As we conclude our exploration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the Output International Award 2025, we turn to six critical goals that address our planet’s environmental systems and the frameworks needed for global cooperation. These final SDGs represent the most complex challenges facing humanity—requiring not just innovation but fundamental shifts in how we relate to our environment and each other.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns
Our planet is running out of resources, yet populations continue to grow. If the global population reaches 9.8 billion by 2050, the equivalent of almost three planets will be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles. The global economy is only 8.6 per cent circular, meaning much of humanity’s production becomes waste, aggravating all aspects of the triple planetary crisis.
Corporate sustainability reporting has tripled since the beginning of the SDG period, showing increased commitment to sustainability. However, global crises triggered a resurgence in fossil fuel subsidies, nearly doubling from 2020 to 2021. The world is seriously off track in its effort to halve per-capita food waste and losses by 2030.
Design Opportunities: Circular economy projects might focus on zero-waste packaging systems, product lifecycle tracking platforms, sustainable fashion innovations, food waste reduction technologies, or communication systems that promote responsible consumption behaviors across different cultural contexts.
SDG 13: Climate Action – Take Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change and Its Impacts
The year 2023 broke every single climate indicator and was the warmest year on record. Global temperatures rose to 1.45°C, dangerously close for the first time to the 1.5°C lower limit of the Paris Agreement. Despite some reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, concentrations of greenhouse gases reached record high levels in 2022. Carbon dioxide levels are 150% above pre-industrial levels.
Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent, disrupting national economies and affecting lives. In the last two decades, natural disasters linked to extreme weather have accounted for 475,000 deaths and US$2.6 trillion in damages. The climate crisis is one of the most pervasive threatening issues facing the world today.
Design Opportunities: Climate action projects might include carbon tracking applications, renewable energy interfaces, climate adaptation planning tools, sustainable transportation systems, or educational platforms that communicate climate science and solutions to diverse audiences.
SDG 14: Life Below Water – Conserve and Sustainably Use Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources
The ocean covers three-quarters of the Earth’s surface, contains 97 percent of the Earth’s water, and represents 99 percent of the living space on the planet by volume. More than 3 billion people rely on the oceans for their livelihoods, and more than 80 per cent of world merchandise trade by volume is carried by sea.
However, marine pollution is reaching extreme levels, with over 17 million metric tons clogging the ocean in 2021, a figure set to double or triple by 2040. Ocean acidification is increasing and will continue to do so if CO2 emissions do not stop rising. As of December 2018, over 24 million km² (17.2 per cent) of waters under national jurisdiction were covered by protected areas, showing progress but insufficient scale.
Design Opportunities: Ocean conservation projects might address marine plastic cleanup technologies, sustainable fishing tracking systems, ocean health monitoring platforms, coral reef restoration tools, or educational interfaces that connect inland communities with ocean conservation efforts.
SDG 15: Life on Land – Protect, Restore and Promote Sustainable Use of Terrestrial Ecosystems
Forests cover 30 percent of the Earth’s surface, provide vital habitats for millions of species, and are crucial sources for clean air and water, as well as being essential for combating climate change. Every year, 13 million hectares of forests are lost, while persistent degradation of drylands has led to the desertification of 3.6 billion hectares.
Nearly 7,000 species of animals and plants have been illegally traded. Wildlife trafficking not only erodes biodiversity but creates insecurity, fuels conflict, and feeds corruption. While 15 percent of land is protected, biodiversity remains at risk, with urgent action needed to reduce the loss of natural habitats.
Design Opportunities: Terrestrial conservation projects might include wildlife tracking and anti-poaching systems, reforestation planning platforms, biodiversity monitoring tools, sustainable agriculture interfaces, or communication campaigns that raise awareness about ecosystem services and conservation.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Promote Peaceful and Inclusive Societies for Sustainable Development
Peace, justice and strong institutions are fundamental for accelerating progress on all other SDGs. SDG 16 serves as an enabler for achieving the 2030 Agenda as a whole. Armed violence and insecurity have destructive impacts on development, affecting economic growth and often resulting in grievances that last for generations.
Sexual violence, crime, exploitation and torture are prevalent where there is conflict or no rule of law. The goal aims to significantly reduce all forms of violence and work with governments and communities to end conflict and insecurity. Promoting the rule of law and human rights are key to this process.
Design Opportunities: Peace and justice projects might focus on transparent governance platforms, access to justice interfaces, conflict early warning systems, civic engagement tools, or communication systems that promote dialogue, reconciliation, and peaceful conflict resolution across communities.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Strengthen the Means of Implementation and Revitalize Global Partnership
The SDGs can only be realized with strong global partnerships and cooperation. Achieving the SDGs will require US$5 trillion to $7 trillion in annual investment according to UNCTAD. Total official development assistance reached US$147.2 billion in 2017, while sustainable and responsible investments represented US$18.2 trillion as of 2016.
Increasing international cooperation is seen as vital to achieving each of the 16 previous goals. Developing multi-stakeholder partnerships to facilitate knowledge exchange, expertise, technology, and financial resources is recognized as critical to overall success of the SDGs.
Design Opportunities: Partnership projects might include collaborative platforms that connect global stakeholders, funding and resource-sharing systems, technology transfer interfaces, knowledge-sharing networks, or communication tools that facilitate international cooperation and coordination on SDG implementation.
The Interconnected Challenge
The Output International Award 2025 recognizes that these final six SDGs represent the most complex and interconnected challenges. Climate action cannot succeed without sustainable consumption and production. Ocean and terrestrial conservation require peaceful cooperation and strong institutions. Global partnerships provide the framework for all environmental and social progress.
These goals demand design solutions that think systemically—understanding that environmental health, social justice, and global cooperation are inseparable. As we approach the critical 2030 deadline, design has a unique role in creating the tools, systems, and communications that can enable humanity to live within planetary boundaries while ensuring prosperity and justice for all.
The enhanced SDG requirements of the 2025 competition ensure that recognized work contributes not just to individual goals, but to the integrated transformation our world urgently needs. These six goals represent design’s highest calling: creating solutions that serve both humanity and the planet that sustains us.