SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), introduced in 2015, provide a global strategy to ‘end poverty, safeguard the planet, promote prosperity, and ensure peace.’ The SDGs structure consists of 17 goals and 169 targets, serving as a blueprint to address the critical challenges facing humanity. This robust framework is applicable to all nations, governments, industries, businesses, and individuals.

In September 2015, all 193 United Nations member countries, including New Zealand, committed to the 17 SDGs with the objective of achieving their targets by 2030. This collective commitment means that every country, industry, business, and individual have a role to play in advancing progress towards the SDGs and securing a sustainable future for all. In 2020, New Zealand Parliament published The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Research Brief, outlining New Zealand’s work towards the SDGs. 

The 17 SDGs are interconnected, and while they collectively impact various industries, some goals are particularly relevant to specific sectors. For example, agriculture, including horticulture, is crucial to achieving SDG 2: “End hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture,” by boosting sustainable production, reducing food waste, and improving supply chains. Similarly, SDG 3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being” aligns with the fresh produce sector, as fruits and vegetables are vital for a healthy diet.

This underscores the need for New Zealand’s fresh produce industry to take a proactive approach in advancing and tracking progress toward its specific goals within the SDG framework. To get readers started, United Fresh has developed the Guideline Towards Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals website is also very informative and easy to follow.

Many of our international produce industry trading partners, are working towards embracing the SDGs. Here are three examples:

• U.S. Agriculture’s Opportunities to Contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals: This resource outlines a comprehensive strategy, for the U.S. agricultural and horticultural industries, to achieve each SDG, tracking current progress, future opportunities, and the broader benefits these efforts bring to the industry.
• Netherlands Top Sector Horticulture & Starting Materials and the SDGs, practical examples: This resource offers case studies on sustainability initiatives in the Dutch fresh produce sector, demonstrating progress aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework.
• International Sustainability Summit Report and Draft Sustainability Charter: This report highlights key insights from the International Sustainability Summit, addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges across the global produce supply chain. The Fresh Produce Sustainability Charter emphasises the critical role of sustainability in the industry’s long-term success, providing a clear framework of principles and strategic outcomes to guide a harmonised approach across the supply chain.
• Branch Plan Sustainable Packaging – Summary: This plan was developed by The Fresh Produce Centre to enhance the use of sustainable packaging in the Dutch fruit and vegetable sector. The plan aims to support producers in contributing to multiple SDGs, with a primary focus on SDG 12: responsible consumption and production.
• Addressing sustainability in the fresh fruit and vegetable sector: This resource is a collaborative effort by Wageningen University, European Freshfel, and the Fresh Produce Centre, aimed at developing a standardised method to measure the ‘Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)’ of fresh produce.
• SDG Resource Centre – Sustainable Fruit And Vegetables: RELX published a resource that highlights the integral role of sustainable fruit and vegetables in achieving key Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing their environmental, social, and economic importance.