How can you align your product design with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

1 Understand the SDGs

The first step is to familiarize yourself with the SDGs and their targets and indicators. You can find them on the official website of the UN or download the SDG app. The SDGs cover a wide range of topics, such as health, education, gender equality, climate action, and responsible consumption and production. Each goal has a number, a name, a color, and a set of sub-goals that specify what needs to be achieved and measured. By understanding the SDGs, you can identify which ones are relevant to your product domain and user needs.

2 Define your impact statement

The next step is to define your impact statement, which is a clear and concise statement that describes how your product will contribute to one or more SDGs. Your impact statement should answer the questions: What problem are you solving? Who are you solving it for? How are you solving it? And how does it relate to the SDGs? For example, your impact statement could be: "We are designing a mobile app that helps rural farmers access reliable and affordable information on weather, markets, and best practices, thereby improving their livelihoods and supporting SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger)."

3 Integrate the SDGs into your design process

The third step is to integrate the SDGs into your design process, from research to ideation to prototyping to testing. To help you do this, you can use the SDG Design Kit, a set of cards and worksheets that guide you through the design thinking process with the SDGs in mind. Additionally, the SDG Action Manager is a web-based tool that assists in assessing your product's impact on the SDGs and identifying opportunities for improvement. Lastly, the SDG Lens is a framework that evaluates your product's alignment with the SDGs and their principles, such as human rights, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.

4 Communicate your impact

The final step is to communicate your impact, both internally and externally. You can use your impact statement as a core message that informs your product vision, strategy, and value proposition. You can also use the SDG icons, colors, and language to create a visual identity and a narrative that showcase your product's contribution to the global goals. You can share your impact story with your stakeholders, such as your team, your users, your investors, and your partners, and invite them to join you in your mission.

By aligning your product design with the SDGs, you can create products that are not only functional and desirable, but also meaningful and responsible. You can also join a growing community of product designers who are using their skills and creativity to make a difference in the world.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?