See all 17 Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs

What is SDG 4 about?

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Education is essential to empower girls and women, combat climate change, fight inequality and end extreme poverty. Worldwide UNESCO estimates that more than 240 million children are out of school.

From a business perspective, a well-working education system is essential for a capable future workforce. Business can make long-term strategic investments in education, leading to a larger, more talented pool of future employees.

What can a business do to influence SDG 4?

As education is often a local issue, businesses should focus on local education systems and communities. This can include promoting sustainable development topics in higher education and supporting the public sector’s ability to provide inclusive and equitable quality learning opportunities for all.

How to make progress with SDG 4

Build relationships with tertiary education providers. Encourage them to improve their education curricula so they better meet business needs, including the need for responsible management.

Create programmes that give students insights into your business.

Work with your industry to share knowledge.

Provide your staff with learning opportunities.

How businesses can benefit

Boost profitability
Retain employees
Create quality work
A better-educated labour force is innovative and may identify new opportunities

Examples

Our free thinkstep-anz webinars with our experts and other industry leaders share the knowledge we all need to make progress towards a more sustainable future.

The Learning Passport, a partnership between Microsoft and UNICEF, is a digital platform that supports learning opportunities for children and young people affected by conflict and natural disasters. It helped ensure education continued during the coronavirus pandemic.

SDG 4 Quality education