America in 2020: Mobilizing for a Decade of Sustainable Development

Meeting Notes

“The purpose of SDSN USA is to have our wonderful Universities and Colleges increasingly active and working together nationally to address the big challenges we face in the U.S., and partnering with the rest of the globe on solving these challenges.” - Jeffrey Sachs

Thursday, January 23

Van Metre Hall - Auditorium

1:00 - 1:30 PM
Welcome & Introductions
Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia University), Dan Esty (Yale University), Gordon McCord (University of California, San Diego), Aurali Dade (George Mason University), Tom Lovejoy (George Mason University)

• Attendees were welcomed by GMU’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth co-directors Aurali Dade and Tom Lovejoy, who highlighted GMU’s emphasis on inclusive excellence and the Arlington campus and communities’ commitment to a just and sustainable world, including a net-zero elementary school. They also spoke of GMU’s numerous university-community sustainability-focused collaborations around the world.

• Jeff Sachs shared startling statistics from the SDSN Global Sustainable Development Report, which demonstrates that the US is behind on the SDGs. He expressed hope in the power of the US network of researchers and universities in making real progress in the next 10 years.

• Dan Esty emphasized that there are both challenges and opportunities in achieving sustainable development. He spoke about the value of holding both of these ideas at the same time as a strategy for bringing more people to the table. 

• Gordon McCord emphasized the interdisciplinary nature of the SDGs and the SDSN network. He highlighted that interdisciplinary expertise can be leveraged towards achieving the SDGs, using the SDSN Food and Land Use network (FABLE) as an example of collaboration and impact. Gordon views the SDSN network as uniquely able to undertake this type of project.

1:30 - 2:30 PM
City Leadership on Localization of the the SDGs
Tony Pipa (Brookings Institute)

• The context for context for SDG localization in the US is unique; it is the only G20 or OECD country not to have completed a Voluntary National Review to report on SDG progress. This has led to a bottom-up approach for SDG implementation, with sub-national and city level activity leading the way. This bottom up approach in US cities helps create multi-stakeholder and multi-issue problem solving.  

• Tony also discussed global leadership and learning from cities that have undertaken a Voluntary Local Review. Mayors are working together and truly learning from each other and making real commitments to change. 

• Local leaders are coming to the SDGs from a pragmatic perspective, not a partisan one. While not all leaders use SDG branding, they are a link to connect core values and issues of a particular city to a global agenda.

2:30 - 4:00 PM
US Pathways Project*
Jim Williams (University of San Francisco), Ryan Jones (Evolved Energy Research), Jeff Sachs (Columbia University), Gordon McCord (University of California, San Diego)

*SDSN USA has released an invitation to join in the development of a US Deep Decarbonization Plan. Please contact Elena Crete if you or someone at your institution would like to sign up or receive more information.

• Jeff Sachs introduced a flagship program of the SDSN USA network: to design and present a plan to decarbonize the United States’ energy system. This project will take an interdisciplinary approach, building off the energy system modeling done by Jim Williams and Evolved Energy Research to explore the policy, regulatory, social, infrastructure, job, and justice aspects of deep decarbonization. It aims to produce a decarbonization action plan to share with U.S. presidential nominees by October 2020. 

• Jim Williams presented the modelling results  he and colleagues executed in phase I of the project. More details will be published online soon. A variety of models were developed using 4 pillars: electricity decarbonization, energy efficiency, electrification (300% increase), and carbon capture use and storage. Jim emphasized that the transition is estimated to cost 0.2% GDP to achieve carbon neutrality  in energy and industry by mid-century. The most challenging part of the economic transition is political economy, not cost or finance.

• The model projections indicated that costs are likely to  increase the longer we wait. Further, the cost for each scenario, which vary by technology, are within the same order of magnitude, so the choice will be dependant on social priorities, policy tools, and community preferences.

• Ryan Jones presented two case studies of regional decarbonization modeling, one for the southeast and one for the midwest. The Midwest report shows a big opportunity for electric vehicles and wind. The Southeast report illustrates opportunities for energy efficiency and the phase out of coal. A shared vision across these regions can help to highlight the pathways forward and begin the connections needed to plan for a carbon neutral future. The Midwest report was published this week and the Southeast report will be available online in the next week. 

4:30 - 5:30 PM
University SDG Reporting Fishbowl
Sarah Mendelson (Carnegie Mellon University), Jolynn Shoemaker (University of California, Davis)

• Sarah Mendelson spoke about how the VUR commitment by CMU is a way to hold themselves accountable to their commitment to the SDGs. It is also aligned with an emerging Pittsburgh platform of private and public commitments to align with the SDGs - evidenced by a recent nonprofit summit that had over 900 people interested to engage.

• Jolynn Shoemaker shared how UC Davis is engaging on a variety of fronts to internally organize around the SDGs, including conducting a faculty survey, creating a global campus theme around food, and administering a SDGs grant program for faculty to catalyze collaboration. Reporting and transparency are currently topics of discussion on campus.

• Sarah and Jolynn hosted a wide-ranging discussion from what to do about reporting fatigue, how to make sense of the variety of reporting mechanisms available, how to make sure reporting leads to action, how to make reporting interdisciplinary and community-driven, and how to ensure we’re having the honest conversations that incorporate equity and justice into the dialogue.

• Attendees agreed that a toolkit of resources and stories on this topic would be of value. While there are many existing sustainability metrics and rating systems for universities, none is universally agreed upon as adequate for measuring the SDGs. There was also strong sentiment of reporting fatigue, with a desire to limit additional tasks/workload in this area. 

• Overall, there was agreement that Universities have a commitment to operationalize the SDGs, but also to train a future workforce that is fluent in systems thinking and the SDGs, that think in an interdisciplinary way.

5:30 - 7:00 PM
Networking Happy Hour hosted by GMU’s Business for a Better World Center

The Business for a Better World Center, housed in the School of Business at George Mason University, recognizes that business is a force for good in the world, leading the charge to address the world's wicked problems.  The Center will: educate the next generation of leaders ready to take on complex challenges, generate knowledge that transforms business "as usual", convene leaders across sectors, effective positive change in the world by engaging with action-oriented partnerships, and lead a global movement to reshape business education for the world.  

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Friday, January 24

9:00 - 9:30 AM
SDSN Global Networks Update
Elena Crete (SDSN)

• Elena Crete overviewed the 4 main purposes of the network:

1. Raise awareness of the SDGs and help localize the goals 

2. Teach about sustainable development through the SDG Academies and elsewhere 

3. Support long-term pathways towards sustainable development 

4. Vet and launch solutions initiatives

• SDSN and its networks have developed a wealth of resources that may be of interest to SDSN USA members, including: Getting Started on the SDGs in Universities; A Pathway to Sustainable American Cities: A Guide to Implementing the SDGs; SDG Indices; Six Transformations to Achieve the SDGs, and more.

9:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Lightning Presentations & Discussion Groups

Five speakers presented brief updates on SDG-relevant work, and subsequently facilitated a group discussion on their respective topic. A list and summary of the presentations is below, along with a synopsis of the group’s conversation.

• Engaging Students and Academic Institutions to Achieve Zero Hunger - Alicia Powers (Auburn University)

  Universities Fighting World Hunger (UFWH) and Presidents United to Solve Hunger (PUSH) offer students and academic institutions strategic ways to engage in SDG 2 both locally and globally. Learn more about how UFWH student grassroots chapters and PUSH university administrators are working to achieve of SDG2.

  • There is a consensus that Campus Hunger is a popular topic and avenue to engage the network around the theme of building a future workforce, and that to engage students they cannot be hungry. A food access approach was discussed, and a suggestion of considering the cultural elements of food in the approach.

  • This discussion will continue after the meeting to determine if there is capacity to build a pathways-like project around hunger in the US.

• Advancing SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals through the RCE Greater Atlanta Regional Sustainability Network - Jennifer Hirsch (Georgia Tech)

  Officially acknowledged by the United Nations University in December 2017, RCE Greater Atlanta is one of 168 RCEs across the world and 7 in the U.S. RCEs support implementation of the SDGs at the regional level through education and training. RCE Greater Atlanta brings together nine universities and colleges with nonprofit, community, government, and business partners - and we are the only RCE in the U.S. with strong leadership and participation from HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). This short presentation will provide an overview of our efforts to build relationships and collaborations during our first two years.

  • There is common interest to better understand which networks provide which benefits, and how they can intersect with SDSN.

  • Discussion on how to incorporate culture, diversity and inclusion within SDSN.

  • Interest in a mapping of reporting mechanisms for universities.

• SUNY Global Health Institute: A Statewide Health Research Network to Advance Sustainable Development in New York State and with Global Partners - Gene D Morse, Jack DeHovitz, Marianne Hassan, Cynthia Proctor, Tod Laursen (University at Buffalo; Downstate Health Sciences Center; State University of New York)

  As a contributor to the SDSN and the growing SDSN-USA, the SUNY Global Health Institute plans to utilize a collaborative online international collaborative network integrated with a microcredentialing certificate program to build the urban and rural health research workforce. The workforce will work with regional community groups to address sustainable health, education, nutrition and economic development goals in New York State.

  • Discussion centered around how to approach state network building around the SDGs. A first step to this might include a state or regional mapping exercise, similar to what universities are doing with faculty surveys. A federal mapping would be useful as well. There may be AI tools to support this activity. 

  • The group suggested that a searchable database with a map tool could be useful, and a suggestion was raised for the SDSN USA network to organize regional meetings to facilitate the use of such a tool.

• 2.5 years, 14 interns, 93,750 data points: Developing a Matrix to connect Yale Teaching and Research to the SDGs - Melissa Goodall (Yale University)

  In 2015, the Yale Office of Sustainability launched a project aimed at helping understand how Yale’s scholarly activities connect to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the primary objectives of identifying the expertise Yale might lend to achieving the SDGs and creating pathways for collaboration between disciplines within the University. This presentation will cover the process used to develop the matrix and some examples of outcomes.

  • Melissa shared that Yale came to its commitment on the SDGs through their alignment with Yale’s institutional values, including: collaboration, broadening horizons, and addressing global challenges.

  • Surveys have helped to uncover previously unknown linkages, for example an art school professor at Yale whose work connects with the Decent Work SDG. It also revealed that the Yale history department has a lot of linkages to various goals.

  • SDG activity on campus can begin with a coalition of the willing - avoid asking faculty to be involved, but provide a point of entry for people who are seeking engagement.

    • The survey tools used at UC Davis and Yale are available to be shared and replicated in other contexts. There is interest for SDSN USA members to adapt these resources for use across universities.

• Campuswide Year on Climate Change - Dano Weisbord (Smith College)

  Smith College's President Kathleen McMartney asked what an "institutional response to climate change" might look like. Of all the ideas tested by a Study Group on Climate Change, the Year on Climate Change had the greatest institutional interest. Smith is half-way through the year, and this presentation will include the intentions, the activities and the plan to measure impact. 

  • Smith conducted a student questionnaire, members discussed potential for a survey of that nature conducted across a variety of institutions to better understand student perceptions around SDG issues such as climate change. The survey effort and data could lead to collaboration across member institutions.

  • A question was raise about SDSN acting as a connector/convener between universities and other industries, and a suggestion of collective action around the 50th anniversary of Earth Day was raised.

1:00 - 2:00 PM
US SDG Indices
Alainna Lynch (SDSN), Vana Zervanos (Saint Joseph’s University), David DuBois (Kent State University)

• Alainna Lynch shared findings, gaps, and methodology for SDSN’s US State and City SDG Indices. There is opportunity for members to engage on the future iterations of these projects - please contact Alainna Lynch if you or someone at your institution would like to get involved.

• Vana Zervanos shared the SDG Dashboard tool, which 29 schools currently utilize to self-assess SDG activities. There is a role for this type of tool beyond higher ed, and a business case for employers given that business school students are making value-driven decisions in accepting jobs.

• David DuBois shared an effort to build a dashboard display for regional SDG progress at the county level. There are strong opportunities to engage within and beyond universities for such a tool.

2:00 - 3:00 PM
Sustainable Development & University Partnership in Louisville
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Lauren Anderson (University of Louisville), Tony Pipa (Brookings Institution

• Mayor Fischer described three values that guide activities in Louisville: (1) Lifelong learning; (2) Health - holistically including physical, mental, environmental and spiritual; and (3) Compassion through an understanding that we are all connected. The Mayor believes that cities are platforms for human flourishing, and that a mayor’s task is to shape a city such that its citizens can flourish. This begins with building a strategy based on common values.

• Lauren Anderson discussed how the city’s focus on lifelong learning plays out through a strong university-city partnership. The programs developed, such as the Green Heart Project, reflect a strong joint commitment, a belief that residents have knowledge to contribute, and a systems thinking approach.

• Two-thirds of the issues mayors deal with are related to poverty: housing, food insecurity, welfare, living wage. These interconnected challenges demonstrate the need for systems thinking. The SDGs can be activated by and support that, and their power comes from systematizing and activating the goals.

• The Mayor concluded the session by charging attendees to “embrace bold citizenship, apart from and as part of their individual work.”

3:00 - 4:00 PM
Brainstorming & Next Steps
Jeffrey Sachs, Dan Esty, Gordon McCord, and Caroline Fox

• The meeting closed with an engaged group discussion, centered around the question: How do we learn from these initiatives, connect and expand them across the country?

• It was agreed that working groups will be expanded or explored around the following topics:

  • Deep Decarbonization in the United States: an invitation has been issued for members and partners to join the next phase of the project.

  • SDGs and Curriculum: A working group will form and to explore a project to collect and disseminate US-specific best practices.

  • Hunger: An exploratory working group will be formed to consider a pathways project around hunger in the United States

  • SDG Mapping at Universities: This group will build on numerous conversations during the SDSN USA meeting on SDG Mapping at Universities, facilitating dialogue, sharing of experiences, and potentially building a toolkit around this topic.

  • Indigenous Science: Members expressed a common value of improving engagement with and learning from Indigenous communities on the SDGs and sustainability. A working group will form to explore this.

• Additional discussion focused around SDG Localization; efforts will continue via indicators, indices, and dashboards across the network.

• There was also strong interest to explore leveraging universities to engage at the state level, for example via establishing state level pathways that can be utilized by governments, or expanding city-focused programs to the state level.

• Attendees also discussed challenges of engaging with SDSN USA - competing priorities and commitments to other efforts or networks, improving diversity within SDSN USA leadership, and requests to have events outside of NYC and DC.

The meeting closed with commitments by individuals to facilitate the new working groups and disseminate information about the pathways project and other initiatives within their institutions to build and strengthen this work. Please contact caroline.fox@unsdsn.org if you or someone in your institution would like to get involved.

You can access the presentations from the event via this link.