On 25 September 2023, more than 200 organisations located in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria raised an SDG flag to show their support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
September 2023 marked eight years since the world embraced the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, reflect a shared objective and ambition across all countries to end poverty and hunger everywhere, to combat inequalities within and among countries, to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, to protect human rights and promote gender equality and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources by 2030.
What began with a few flags in the Netherlands in 2020 has grown to more than 1'000 flags being raised worldwide in the past years by businesses, NGOs, municipalities, universities, libraries, and other civil society organisations. In 2023, more UN Global Compact Local Networks than ever joined the global movement. With great pleasure, we also invited organisations in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria to participate this year in the SDG Flag campaign.
During the week the 25th of September, the SDG flag was displayed on many organisational premises and also had a strong presence on LinkedIn and Twitter (check the hashtag #togetherfortheSDGs). It was inspiring to witness the diverse approaches taken by these organisations to leverage this opportunity for conveying their sustainability goals, coordinating staff engagement activities, or hosting community events aimed at raising awareness about the SDGs and the Agenda 2030.
Here are some impressions of the SDG Flag Day from our participants and partners in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We would like to thank everyone who supported this initiative. We look forward to the next year!
Would you like to include your images? Please email us and we will gladly add it to our gallery: info@globalcompact.ch
What's next?
Raising a flag is not enough. Only 18% of the SDGs are on track or have been achieved, while 15% of the goals are seeing a reversal in progress and over two-thirds of the goals are currently seeing “limited or no progress.” Despite this alarming development, none of the objectives are beyond our reach but we need to intensify the efforts. This section provides you with an overview of the programmes and resources that the UN Global Compact offers you, if you would like to learn more and continue raising awareness on the SDGs:
Join the Forward Faster initiative where companies are guided on where to make the biggest, fastest impact before 2030
Embed SDG-aligned practices into your business operations and across the value chain by joining one of our six-month Accelerator programmes (only for participating companies of the UN Global Compact)
Visit our SDG Focus Area for more guidance and resources to further align and scale up action for the SDGs
Find out more about joining the UN Global Compact Network Switzerland & Liechtenstein for further opportunities and to connect with peers and experts