Library

Sustainable Development Goals

What are the SDGs?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitute a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of people everywhere.

In 2015, all member states of the United Nations approved 17 goals as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which establishes a plan to achieve the Goals in 15 years, i.e., by 2030. These goals incorporate global challenges that we face every day in different areas, such as poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, etc.

While the SDGs are universal, each country is responsible for implementing national strategies to achieve them. In Spain, the Council of Ministers approved the Action Plan for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda in June 2018, with the participation of representatives from all levels of government, as well as universities and other social and economic sectors of the country.

The SDGs consist of 17 goals and their 169 targets.

More information

Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 

17 goals to transform our world

Action plan for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda: towards a Spanish strategy for sustainable development 

Canary Islands Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030

The Sustainable Development Goals – what they are and how to achieve them (video)

The SDGs in the Library

Following the lines set by Rebiun and by SDSN Australia/Pacific, The ULL Library supports the SDGs by aligning our actions with the following areas:

a. Education: 

  • We offer access to information portals (PuntoQ, RIULL, Data Repository, Research Portal, Lacunense Heritage, Digitized Canarian Press…)
  • We have a Bibliolab or Makerspace available for students to foster innovation and the creation of ideas.
  • We offer access to information through IP and SEA services
  • We help students with financial difficulties by lending laptops and acquiring new ones periodically.
  • We offer training courses in digital skills to students and other external groups
  • In our courses we teach how to create a resume, how to conduct a job interview, and how to write a cover letter for job hunting.
  • We offer guides and tutorials on resources and tools for searching, obtaining and processing information, as well as using it ethically, critically and systematically.
  • We have an anti-plagiarism tool aimed at teaching and research staff.
  • Some libraries have spaces for rest and reflection
  • We participated together with the Sports Service in the Healthy break
  • We have vending machines with healthy products in the General and Humanities Library.
  • On our website we have information about healthy living

b. Research

  • We offer access to information portals (PuntoQ, RIULL, Data Repository, Research Portal, Lacunense Heritage, Digitized Canarian Press…)
  • We have an Advisory and Support Service for Teaching and Research Staff
  • We offer courses to teaching and research staff and doctoral and master's students on digital skills, signature and research profiles, and tools to measure scientific production.
  • We participate in the signing of the transformative Agreements that allow, in addition to access to the subscribed scientific journals, the publication of research articles in open access
  • We offer access to the information we have through the File Delivery Service (SEA), and to the information we do not have through the Interlibrary Loan service.
  • Together with the teaching and research staff, we created the Open Access Support Group to promote open access to scientific information at the ULL

c. Management

  • We have a Social Responsibility Policy and Genvironmental guide 
  • We have a Social Responsibility Committee that works on the SDGs
  • We work on sustainability in the acquisition of computer equipment and the recycling of furniture.
  • We have a specific budget for the acquisition of literature on equality.
  • We work in new spaces of equality where we give visibility to women who have been important in each area of knowledge and offer spaces for consultation and debate (General and Humanities Library and Education Library)

d. Social projection

  • We are part of consortia and working groups (REBIUN, UniCI2, UNIRIS, Consortium Purchasing Groups, Canary Islands Libraries for Equality…)
  • We organize exhibitions about our resources for the university community and society at large.
  • We are working on the digitization of our bibliographic heritage, which can be accessed through the 'Lacunense Bibliographic Heritage' portal and the 'Digitized Canary Press'.
  • We disseminate the bibliographic heritage of the ULL by contributing records to the European Digital Library, the Virtual Library of Historical Press and the Collective Catalogue of Bibliographic Heritage; and the exhibitions have been disseminated through Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web from the Smithsonian Libraries
  • We manage the Institutional Repository (RIULL) with the aim of collecting, preserving and disseminating in open access the scientific and academic production of this institution.
  • We carry out actions related to migration, poverty, and armed conflicts.
  • We collaborate with NGOs by promoting volunteering and collecting products for people at risk of exclusion; we participate in the annual campaigns of the Canary Islands Institute of Hemodonation.

e. More information

How to get started with the SDGs in universities: A guide for universities, higher education institutions and the academic sector

ULL: Agenda 2030 and SDGs

Social Responsibility Diagnosis of the University of La Laguna

Universities and the 2030 Agenda: Contributions from the ULL

The involvement of Spanish libraries in the 2030 Agenda 

Good practices in SDGs of REBIUN libraries 

Action guide for university and scientific libraries for the SDGs

A committed Library
  1. The Library's Social Responsibility
  2. Activities carried out by the Library
  3. Books on SDGs in the catalog

Healthy Living

Information prepared by Professor Cintia Hernández Sánchez

Health is linked to four major determinants: human biology, including a person's constitution; the surrounding environment; lifestyle; and the healthcare system itself. Lifestyle not only shapes health but also our overall well-being. Personal choices such as sedentary behavior, diet, and stress directly impact our lifestyle (Piédrola Gil, 2016). 

It is within our power to make responsible choices when it comes to food. Unhealthy options for our bodies are also unhealthy for the planet, and we must promote less harmful environments. The sustainability of food products is crucial for improving our health and the health of those around us (Strategic Plan for Health and Environment 2022-2026). 

Consuming local foods, avoiding single-use products that generate unnecessary waste, giving preference to products that respect the earth… allows for a sustainable food system that produces a healthy population (Food, Planet, Health, 2019). 

Without a doubt, the best part is that the choice is entirely up to you. Shall we begin?

References:

FERNÁNDEZ-CREHUET NAVAJAS, Joaquín [et al.]. Piédrola Gil. Preventive medicine and public health. 12th ed. Barcelona: Elsevier, 2016. Available at:

http://absysnetweb.bbtk.ull.es/cgi-bin/abnetopac?TITN=596574

Strategic Plan for Health and Environment 2022-2026. Madrid: Ministry of Health, 2021. Available at: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/ciudadanos/pesma/docs/241121_PESMA.pdf

Food, Planet, Health. Oslo: EAT, 2019. Available at: https://eatforum.org/content/uploads/2019/01/Report_Summary_Spanish-1.pdf

Production on SDGs at the ULL

These graphs show how the research of the ULL teaching and research staff contributes to each of the SDG objectives, based on the data provided by Scopus, updated to April 2025. 

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