The global goals have been around since 2015 and have become a natural part of our understanding of sustainable development. But how often do we actually think about them? When was the last time you read the concrete targets? Even though we know they are important, they have become a kind of background noise – something we refer to, but perhaps do not actively work on in the most effective way.
It is easy to see the 17 goals as separate areas: clean water, gender equality, education, climate action. But in fact, the goals are intertwined. Working with clean water improves health, strengthens education and reduces poverty. Investing in sustainable industry creates new jobs, which in turn affects economic growth and innovation.
If we see the global goals as a whole rather than a set of separate ambitions, we gain a new understanding of how we can drive change. This is where systems innovation comes in.
Systems innovation – understanding the connections
Systems innovation is about changing entire structures, rather than optimizing individual parts. This means we need to see the relationships between different factors and understand how they affect each other.
For example, if we try to solve water shortages in an area by drilling more wells without considering the long-term groundwater level, we are only creating a new problem. But if we instead look at the whole system – from the role of rainforests in water flow to agricultural water use and population growth – we can find solutions that really work over time.
Similarly, we cannot work for gender equality without seeing how it affects education, economic development and health. When more girls have access to education, societies improve on a number of levels: childbearing rates decrease, economies are strengthened and children’s health improves.
The Global Goals are not 17 separate problems to solve. They are a network of challenges where each part affects the whole.
Tools for understanding systems
When we see the Global Goals as systems innovation, we get new ways of working with them. Tools like stakeholder mapping and the iceberg model help us understand both visible and invisible factors in a system.
Stakeholder mapping allows us to identify which actors influence and are influenced by a change. For example, if we want to improve the food system in a city, it is not just about changing how food is produced, but also how it is distributed, how consumers act and what economic incentives are in place.
The iceberg model helps us see beyond the surface. We often focus on visible problems, such as plastic pollution in the oceans or air pollution in cities. But these are only symptoms of deeper structures, such as consumption patterns, economic systems and social norms. To solve the problems, we need to understand the underlying causes.
New Perspectives – New Opportunities
Working on the global goals through systems innovation gives us new energy and a new approach. Instead of trying to solve one goal at a time, we can create changes that affect several goals at once.
For example:
When cities invest in sustainable public transport, not only do emissions decrease – accessibility increases, health improves and economic disparities decrease.
When we switch to regenerative agriculture, not only does food production improve – soil fertility increases, water resources are conserved and biodiversity is strengthened.
The Global Goals are not just a vision for the future. They are a map of how we can create real change by understanding how everything is connected. And when we see the connections, solutions become both more effective and more sustainable.
