National SDG Champion 23-24

National SDG Champion 23-24

Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, Deputy President and Registrar, Dr John Caulfield, Director of Strategy Implementation, and Michelle O’Dowd Lohan, Community and University Sustainability Officer, represented University of Galway at the SDG National Stakeholders Forum: Irelands 2023 Volunary National Review, where the University was awarded SDG Champion status by Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport Eamon Ryan. Credit - Julien Behal.

University of Galway has been designated as a national Sustainable Development Goal Champion for 2023-24 by Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport Eamon Ryan T.D. The designation recognises the leading role the University is playing in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The designation took place as part of Irelands second SDG National Stakeholder Forum. The focus for the forum was compiling feedback on Ireland’s second Voluntary National Review (VNR) which was presented at the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York on 19 July 2023. The forum was an opportunity for University of Galway,  to participate in and contribute to the report which includes a dedicated stakeholder chapter and six thematic chapters covering Education, Employment and Social Protection, Health, Community Engagement and Inclusion, Housing and Climate Action and the Circular Economy. 

University of Galway is the first university to hold the honour of national SDG Champion, joining 21 other newly appointed and four former SDG Champions announced by Minister Ryan across a range of industries and sectors, including the GAA, RTÉ, An Post, Tesco and the FAI. 

The role of an SDG Champion is to raise public awareness of the SDGs and act as a good practice example of how an organisation can contribute to and integrate the SDGs into their work and activities. 

• The awarding of SDG Champion status acknowledges many years of hard work embedding the SDGs on multiple levels across the University. Researchers at University of Galway have developed a global reputation for medtech, marine and environmental research, sustainable energy solutions, data analytics, culture and creativity, all having an important role to play in the implementation of the SDGs. 
• Lecturers are embedding sustainability across the curriculum and the University has developed a new tracking tool to determine the SDG content of our courses.  
• Since 2006, the University has exceeded targets by decreasing its energy usage across campus by over 50%.
• Our campus and buildings are test-beds for positive sustainable actions and our Galway city campus is the most biodiverse university campus in Ireland. 
• The University was awarded the Green Flag in 2019 and 2022, and the Biodiversity Trail promotes the campus as an educational and recreational resource. 

• University of Galway was recognised by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022 as the No.1 University in Ireland and Top 50 in the World for its efforts in progressing the SDGs. It is also ranked 5^th in the world for its progress on SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production.

• University of Galway is a signatory to the SDG Accord and a number of our sustainability case studies feature in the international SDG Accord Report 2022. The University’s approach to progressing the SDGs is featured as a case study in Ireland’s Second National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals 2022- 2024.
• University of Galway is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and is listed as a top performer in the AASHE 2022 Sustainable Campus Index. In November 2021 it received a STARS gold rating for its sustainability achievements.

Our latest Annual Sustainability Report includes an individual report on each of the 17 SDGs and provides examples of its leadership in tackling the SDGs in three ways: Students and Learning; Research; and Community Engagement.