As the American Leadership on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative comes to an end, we reflect on this project’s success and the ambition of achieving the SDGs in the United States and beyond.

Since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, global cooperation has faced headwinds. The SDGs themselves have been misunderstood, ignored, and even denounced at home and abroad. Yet at the local level, community leaders, educators, students, and organizations have been putting the SDGs into practice — and getting results. Their work shows that while policy debates may come and go, the drive to build stronger, fairer, and more sustainable communities reflects both American and Global Goals.

At its core, the American Leadership on the SDGs initiative was about recognizing and connecting people and institutions across the United States who advanced the SDGs in practical, grounded ways — in their communities, organizations, and daily work. In this program, a partnership of the UN Foundation and the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development, we saw firsthand how the SDGs offer us a shared reference point — not as a rigid checklist, but as a framework that can help connect priorities across sectors and geographies. The Goals encourage collaboration rather than competition, and remind us that issues like health, equity, climate, and economic opportunity are intertwined. When we view the SDGs in that light, they become less about measurement and more about ethically responsible, shared values that Americans work towards every day.

In his USAforSDGs.org profile interview, Camil Demirovic, a New York City Junior Ambassador, described helping a classmate learn English as part of a SDG project. His approach was straightforward and captured something essential that rings true across domestic SDG efforts: small, thoughtful actions connected to a larger purpose spark inspiration and impact potential. The SDGs give us language to describe that connection — and a way to see individual efforts as part of something collective.

Since 2019, we’ve seen local-to-global spirit reflected in communities small and large. From city halls incorporating the SDGs into local plans, to universities adapting their teaching and research around sustainability, and to faith leaders and grassroots organizers working toward inclusion and resilience, the framework has been implemented through local community values in countless ways.

When the American Leadership on the SDGs launched its first event in 2019 alongside the UN General Assembly, this initiative made domestic action progress more visible, connected stakeholders across sectors and geographies, and identified pathways for collection and individual action. Events and resources have provided a meeting point and a spotlight for leadership — highlighting the ongoing contributions of mayors, educators, philanthropies, youth leaders, and organizations that have embraced the SDGs as a tool for collaboration and reflection. A record of resources and stories will continue to be accessible at www.USAforSDGs.org, though the site will no longer be updated.

While the American Leadership on the SDGs initiative is concluding, the work continues through individual and collective action across local, state, national, and global contexts. Like a tree’s roots, trunk, and branches, each part depends on the others to grow and reach new heights. That’s how progress works, too — it starts close to home, and with care and connection, it grows outward, steady, and strong. As students from Kamehameha Schools in Hawai‘i have often reminded us, we are all on Island Earth — and there is only one.

This initiative has been a hopeful contribution to a much larger story — one of connection, collaboration, and the ongoing effort to make progress that benefits everyone.

Onward.

Caroline Kleinfox

Additional Viewing

Six Years of American Leadership on the SDGs

Over the last six years, we’ve elevated the stories of American changemakers using the SDGs as their blueprint to develop local, innovative solutions to solve the world’s biggest challenges.

Together, they’ve shown us that the 17 Goals are more than a framework — they are people-powered, they break down barriers, and they hold a vision for the country and world we want, where no one is left behind.