In order to illustrate how Sustainability Science can help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the many targets of the document "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", the "World Symposium on Sustainability Science: Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals" is being jointly organised by the Hamburg University University of Applied Sciences (Germany) and ManchesterMetropolitan University (UK), in cooperation with various UN bodies, government offices and authorities, universities, enterprises, NGOs and grassroots organisations from across the world.

There is a world consensus in relation to the fact that Sustainability Science -i.e. a branch of science concerned with an integrated view of the three main dimensions of sustainable development, can provide an important contribution in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  Even though in the past the potential of Sustainability Science has been largely overlooked – some say underestimated – it is clear that it can provide a key contribution to the implementation of  the Sustainable Development Goals (SGS) and, more specifically, the realisation of the vision set at the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

It is based on the perceived need to explore and present concrete case studies which illustrate how Sustainability Science and Research can help to achieve the many goals listed in the document "Transforming our world: the  2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", that the "World Symposium on Sustainability Science and Research: Implementing the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development” is being brought to life.