Agenda 2030 Compass: Insights built on the SDGs

The Agenda 2030 Compass is a tool developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute, Jernkontoret, the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, and Swedwise to help decision-makers evaluate how investments, policies, or products affect the SDGs. It consists of a Context Mapper, which identifies potential SDG interactions based on local factors like socio-economic conditions and energy mix, and a Strategy Analyser, a workshop-based process used to score direct impacts and identify indirect synergies and trade-offs. The tool was pilot-tested in four Swedish case studies involving electric scooters, smart energy housing, urban mobility, and regional innovation strategies.

• The Agenda 2030 Compass consists of two primary components: the Context Mapper, which identifies potential positive or negative SDG interactions based on factors such as the physical environment, energy mix, and socio-economic conditions, and the Strategy Analyser, which uses a workshop-based process to evaluate the sustainability implications of a specific intervention.
• The tool's methodology accounts for the fact that SDG interactions are context-dependent; for example, irrigation to boost crop productivity may conflict with hydropower development in water-stressed regions, but such conflicts would not occur in areas with plentiful water.
• The Strategy Analyser employs a structured four-block process: Block A defines the strategy and context; Block B involves participants scoring SDG impacts from +3 (strongly promoting) to -3 (strongly restricting); Block C uses a "think-write-share" technique to refine direct effects; and Block D uses an "Acupuncture view" to identify and analyze indirect synergies and trade-offs.
• The methodology was successfully pilot-tested in four Swedish case studies: Stilride (lightweight steel electric scooters), Örebrobostäder (smart energy housing), Kalmar municipal administration (mobility strategy to shift from 60% private car use to 60% walking, cycling, and public transport), and a regional innovation strategy for Skåne developed by Ramboll and the Skåne Regional Council.
• The Context Mapper has already produced a detailed map for Sweden and basic maps for India and Poland, with the capability to generate new maps using country-level experts in two to three days or via a crowdsourcing platform called the 2030 Compass CoLab.

APA

Hallding, K., Suljada, T., Axelsson, K., Swartling, Å. G., & Davis, M. (2022). Agenda 2030 Compass: Insights built on the SDGs. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/agenda-2030-compass-brief-221117.pdf

Chicago

Hallding, Karl, Timothy Suljada, Katarina Axelsson, Åsa Gerger Swartling, and Marion Davis. Agenda 2030 Compass: Insights built on the SDGs. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/agenda-2030-compass-brief-221117.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hallding |first1=Karl |last2=Suljada |first2=Timothy |last3=Axelsson |first3=Katarina |last4=Swartling |first4=Åsa Gerger |last5=Davis |first5=Marion |title=Agenda 2030 Compass: Insights built on the SDGs |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=October 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/agenda-2030-compass-brief-221117.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hallding2022agenda, author = {Hallding, Karl and Suljada, Timothy and Axelsson, Katarina and Swartling, Åsa Gerger and Davis, Marion}, title = {{Agenda 2030 Compass: Insights built on the SDGs}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/agenda-2030-compass-brief-221117.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }