The Sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Hanken library

The 17 Sustainable development goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The Goals address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The 17 goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each goal and target by 2030.

This LibGuide presents an overview, as well as a thoughtful action plan, which illustrates how Hanken library can and will do, and has been doing, to support the SDGs and head towards a green and sustainable library:

• Hanken has committed to mainstreaming and integrating SDGs across research, education, and partnerships as part of its commitment to the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), of which Hanken has been a signatory since 2008.

We at Hanken library align ourselves with Hanken's overarching social responsibility and sustainability initiatives and strategies, actively take actions, and organize and participate in activities and events that promote sustainable development. See the section Hanken library and SDGs on the library's ongoing and planned practices that contribute to achieving certain SDGs.

• UNESCO has committed to making open access one of the central supporting agendas to attain the SDGs (See UNESCO: Open Access to Scientific Information). Open science movement embraces openness, FAIRness, equality, inclusiveness, and cooperation as the fundamental values in fostering sustainable social and economic development. It aims to ensure free, universal, open accessibility to information, publications, data and educational resources as one of the crucial conditions to achieve global knowledge societies and attain the SDGs.

Libraries worldwide play a key role in championing open science initiatives. By enthusiastically and earnestly promoting different aspects of open science, we at the library also endeavour to build an open-access digital library for all, as a step towards attaining the SDGs.

See the section Open science and SDGs on how open science contributes to achieving certain SDGs.

• As an academic library and part of library network at the national and international level, Hanken library takes the responsibility and opportunities to provide and share information and resources in the community and internationally, to disseminate research on social responsibility and sustainability, and to communicate and advocate for the SDGs to our different user groups and the general public:
  • We offer up-to-date literature on the topics for readers to learn more about the SDGs and to support related research and teaching. See the section on The library's collection on social responsibility and sustainability. 
  •  Hanken's research database Haris provides an inbuilt option to categorize Hanken's research content by using SDGs tagging. In this way, we help improve the visibility of the research conducted at Hanken that is related to sustainability. Readers can search for and filter Hanken's research outputs in Haris public portal by clicking on any of the 17 SDGs. See the section on Hanken's research on the SDGs. Also see the film SDGs in your research and tagging in Haris (3:43).

• Australian Public Library Alliance and National and State Libraries Australasia: Australian libraries support the Sustainable Development Goals
• The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA): How libraries contribute to sustainable development & the SDGs IFLA ALP: Building Better Library Communities (2012)
• The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA): Access and opportunity for all: how libraries contribute to the United Nations 2030 Agenda (2015)
• The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA): Libraries and the Sustainable Development Goals: a storytelling manual (2018)
• The SDG Fund: The SDG Online Library
• SDGs partnerships platform: Contribution of Libraries to the SDGs
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