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The COVID19 pandemic prompted the world to focus with a bigger lens to care about our people and the planet. We call this social responsibility. Businesses and governments have embraced this concept for many years. In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for social responsibility. These goals aim to solve world problems like poverty, hunger, education, equity, environmental issues, and more, with commitments for change by 2030.
Sustainability includes three pillars of sustainability: Environmental, Social, and Economic.
We already see changes through partnerships with governments and businesses, including climate action and clean energy solutions, with commitments for social responsibility, including environmental sustainability.
What you can do on this site:
Explore Sustainability and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
See how education encourages change, everyday leaders can make a difference, and businesses embrace ethical sustainable solutions.
Choose to assess problems and act with social responsibility.
Make a difference with inclusive and accessible ideas and innovation for sustainability.
Explore - Educate - Act - Brainstorm - Reflect
Explore - Educate - Act - Brainstorm - Reflect
To navigate this site: Scroll down to navigate the page. Use the tools to watch embedded videos or listen to podcasts on this page, or to link out to the source. Hover and click on links to access external resources. Links look like this and like title cards with a thin outline (like the two goal links that follow in the next section).
Explore: Discover Sustainabilty and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
Explore: Discover Sustainabilty and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
Read the definition of sustainability. Then, watch the video and access the site links to explore the goals and see how UNESCO supports the goals through its work.
What is Sustainability?
What is Sustainability?
"Sustainability is the integration of environmental health, social equity, cultural vitality and economic responsibility to create and maintain thriving, diverse, resilient communities for this generation and those to come. The practice of sustainability recognizes these are complex and interconnected issues that require an interdisciplinary, inclusive and collaborative systems approach to reach a state of collective well-being and social and environmental justice."
Explore the SDGs
Explore the SDGs
The UN SDGs include 17 SDGs, 169 targets, and 232 unique indicators.
SDG Goals: Targets
SDG Goals: Targets
SDG Goals and Target Statements (2).pdfTake a Quiz: Learn about SDGs while you help SDG#2 and feed the world with Freerice, from the United Nations World Food Programme.
Educate: How are Colleges Looking Forward?
Educate: How are Colleges Looking Forward?
Explore what can be done to adopt sustainability goals as a student and in your chosen career.
Consider how higher education focuses on sustainability as inspiration. Students can be involved through experiential learning at the post-secondary level and then applying concepts in the workplace.
Listen to conversations about the Office of Sustainability, The Green Citizen Seneca project, and Seneca Au Large's commitment to students at Seneca College, Toronto, Canada.
Listen to conversations about the Office of Sustainability, The Green Citizen Seneca project, and Seneca Au Large's commitment to students at Seneca College, Toronto, Canada.
Host Pat Perdue welcomes two sustainability specialists for a conversation about the newly created Office of Sustainability. Wai Chu Cheng (left), who has the academic portfolio, and Courtney Hayes, who looks after operations, share insights about their jobs and how they work with curriculum planners, professors, procurement and many others to provide consultation and guidance, keeping sustainability top of mind in every aspect of life at Seneca. Wai Chu Cheng and Courtney Hayes Episode Transcript
Host Pat Perdue talks with Andrew Wickham, Professor, School of Environmental & Civil Engineering Technology and Green Citizen Project Manager, about the environment and sustainability. A member of the sustainability committee as part of Seneca Au Large, Professor Wickham shares his thoughts on the growing Green Citizen project at Seneca. He shares how the Au Large project connects Seneca's commitment to students, what it means to be sustainable, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Want to know more about Seneca College's plans and actions?
Want to know more about Seneca College's plans and actions?
Seneca Au Large is a plan launched early in the pandemic for renewing Seneca through unprecedented times. The plan focuses on equity, inclusion, the long term economic, environmental and social value of sustainability, and SDGs that ensures Seneca students have access to future-forward education.
The three pillars for renewal include building an
equitable Seneca,
sustainable Seneca, and
a more virtual Seneca.
Read about Seneca College's sustainable efforts:
How can you continue your education about sustainable business?
How can you continue your education about sustainable business?
Choose programs and courses that teach about sustainability topics.
Visit the Green Citizen site for information and online learning modules.
Attend events like the Green Citizen Symposium and Sustainable Development Goal workshops that incorporate sustainability topics and encourage awareness and change. See how Seneca students make an impact on sustainable development.
Get involved with associations, organizations, and groups like the SDG Student Program Hub.
Access HELIX, Seneca's on-campus innovation and entrepreneurship incubator.
If you cannot attend a live event, watch a Green Citizen Symposium presentation recording (YouTube), and reflect on current issues and solutions:
If you cannot attend a live event, watch a Green Citizen Symposium presentation recording (YouTube), and reflect on current issues and solutions:
The theme for the 2021 Green Citizen Symposium is “Today’s Challenge. Tomorrow’s Opportunity” — Improving current societal systems during and after the pandemic, with a focus on equity, inclusion and how communities can work together to build a better tomorrow.
The message in 2021 was clear. We need to focus on sustainability education and adoption to overcome challenges and see successes.
Successes include:
Accessibility, Equity, and Inclusion
Community
Education
Grants - List of projects funded by the Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program - Canada.ca (ESDC)
Innovation
Sustainable Design
Implementation
Economic, Environmental and Social Value
Challenges include:
Zero Carbon Footprint Goals (Climate Change, Temperatures, Net Zero Emissions, Environment)
Leadership, Governance, Policy
Skilled Labour, Staff, Student Learning
Appreciation, Understanding, Engagement, Resistance to Change
How are other colleges and institutes implementing SDGs?
How are other colleges and institutes implementing SDGs?
Act: How Can Business Change?
Act: How Can Business Change?
As an employee or an entrepreneur, brainstorm problems and solutions without limitations to create change. Adopt a design thinking process to empathize, define and ideate before you prototype and test solutions. As we learn more about SDGs, new ideas and innovations for future-forward thinking change our mindset and expectations.
Read about successes in Canada, consider some challenges, and follow tips to innovate.
Read about successes in Canada, consider some challenges, and follow tips to innovate.
Explore two reports from Coro Strandberg, a recognized leader in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. The studies were funded by Canadian government agencies within Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). One shares insights on how six companies advanced their impacts to be examples of best practices for social responsibility. The second is a commissioned study that found a range of CSR practices among the 32 companies interviewed:
Best CSR Practices in Canada: Six Case Studies - Coro Strandberg
Corporate Social Responsibility in Canada: Trends, Barriers and Opportunities - Coro Strandberg
Read 4 reasons it’s hard to become a sustainable business | PBS News, the article that shares that no single definition of ‘sustainability’ exists and features Patagonia, a B Corp Certified company.
Read 4 reasons it’s hard to become a sustainable business | PBS News, the article that shares that no single definition of ‘sustainability’ exists and features Patagonia, a B Corp Certified company.
Do not wait for policy changes:
Funding is available. Learn About the ESDC Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program - Canada.ca.
Currently, Canadian laws do not connect SDGs to standards or certification.
The CSA Group, which develops CSA and ISO standards, received ESDC funding and partnered with post-secondary institutions to link their standards to the SDGs for easy clarification of SDG compliance.
B Corporation developed B Corp standards to encourage business certification for "profits and purpose".
Published tips and business services share advice for embracing sustainability.
See what is happening now with ISO/CSA, B Corp, and companies following sustainability tips!
See what is happening now with ISO/CSA, B Corp, and companies following sustainability tips!
Accredited CSA and ISO standards are supervised by the Standards Council of Canada and referenced in regulations.
Follow the link to access multiple stories.
Listen to Pela's story here:
Listen to Pela's story here:
See Pela's B Impact Report here:
Profit with a Purpose with B Corporation Certification
Profit with a Purpose with B Corporation Certification
Over 200 Canadian companies are B Corp certified.
The B Corporation certification measures social and environmental performance. The certification process is not linked to SDGs.
Sustainability Tips for Business
Sustainability Tips for Business
Review the article that shares nine tips on how to make your business more sustainable:
Connect with the need.
Repair social trust.
Make sustainability a core principle.
Do research.
Innovate.
Incorporate diverse leadership.
Set a long-term, holistic vision.
Be accountable and constantly improve.
Embrace competitors as collaborators.
Spoiler Alert: Pela is on this list!
Pathway to Success: SDGs, CSA and ISO Standards
Pathway to Success: SDGs, CSA and ISO Standards
Watch this recording, where business student Tristyn Wylie demonstrates a CSA/ISO/SDG link as an example and recommends linking to increase SDG compliance.
Michael Leering, a CSA Director, shared linking as a solution to "greenwashing" and a way to address organizational needs to progress on achieving SDGs. (Ryerson University, Connecting Standards... Part 2, Slide 10 @ 10:30)
Nice to know: Access Ryerson University recordings: Connecting Standards to the UN SDGs - Part 1 and Connecting Standards to the UN SDGs - Part 2 (1 hour 30 minutes each)
Brainstorm: How Can You Make a Difference?
Brainstorm: How Can You Make a Difference?
Get inspired and embrace social responsibility. Access the global ranking list to discover inspiring businesses that embrace accessibility and sustainability. Explore sustainability through Seneca's Library Guide. Then participate in a brainstorming activity and share your opinions on where we can do better. See how everyday leaders (like you) are identifying problems and enabling sustainable solutions for improvement.
Share your opinions about where we can do better.
Share your opinions about where we can do better.
Think of an industry, sector, or type of business and identify a problem that exists.
Connect the problem to a Sustainable Development Goal and share your opinion about why that goal is important.
Explain the problem.
Share your thoughts, opinions, and connections on the Padlet collection (green screen):
Use the template and SDG#7 Affordable and Clean Energy posts (light green) as examples, to organize the post with the SDG number and title, connection, and problem.
Click on the + to post your problem.
Save your idea. You may want to explore this opportunity for a project or as a Helix participant!
Click on the arrow at the top right of the Padlet to expand the screen.
See how everyday leaders make a difference:
See how everyday leaders make a difference:
Feel Innovative? See a successful innovation by Paulo Meneghel, a former Seneca College student and Helix participant.
Have some ideas about your home, neighbourhood, and the world? Share your ideas for the planet with #TrashHack.
Trash Hacks are small changes you can make that will help the planet. Becoming a Trash Hacker will help you to change the way you think about waste, take action to tackle trash and inspire others to do the same.
Reflect: Access Case Study and Resource Examples
Reflect: Access Case Study and Resource Examples
Learn more about current equity, inclusion, and sustainability initiatives.
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Social Responsibility and SDG. This site is shared by Gail Harris with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Embedded and linked content creators retain the copyright or license for their work. Content updated June 4, 2025.
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