Members Resource Page

An invitation to be a leader in sustainability! Join Canadian Colleges and Institutes from across the country in making a bold, urgent and collective step change towards sustainability and be part of the United Nations Decade of Action to end poverty, rescue the planet and build a more peaceful world.

The next eight years are critical! We are looking for institutions to become signatories of the SDG Accord and be part of creating better futures for peoples and communities.

Under the auspices of the CICan ImpAct initiative, the pan-Canadian SDG Accord Project Working group has developed this webpage as a resource for Canadian colleges and institutes to learn more about the SDG Accord, what it means to make the commitment and the resources available to support your institutional journey.

 

Why the SDG Accord?

The SDG Accord is a worldwide partnership – representing more than 338 institutions, 63 student associations, 234 support organizations and 1900 individuals – all spread across 85 countries. Launched in September 2017, the Accord is a public declaration of an institution’s commitment to sharing and reporting on their progress towards the SDGs – giving rich insight into the actions undertaken by higher and further education and their outcomes in our communities and the world at large. There are four different types of signatories: institution, individual, supporting organization and students’ organization.

The purpose of the SDG Accord is twofold; first it is to inspire, celebrate and advance the critical role that education has in delivering the SDGs and the value it brings to governments, business, and wider society. Secondly, the Accord is a commitment learning institutions are making to one another to do more to deliver the goals, to annually report on each signatory’s progress, and to do so in ways which share the learning with each other both nationally and internationally. The SDG Accord can be signed virtually. 

All signatories are encouraged to follow 5 principles:

  • Align all major efforts with the Sustainable Development Goals, targets, and indicators, including through our education, research, leadership, operational and engagement activities.
  • Aim to involve members from all key stakeholder groups in this endeavor, including students, academics, professional staff, local communities, and other external stakeholders.
  • Collaborate across cities, regions, countries, and continents with other signatory institutions as part of a collective international response.
  • Using their own unique ways, inform, share our learning and account to both local and global communities our progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Annually report a progress update to the UN High Level Political Forum.

Canadian Signatories

 

These institutes have joined a global coalition of higher education institutes committed to playing their part in advancing the UN SDGs, in both academics and operations, in this important UN Decade of Action. Hear more from our member institutions about what inspired them to take this step by watching this video: Join the SDG Accord.

Signing is easy and CICan has developed a robust Community of Practice to share resources, advice and member support to help each institution along their journey.

Steps to signing the Accord

Step 1: Raise awareness in your institution and with your institutional leaders about the SDG Accord.

See the Briefing Note template that you can modify for your institution.

SDG Accord Briefing Note Template

Step 2: Prepare a presentation of request CICan or an Accord Project Working Group member to help deliver a presentation

Step 3: Institutional highest officer (President, Provost) signs the Accord online and get your certificate.

Step 4: Promote your commitment through a media release and social media and learn more about the pan-Canadian SDG Accord Project community of practice (see step 7).

Step 5: Connect with the SDG Accord Community of Practice

The purpose of the SDG Accord Project Working Group, composed of CICan member institutions, is to raise awareness regarding the SDG Accord, encourage institutions to sign the Accord and provide guidance, resources, and support for signatory institutions. Find a list of names here

Check out all the great examples in this Toolkit from institutions across Canada and get inspired

 Founding SDG Accord Community of Practice Members:

Step 6: Set up an internal group to support the SDG Accord work (suggested best practice)

  • Draft ToR from Nova Scotia Community College SDG Steering Committee

Step 7: Annual reporting is simple. It entails completing a short survey and providing at least one or more case study of your institution’s work for inclusion in an annual report by completing this template (with examples of initiatives that support one or more SDGs). The annual report is presented each spring to the UN High Commission  sdg_accord_report_-_2021.pdf (sustainabilityexchange.ac.uk).

Survey Example from 2022  sdg_accord_2022_reporting_EN.pdf

Reporting Examples

Case Studies from Institutions outside of Canada

License

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SDG Toolkit for Canadian Colleges and Institutes Copyright © by cican is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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