Goal-setting as a strategy to drive transformational development in the building industry

The United Nations adaptation of the 2030 Agenda in 2015 included the identification and definition of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals report of 2022 takes measure of progress towards the 2030 Agenda, but stresses that transformational change is needed now in all sectors of society if we are to succeed. In the article 'On the Role of Construction in Achieving the SDGs' Sherif Goubran argues that 17% of the SDG targets are directly dependent on construction and real estate, while 27% of the targets across all 17 goals are indirectly dependent on these sectors’ activities, emphasising the building industry as a key player in the progress to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
The implementation process for new legislation towards the 2030 Agenda is lengthy and ongoing. However, the goal-setting quality of the SDGs has entered culture at-large. This impact is emphasised by the aspirational character of the goals, the legitimacy of the global intergovernmental backing of the 2030 Agenda, and the goal’s readability to stakeholders, opening them up for non-governmental ownership and action.

This article examines goal-setting as a tool to create longer-term development of shared norms around which states and stakeholders can craft policies, actors can mobilise, and to which institutional mechanisms can then be adapted to support. The article argues that goal-setting can be relevant as a strategy to drive transformational development in the building industry and can help build support for legislation.

As a case, we discuss our books – An Architecture Guide to the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals, volume 1 & 2 – as they relate to goal-setting as a strategy to drive transformational development in the building industry. The books attempt to contribute to a common language for architecture’s contribution to the 2030 Agenda, being one of many initiatives and actions, aimed at enabling policymakers, citizens and professionals to push the goals into action. The books build an argument that the challenges we face as a global community are interrelated, and that architecture has potential to be an agent of sustainable development in its full and interconnected scope. They focus on the goal-setting quality of the SDGs while linking the overarching goals with specific contributions in realized architecture projects.

The article argues that needed action includes legislation and the transformation of existing practices at societal and industry level, but also actions at the level of individual building projects, with the goal-setting as a reference when authorising and building support for choices contributing to sustainable development.