If you've ever participated in any Model United Nations at your school, or just pay attention to the news, then you've heard about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN's 2030 Agenda. The SDGs are 17 missions that countries, as well as many organizations and companies, internationally, have assumed as a vital commitment.
As you will see, university culture has everything to do with meeting these objectives and, as a student, you are also a fundamental part of it. You did not know? Well then, keep reading and find out what your role is in promoting sustainable development and how the Anáhuac Querétaro University will help you along the way.
Balance between economic, social and environmental
Before talking about the SDGs, let's start by reviewing the history of sustainable development and how world leaders have dealt with the challenges it poses.
The first time that countries met to agree on how to act according to the principles of sustainable development was in 1987, at the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). In fact, the very definition of sustainable development was given from this meeting, where the urgency of implementing policies to “satisfy the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs” was proposed.
And how is this accomplished? According to the same agreement, sustainable development consists of three pillars: “economic development, social development and environmental protection.” Since then, international leaders have met on various occasions to reaffirm their commitment to sustainable development, notably in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, in 2002 in Johannesburg and in 2012 in Rio de Janeiro.
Now, since 2015, the United Nations General Assembly established the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda as a series of goals, each with specific actions, to work for the peace and prosperity of life on Earth. .
The importance of that moment lies in the fact that never before has the importance of balancing economic development with the preservation of the environment and social well-being been established with such impetus. Or at least, not in such a generalized way, so that even universities seek to promote some of these objectives as part of the institutional mission.
Principles in sustainability
Now that we know a little more about the theory of sustainable development, we can better understand the importance of putting into practice the actions necessary to comply with the 17 SDGs, and the 169 specific goals that they propose. Each of these objectives is equally valuable, but here we will discuss some of the most relevant ones for the university environment:
- SDG 4 “Quality education”
- SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth”
- SDG 9 “Industry, innovation and infrastructure”
- SDG 16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions”
By aligning these objectives with the central mission of universities to contribute to human flourishing, four processes or fronts of social action are usually established:
- Ethical and environmental management
- The formation of responsible citizens
- The production and dissemination of social knowledge
- Social participation in promoting human and sustainable development
The sustainable culture of Anáhuac Querétaro
It is very easy for a university to feign a certain affinity for a social cause and not take concrete actions to demonstrate true commitment. This is not the case of the Anáhuac Querétaro University, in which sustainability, and in particular the preservation of nature, represents a fundamental value for the very identity of the institution.
Our institution began by adding the subject of Responsibility and Sustainability to the curriculum of all our degrees, however, we did not stop there.
Since the structuring of the new 2025 educational model, Anáhuac Querétaro became a pioneer at the national level in offering an academic program specialized in environmental preservation, through a degree in Environmental Engineering. This program is based on five main axes: energy, environment, sustainability, economy and business, and society. Its impact has been crucial in our quest to fulfill the comprehensive training of conscious, responsible citizens truly committed to sustainability.
So much so that our actions at Anáhuac Querétaro go even further. Recently, we had the joy of celebrating the First Anáhuac Sustainability Forum on our campus, called “On the road to sustainability”, with the help of the company Punto Cero.
More than 150 people gathered at this great event, including students, teachers, directors and leaders of companies and organizations involved in sustainable development at the local and national level.
Thanks to this important initiative, we had the opportunity to learn and plan on topics such as: the use of energy, water and its treatment, waste management, the circular economy, environmental taxes, the nearshoring and environmental compensation mechanisms for sustainability.
Become a sustainability leader in Anáhuac Querétaro
This is nothing less than the fruit of years of work by managers, teachers and leaders who have been concerned about the development of truly sustainable solutions. Without their tireless effort and will, we would not be here.
If you are reading this, it means that in some way or another, you too care about making a difference. It is this vision that will lead you to lead the transformation to preserve the environment and precisely what we are looking for in Anáhuac Querétaro.
Find out about our commitments to sustainable development and how our educational offering is contributing to it. This is the right time, do you dare to meet us?
