top of page

The SDGs: Start Where You Are

This isn’t another ESG sermon. 


It’s a story about collapse, recovery, and what it truly means to build something sustainable. 


Spoiler: it starts closer to home than you think.


We’re used to thinking of sustainability as something “out there.” A boardroom topic. A carbon target. A supply chain problem. But the truth is: sustainability doesn't start “out there”.


It starts with people. It starts within. How we live. How we lead. How we make decisions under pressure. How we pause - or don’t - before diving into action.


I learned this the hard way.


I used to look like the picture of ‘success’. Leading high-growth sales, landing big clients, helping scale-ups hit stretch targets. From the outside, I was flying. Behind the scenes was a different story; I was unravelling.


I’d built a shiny professional life on increasingly shaky ground. Disconnected from myself, exhausted from performing a role I no longer recognised. Addiction, anxiety, emotional shutdown. My foundations had eroded. Eventually, it all collapsed.


That collapse led to treatment and a full reset. It wasn’t pretty. It was slow, messy, and painfully human. But I put myself back together, brick by brick. With one honest question at the centre: What kind of life do I truly want to build?


And then the next one: If I’m leading, growing, or influencing others while living like that, what kind of world am I reinforcing?


From Personal to Planetary


Which brings us - believe it or not - to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


Stick with me.


The SDGs are a set of 17 global goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015, covering everything from poverty and gender equality to clean energy and climate action.


They’re a shared blueprint for building a better world by 2030.


Here’s the full list:


  1. No Poverty

  2. Zero Hunger

  3. Good Health and Well-being

  4. Quality Education

  5. Gender Equality

  6. Clean Water and Sanitation

  7. Affordable and Clean Energy

  8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

  9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

  10. Reduced Inequalities

  11. Sustainable Cities and Communities

  12. Responsible Consumption and Production

  13. Climate Action

  14. Life Below Water

  15. Life on Land

  16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  17. Partnerships for the Goals



Impressive. Ambitious. Easy to assume they’re someone else’s job. But when you strip the SDGs right back, they ask one question: What kind of world are we building—through our actions, choices, and leadership? That’s not just a question for global leaders. It’s one for all of us.


The Link Between Coaching and the SDGs


The SDGs are not abstract targets. They’re lived, felt, experienced every day, especially through the people behind the policies, businesses, and decisions. That’s where coaching comes in.


Not coaching as “fixing” or advice-giving. Coaching as space. As reflection. As recalibration. Done well, coaching helps people align their values, decisions, and leadership with the kind of world they want to create. When that happens, it ripples outward. 


Here’s what it looks like in real life:


A founder in a scale-up realises their pace is burning through people and pauses to rethink what growth really means. Beyond the numbers and scale; for them, their team, and the business.


A senior executive rebuilding after addiction reconnects with their values, and channels lived experience into more human, inclusive leadership.


A leadership team confronting superficial brand claims digs deeper, linking their external story to their internal values, and evolving strategy with integrity.


Each of these examples reflects a human shift, but that shift creates ripple effects. For teams. For cultures. For strategy. For customers. That’s how change works. First within. Then around.


How the SDGs Show Up in Coaching


Even if most people don’t show up to coaching asking, “Can you help me deliver SDG 8 today?”, the work often speaks directly to these goals.


Here’s a simplified mapping:


Human Coaching supports mental health (SDG 3), personal growth (SDG 4), and inclusive leadership (SDG 5). 


→ Think resilience, wellbeing, confidence, voice.


Social Team and executive coaching strengthens cultures (SDG 8), reduces inequality (SDG 10), and builds trust (SDG 16). 


→ Think collaboration, conflict resolution, people-first performance.


Economic Advisory work supports responsible growth (SDG 9), ethical strategy (SDG 12), and brand positioning with purpose. 


→ Think of integrity-led innovation and long-term value creation.


Environmental Climate-conscious coaching creates space for values-led decisions (SDG 13), often in energy, tech, or comms. 


→ Think going above and beyond compliance: internal alignment with planetary responsibility.


Why This Matters


We can’t deliver sustainable development with burned-out humans and misaligned leadership.


The truth is: sustainability isn’t just external, it’s personal.


The SDGs aren’t someone else’s job. They’re a shared call to action that starts from the inside out. That’s the philosophy behind Sustainable Path.


Through coaching and advisory, I help individuals and organisations align who they are with how they grow—so their impact is sustainable, intentional, and real.


Let’s Keep It Simple


Sustainable change isn’t just about doing more. It’s about doing more of what matters.

If that resonates - whether you’re an individual, leader, founder, or team in motion - I’d love to hear your story.


If you’re curious to reflect on where you are (and where you’re going), grab the free reflection guide, tailored for individuals and organisations. 


Because the shift from knowing to doing, and doing to being, is where real change begins.






 
 
bottom of page