In under an hour and free of charge, it is now possible to evaluate the economic, social and environmental impacts of a project or a policy related to water.
Designed for governments, local authorities, private companies or non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the Water4allSDGs application is a tool to bring public policies or projects in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
“Water operators often have little knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With this tool, they can easily measure their impact and adjust their project,” explains Philippe Guettier, advisor to the French Water Partnership (PFE), a non-profit organisation, and founder of “SDG Champions France”.
By answering a set of questions, the application provides the user with an overview of the impact of a water project or policy on, for example, biodiversity, inequalities, health, employment, or education.
Available in English and French, the application was developed over two years under the direction of Gérard Payen, an expert and former advisor on water and sanitation to the United Nations Secretary-General.
“The goal is to make operational the 2030 Agenda, its 17 SDGs and 169 targets, which are sometimes complicated to grasp,” says Philippe Guettier.
Tested on a large scale during the World Water Forum in Dakar in March 2022, the application has resulted in the labelling of 150 projects worldwide.
“Our ambition now is to develop the same type of tool for other sectors,” says Philippe Guettier.
With the support of UNESCO, he has already started to work on a similar device for education, entitled “Education4allSDGs”.
Buildings, mobility, waste management, fashion: these are just some of the areas that can be assessed for their environmental, social and economic impact.