UN Sustainable Development Goal Number 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Episode 2 of 'The 17' focuses on Goal 8 and a subject that dominates the thinking of governments globally - the economy. The nature of this goal means it affects all the other Sustainable Development Goals. According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the current state of affairs looks like this:

• Global economic recovery post-covid is hampered by - amongst other things - rising inflation and labour market challenges
• Global unemployment is over 6%
• 1 in 10 children are engaged in child labour
• Global annual GDP growth is 2.5% (when it was 4.4% before the Ukraine War)

Goal 8  is also one of the most hotly debated of all the UN’s goals. Will economic growth pull more people out of poverty and kickstart the tech innovation needed to address climate change? Or is a focus on making more money - by definition - unsustainable. This episode triggers a fascinating debate.

An influential expert with a different vision

Tim Frenneaux has worked on both sides of the economic argument. Earlier in his career he worked for institutions that did prioritise growth, but now he is independent and has chosen to follow a different path. He’s moved from shaping economic development policy in the public and private sector, to focusing on designing regenerative economic models.

Tim believes that aiming for economic growth should not be part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, because he thinks that chasing more money pulls in the opposite direction to caring for the planet:

“There's a great phrase that the environment is starting to send invoices back to the economy. We've always had this narrow view of economic growth as the prime thing that would deliver all the other benefits that we wanted from society. It's starting to be shown as the fallacy that it always was.” - Tim Frenneaux

Each episode of 'The 17' ends with our influential expert guest giving us all their Stop/Start - one thing we can all stop doing and one thing we can all start doing right now to help move the planet toward meeting the UN Sustainable Development goal that is the theme of that episode.

Tim’s 'Stop' relates to our attitude to money. We need to stop chasing it and instead focus on wellbeing - our own, our community’s and the planet’s. His 'Start' is about searching out an emotional connection with the people around us. If we can feel the impact of the issues facing our unequal world, we can be motivated to be part of improving the situation.

Yorkshire's ambition to lead on Sustainability

Both guest Tim Frenneaux  and host Kate Hutchinson live in Yorkshire and they sense that the county is keen to be a leading regional voice on sustainability. Tim recognises the increasing passion for sustainability in the region and thinks Yorkshire can be a test bed for best practice that can be shared more widely. 

The first ever Yorkshire Sustainability Week takes place this coming July and will have an in-person conference as its centrepiece featuring keynote speakers such as Greenpeace's Areeba Hamid. Go to www.yorkshiresustainabilityweek.com to find out more and get your tickets.

Be informed, take action and spread the word

'The 17' is a podcast  dedicated to sustainability. It is structured around the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development goals. They represent, in essence, a plan to save the planet. We all need to know what they are, take reasonable positive actions in our own lives to help... and spread the word. 

This new sustainability podcast has made quite an impact. Episode 1 was a hit - hitting Number 2 in the UK Apple Podcasts ‘Earth Sciences’ chart - an amazing result for a brand new podcast.. A new episode of ‘The 17’ is released on the 17th of each month and each episode is themed around a different one of the UN’s seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Follow 'The 17' to make sure you are informed and hear from influential experts about what actions to take to play your part in building a sustainable future. Listen every month, subscribe, leave reviews and tell your friends. 

Resources

Find out more about Tim Frenneaux’s work in regenerative business design: https://timfrenneaux.co/

Discover the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Explore the plans for  Yorkshire Sustainability week here: https://www.yorkshiresustainabilityweek.com/

The 17 is a podcast themed around the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. A new episode is published on the 17th of each month, and explores a different one of the 17 goals in detail or discusses a topic linked to sustainability.

The UN SDGs represent an all-encompassing plan to protect the future of our planet, it is our responsibility to know what they are, understand them, and make sure that we are doing our bit to help.

Help us grow this podcast. Please subscribe on your usual podcast platform, leave reviews and spread the word about the podcast. Thank you.

The 17 is produced by Bwlb - www.bwlb.co.uk