Pure Earth

 Problem: On June 16, 2015, the United Nations' Open Working Group (OWG) would finish drafting language outlining the most pressing global development issues for 2015 through 2030. This document is called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a crucial framework for addressing global issues. The wording in earlier drafts regarding pollution was removed or reduced in importance. Pure Earth knew restoring and strengthening the language prioritizing pollution was critical to the health of millions of people worldwide.

It was important to raise the general public's, health organizations, and environmental organizations' awareness that including pollution language in the 2030 SDGs would help the UN direct financial resources and aid countries requiring pollution remediation and clean-up.

Audience insight: On June 16, 2015, the United Nations' Open Working Group (OWG) was scheduled to finish drafting language outlining the most pressing global development issues for 2015 through 2030. This document is called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a crucial framework for addressing global issues. The wording in earlier drafts regarding pollution was removed or reduced in importance. Pure Earth knew restoring and strengthening the language prioritizing pollution was critical to the health of millions of people worldwide.

It was essential to raise the general public's, health organizations, and environmental organizations' awareness that including pollution language in the 2030 SDGs would help the UN direct financial resources and aid countries requiring pollution remediation and clean-up.

Solution: We created a digital advocacy campaign, #spotlightpollution. This campaign, which included a change.org petition to the OWG and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a Twitter event that partner organizations amplified to their audiences, was a collective effort. The petition's signatures, including those from the general public and health and environmental organizations, were presented to the OWG. On June 14 #spotlighpollution Twitter event went viral, demonstrating to the UN that pollution is a health crisis people around the world want to solve.

Ultimately, the success of the #spotlightpollution advocacy campaign convinced the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the OWG to include pollution language in the 2030 SDGs. It was a significant win, particularly for people living in contaminated environments worldwide.