGs, integrating it into management education.  

Sustainability Courses

Western has specific programs and courses on sustainability. We report on our Sustainability Course  
Offerings through AASHE STARS. 

  • Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program: No matter what your background is, whether it’s in science, engineering, social science, arts and humanities, or business, the interdisciplinary MES degree will prepare you for a range of career options in the environmental and sustainability sector. MES graduates go on to work in all levels of government, private enterprise, and industry, including NGOs, not-for-profits, and social enterprise organizations. 
  • Graduate Diploma in Business and Sustainability: Sustainability and social responsibility now need to be at the core of an organization’s strategy and value creation model and fully integrated across all elements of the organization and its supply chain. This diploma encourages the development of broader perspectives of sustainability as a holistic systems agenda, incorporating environmental, social, and economic dimensions. 
  • Certificate in Sustainability: This certificate provides Ivey students with a coordinated set of courses and experiences that position them as responsible, forward-looking leaders. Students will network with morally exemplary CEOs, sample best-for-the-world sustainability reporting and consulting practices in different types of organizations and sectors, master storytelling for positive change, and hone their ability to evaluate, communicate, design, and deliver sustainability-focused innovations. 
  • Connecting for Climate Change Action: Adult learners across the globe can now access an award-winning Western course on climate change action for free. The online, asynchronous course is offered through Coursera. The course uses a storytelling approach to braid Indigenous knowledge and Eurowestern science together to educate, encourage discussions, and motivate action on climate change. 
  • Sustainable Promotional Product Marketing: Promotional Products Professionals of Canada has partnered with Western University’s Division of Continuing Studies to develop a new 12-hour-long synchronous online course to equip professionals with the knowledge and tools to design and market products that align with sustainability goals and meet consumer expectations.

Community Education

Western has outreach educational activities for the wider community, including alumni, the local community, and refugees.

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