Voluntary Local Reviews

What is a Voluntary Local Review?

In 2015, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were ratified by the UN’s member nations. Getting 193 member nations to agree on and sign up to pursuing a set of ambitious targets that address worldwide issues of sustainable development was a landmark achievement. But what the SDGs don’t do is prescribe how countries should go about turning that ambition into reality.

These transformative Goals require action at all levels, from the international to the hyperlocal. Traditionally, national governments have been responsible for creating all activity and policy to support global agreements such as this. But some commentators now argue that governments are struggling to resolve the most complex, unwieldy challenges and that the role of cities and citizens is on the rise.

Consequently, many city leaders are asking how we can usefully translate this critical global agenda into local practice in a way that meaningfully transforms lives in a just and equitable way that leaves no one behind.

Bristol Voluntary Local Review

In a large and diverse city like Bristol, with both established green credentials and complex social challenges, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) means local stakeholders need to work in partnership.

In July 2019, the Cabot Institute for the Environment at the University of Bristol launched the United Kingdom’s first Voluntary Local Review (VLR) of SDG progress in partnership with the Bristol City Office. The report reflects a whole city approach to tackling the SDGs and includes information on the activities of 90 Bristol-based organisations working to make the city more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.

The VLR reviews progress on all 17 SDGs and includes data on over 140 indicators.

Bristol Voluntary Local Review handbook

The Bristol Voluntary Local Review Handbook offers a brilliant resource for sharing the methods used for carrying out a review and opens out the Bristol way of working to cities and local authorities in the UK.

The knowledge-sharing within this handbook saves duplication of effort, offers clear structures for accountability, builds trust between cities and ultimately accelerates the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.