If you’re not talking about sustainability, climate or the environment, more than mere buzzwords, you’re already late in the meetings industry. Positive Impact, a sustainable event advocate, and the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Action Campaign have partnered to mobilize millions to take critical action on the Sustainable Development Goals, an initiative adopted by the UN in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

Positive Impact’s role as a mobilizing partner provides an opportunity for events to be recognized as amplifying ways to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Meeting and event professionals are being encouraged to post, share and pledge their actions, and talk about how they flip the script for a more sustainable world.

The #FlipTheScript campaign was launched to show that change is possible when people work together and its key mobilization moment, the Global Week to #Act4SDGs, takes place September 16 to 25, during the high-level UN General Assembly debate. The goal is to show world leaders that people all around the world are committed, dedicated and inspired to take action on the Sustainable Development Goals.

To #FlipTheScript, the UN SDG Action Campaign calls for a journey of advocacy and action. Taking action means behavior change at all levels and transforming the way things are done to implement the change. Changing the narrative from events creating waste to events creating opportunities. Event professionals can play a part in creating that change in a few simple steps, beginning with sharing a #FlipTheScript graphic, which illustrates how easy and impactful changing the narrative can be. 

Next, post a picture of your event’s positive impact on social media using the hashtags #eventscreatechange #shareapositiveimpact, #FlipTheScript and #Act4SDGs. Positive Impact can use these posts to capture and reshare your solutions with the global UN SDG Action community. If you’re unsure whether your example of positive impact fits the bill, check out the other solutions in the Share a Positive Impact library.

Marina Ponti, director of the UN SDG Action Campaign, says that the time is now for all stakeholders — organizations and individuals alike — to come together: “In these challenging times for the world, the power is in our hands to flip the script on climate, justice and peace, which means rewriting the narrative and reclaiming our future. A future with people and planet in focus. The UN SDG Action Campaign and its partners have shown that we are stronger together as we can mobilize millions of people to bring about positive change.”

For more information, please visit UN SDG Action Campaign’s #FlipTheScript campaign.