PRESS RELEASE
Launch of the SDSN France network: French higher education and research rally around Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Paris, November 21, 2018-Led by Université PSL, KEDGE Business School and Université de Cergy-Pontoise (UCP), the SDSN France network (Sustainable Development Solutions Network) was launched on November 13, 2018 with the mission of promoting the sustainable development goals in the scientific community and civil society, through associations and politiciansIn 2015 the UN’s General Assembly adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 Agenda. The SDSN (Sustainable Development Solutions Network) was founded in 2012 with the support of the United Nations with the aim of mobilising global researchers and experts in order to define practical solutions and accelerate the implementation of the SDGs.
Already operating in several countries (Germany, Canada, Sweden...), the SDSN is now expanding to France and has set itself missions to promote solutions with positive impact in order to facilitate economic, energy and social transitions as part of the SDGs. Université PSL, KEDGE and Université de Cergy-Pontoise have joined forces to form the head of this network.
SDSN France has set itself five goals :
- Develop fundamental research and teaching of solutions which will help to achieve the SDGs
- Bring these teaching and research initiatives to the attention of public authorities, international organisations, businesses and NGOs
- Promote cooperation between different shareholders
- Convince donors and sponsors to fund projects from French universities
- Improve public awareness in the public about sustainable development
The SDSN France network was officially launched on November 13, 2018 by Université PSL, KEDGE and Université de Cergy-Pontoise at a conference by the economist Jeffrey D. Sachs titled “Sustainable Development Goals: accelerating the change”. Workshops bringing together tutors and researchers from all disciplines, institutional stakeholders and members of civil society (Agence Française de Développement, Comité 21, Réseau Français des Étudiants pour le Développement Durable, CGE, CPU, Novethic, Global Compact France, etc.) were held on topics about energy transition, education and sustainable development, sustainable finance, sustainable towns, sustainable value chains, market and corporate social responsibility.
Alain Fuchs, President of PSL, stated “One of the university’s missions is to bring together those who disseminate knowledge for the decision-makers. By establishing the SDSN France, PSL intends to show that science is, and must be, of sustainable development.”
We are pleased we have succeeded in bringing together everyone involved in sustainable development in France to initiate a shared platform for all. This system will enable us to find synergies, ways to move forward in order to accelerate what is already in place and to come up with new concepts. The involvement of our faculty today in this project shows that as well as an excellent level of research, our faculty researchers are also able to work on social projects.
François Germinet, President of Université de Cergy-Pontoise, said “It is essential today to come up with solutions for a sustainable world. Bringing these solutions to everyone’s attention and producing the desired outcomes on a large scale through consolidated networks is just as essential. This is why I believe the SDSN is so important, particularly considering the implementation of the Paris Agreement (COP21) and the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda. I am therefore particularly proud that Université de Cergy-Pontoise is one of the founders of SDSN France.”
About Université PSL
Located in the heart of Paris, Université PSL combines research and the breeding of excellence, creation and innovation: 4,500 faculty researchers, 181 laboratories, 17,000 students, and a dozen business incubators, fab labs and co-working spaces for student entrepreneurs. PSL ranks among the world’s top 50 universities according to THE (Times Higher Education) and QS (Quacquarelli Symonds).
Arts and sciences, engineering, humanities and social science form the core of the university’s ambitious intellectual and scientific vision. As a selective, global, interdisciplinary university, committed to promoting talent and equal opportunity, PSL is creating the world of tomorrow.
Université PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres): Chimie ParisTech, École nationale des chartes, École normale supérieure, École Pratique des Hautes Études, ESPCI Paris, Institut Curie, MINES ParisTech, Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris-Dauphine.
With the support of : CNRS, Inserm, Inria.
Associates : Collège de France, Conservatoire national supérieur d'Art dramatique, Conservatoire national supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, École française d'Extrême-Orient, École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Beaux-Arts de Paris, IBPC-Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, Institut Louis Bachelier, La Fémis.
About Université de Cergy-Pontoise
Université de Cergy-Pontoise is a multi-disciplinary university in the west of Paris outskirts, founded in 1991. It has 20,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. A winner of the prestigious “Excellence Initiative” with the ESSEC and EISTI, it is a university that promotes diversity and is focused on society, international environment and territorial issues building links between university, territories and companies. Its mission is to train new generations in the issues of a complex and global world.
Université de Cergy-Pontoise is part of the ComUE Université Paris Seine which includes 14 institutions: ESSEC, EISTI, ENSEA, SUPMECA, EBI, ECAM-EPMI, EPSS, ILEPS, ENSAPC, ENSAV, ENSP, ISIPCA, ITESCIA, UCP
Press contacts
PSL :
- Sabine Rozier-Deroche - Tel: +33 (0)6 42 66 45 24 - srd@taolaconsultants.com
Université de Cergy-Pontoise :
- Caroline Hodak, communications director - Tel: +33 (0)6 98 63 70 06 - caroline.hodak@u-cergy.fr
- Elodie Barros, Press officer - Tel: +33 (0)7 62 36 77 04 - elodie.barros@u-cergy.fr
