Highlighting the SDGs: Find and use research that makes a difference

Author: Nicola Jones

Research on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is most impactful when visible. Whether you’re staying up to date on SDGs related to your work or publishing your SDG research, highlighting publications on the SDGs brings them to the forefront. This visibility enhances the efforts to achieve the Goals. Read on to learn about SDG badges for Springer Nature publications to maximise their impact.

With the SDGs now past their midpoint toward the 2030 deadline, and experts predicting they will not be met on time, supporting the Goals with impactful and relevant research is more crucial than ever. To contribute to the efforts of researchers and policymakers to face the challenges in meeting the SDGs, Springer Nature remains committed to supporting them as a valuable framework to advance sustainable development.

To advance the SDGs and promote knowledge sharing and transfer of research on these important issues, we host many events and projects on the SDGs. But as a leading publisher, the research we publish relating to the SDGs is the most meaningful contribution we can offer to their achievement.

Publishing SDG research, supporting the Goals

Publishing SDG research is a top priority at Springer Nature, research that drives evidence-based policy and practice. And every year we publish more and more work related to the SDGs across our journals and books programmes. As highlighted in Springer Nature’s 2024 Annual Report, we have published over one million SDG-related articles and book chapters since the SDGs were introduced in 2015, with over 17 million citations. In 2024, our SDG articles were downloaded over 530 million times. More than half of the SDG-related articles we published were open access, available for anyone to use. We also consider the impact our published research has on the Goals through its citations and downloads (I detail more about this in this recent Springboard blog).

Making the SDG research we publish visible and accessible is important to promoting its usability. The Springer Nature SDG Programme, where you can find the latest research and insights on the SDGs, leads these efforts. It includes dedicated hubs for each of the 17 SDGs, showcasing the highlights of our content and activities on each Goal.

To recognise and celebrate commitment to the SDGs, we’ve introduced SDG badges for journals that publish extensively on the Goals and for content in Springer Nature’s Research Communities that is relevant for specific SDGs. These badges encourage researchers and readers to engage with the SDGs and promote them.

When you see the SDG badge on a journal in Springer Nature Link, you know that this publication supports the Goals.

SDG journal badges: Easily identify publication outlets that support the SDGs 

Springer Nature Link is a platform that delivers fast, accurate access to the depth and breadth of Springer Nature’s online collection of journals, eBooks, reference works, and protocols across a broad range of disciplines. When you review journals on Springer Nature Link, you can identify journals that publish extensively on the SDGs as these titles now feature an SDG badge on their homepage

When we started this initiative in 2023, 489 of all Springer Nature journals earned the SDG badge, indicating that over 50% of their publications were SDG-related. In 2024, the number of journals earning an SDG badge increased to 520 in 2024.

When you see the SDG badge on a journal, you know that this publication supports the Goals. And when you publish there, your work will find a home alongside other impactful and relevant articles on topics relating to the SDGs. 

The SDG badges in Springer Nature’s Research Communities enable us to make relevant information accessible, so you can use it for your research and advocacy. 

Research behind the scenes: Research Communities now also tag SDG content

Springer Nature’s Research Communities are organised by research topic. In each community, you can explore the latest research findings, news, opinions, and personal stories from behind the research, and generate discussion with peers.

But SDGs, by their interdisciplinary nature, transcend a topical compartmentalisation. That’s why we’ve added an SDG badge to relevant content in all of the Research Communities, so you can easily identify information related to the SDGs of interest to you. When you are browsing a Research Community, you can clearly identify content pieces that relate to an SDG.

The badges enable us to make relevant information accessible, so you can use it for your research and advocacy. In the Research Communities, you’ll find various types of posts that offer insights beyond “regular” research publications. And for any kind of post, you’ll find an SDG badge indicating to which SDG the post relates. Some of these could include, for example:

• Behind the Paper: These informative posts are tagged with related SDGs, such as this post on how cities can master the mobility transition, relating to both SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and SDG 13: Climate Action. 
• Events and webinars: When you explore posts on events in your field of research, such as webinar or our SDG Talks series, they are tagged with the SDG badge and clearly indicate to which SDG they are related. For instance, this webinar on improving maternal and neonatal health, related to SDG 3: Good Health & Wellbeing.
• Annual UN World Days: We tag posts relating to World Days, which are useful for raising awareness and generating interest in your research, and for contributing to global dialogue on sustainable development. For example, this post on celebrating World Water Day (22 March), related to SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation.
• SDG newsletters: Gathering interesting insights and reads, for instance this SDG 3 Newsletter focusing combating diseases.   

By clicking an SDG badge in the Research Communities, you’ll find a dedicated page for that specific SDG, showcasing all relevant content in one space. Whether you’re looking for information on the SDGs or expanding your knowledge, the SDG badge will allow you to easily find relevant content.

(And to dive deeper and grow your expertise, Nature Navigator – a Nature Research Intelligence tool that provides comprehensive summaries and topic creation for various research subjects – has Navigator topics for each of the 17 SDGs on its library to explore.)

When you entrust your SDG research to Springer Nature, you can be sure that we’ll do what we can to highlight it and its relevance to the SDGs, to promote and support your achievements. And to stay up to date on the SDGs, you know at Springer Nature you’ll easily find important research and insights on the Goals.

 Whether you’re looking for more on the SDGs or if you want to publish your SDG research alongside impactful, highlighted publications, visit Springer Nature’s SDG Programme.