25 September 2023, London
25 September 2023, London IETP joins hundreds of UK organisations raise an SDG flag to show their support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This September will mark eight years since the world embraced the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, reflect a shared objective and ambition across all countries to end poverty and hunger everywhere, to combat inequalities within and among countries, to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, to protect human rights and promote gender equality of women and girls, and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources by 2030. The 17 Goals are supported by 169 targets and 232 indicators, enabling progress to be prioritised and tracked. Today, the ICTI Ethical Toy Program (IETP) joins hundreds of businesses, government departments, and civil society organisations in a global movement to fly an SDG flag to spread awareness of the SDGs and mobilise stakeholders for the 2030 agenda. "We are proud to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. At IETP, we strive to improve the lives of workers globally. Our program stands for fair wages, decent working hours (Goal 8) and implements gender equality (Goal 5) and free-to-access childcare programs (Goal 10). All of this is only achieved through effective partnerships (Goal 17), namely our global members and implementation and policy partners including Save the Children and UNICEF." – Carmel Giblin, President & CEO, ICTI Ethical Toy Program. As a Non-Profit Organization, the ICTI Ethical Toy Program fosters industry collaboration, creates impact, increases efficiency, and reduces costs. We are a proud member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) & our program supports a number of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, SDG3: Promote Good Health & Wellbeing, SDG4: Quality Education, SDG5: Gender Equality, SDG8: Decent Work & Economic Growth, SDG10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG13: Climate Action & SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals.In the UK, there have been some significant milestones towards the SDGs. In 2022, the UN Global Compact Network UK released Measuring Up 2.0, a multi-stakeholder report assessing the UK's performance against the SDGs and their Targets to understand how and where businesses, government, and other organisations should focus efforts for the remainder of this decade of action. Our London Office, flying the UN SDG Flag for the 2023 Flag CampaignThe report found of the 132 Targets relevant to the domestic delivery of the SDGs, the UK is only performing well on 17% of them. It highlighted how persistent inequalities within and between communities in the UK mean that we continue to leave people and places behind. It is because of this. that the 2030 Agenda is more important than ever, and worldwide collaboration between governments, businesses, and civil society organisations essential. With only 1 in 10 people in Britain familiar with the SDGs, raising the SDG flag this September is key to raising awareness and mobilising stakeholders for action. Join the global movement in championing the SDGs so together the 2030 Agenda can be achieved!