U.N. University joins Kyoto City to create a sustainable Kyoto

The United Nations University and Kyoto City have signed a memorandum to work together to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, and to solve social issues that the ancient capital faces.

With a history of more than 1,000 years, Kyoto is known throughout the world as a leading tourist spot. This has also led to many social problems that other cities are also expected to face in the future. The partnership will thus include the implementation of sustainable tourism and public transportation initiatives, and the reduction of plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.N. University will work not only with the Kyoto City government, but also with private companies and research organizations in the city to resolve these issues and achieve the SDGs.

A sustainable Kyoto for the next 1,000 years

“Through collaboration with Kyoto City government, private firms and educational institutions, the United Nations University wants to work on the creation of cities that are sustainable for the next 1,000 years,” U.N.U. Senior Vice-Rector, Professor Taikan Oki stated at a memorandum signing ceremony in Kyoto on March 19.

In 2017, the U.N.U. headquarters, in Tokyo, set up the “SDG Corporate Strategy Forum,” which aims to contribute to realizing a sustainable society and long-term corporate growth by implementing and strengthening Japanese companies’ efforts on SDGs. Professor Oki is the chairman of the forum.

“The SDGs are targets on a global scale, but it is the job of the various national and local governments, and private companies, to localize them to fit actual conditions in the various regions,” Oki shared.

Social implementation for SDGs

Through the forum, the U.N.U. will work with Kyoto City companies and research institutes to advance social implementation of various measures. It thinks it can help realize the SDGs by publicizing the results of those activities in Japan and overseas.

The U.N. University is a global research institute that is also involved in education and policy recommendations related to all the SDGs, which include water, sustainability, economic development and gender issues.

Kyoto aims for developmental balance

In a national survey carried out by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper in October and November 2018, Kyoto City ranked top overall among 815 cities and wards for its SDGs initiatives and balance in developing its economy, society and environment.

In December 2019, the U.N.’s World Tourism Organization and UNESCO applied the ‘Kyoto Model’ in its new declaration on sustainable tourism. It’s an approach that manages the relationship between tourism, culture, and local communities by recognizing that if tourism is allowed to impact locals’ daily lives, the city will lose its unique culture and that will reduce tourism in the longer term.

Working together

The United Nations’ SDGs is widely accepted around the world as what we need to create a sustainable world. We know that to achieve these goals, we need to work together. Business sector involvement is also particularly crucial, especially in terms of innovation, efficiency and scale. What they need however, is a strategy to achieve the SDGs.

The social issues that Kyoto City is already facing us testing the city’s SDG theory. If it works, the U.N.U. can create a blueprint for putting that theory into practice, which will set a roadmap to attain their 2030 SDGs targets.