Abstract
Resource nexus approaches have been expanding to include additional sectors beyond standard water, energy, and food approaches. Opportunities exist by re-imagining the resource nexus approach with the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Emerging research and policy themes, such as the circular economy and gender, can provide additional context to traditional nexus arrangements. To illustrate this, we analyze SDG implementation and interaction from 40 unstructured interviews from SMEs participating in Guelph-Wellington’s Seeding Our Food Future (SOFF) program, part of the wider Our Food Future (OFF) initiative led by the City of Guelph and Wellington County in Ontario, Canada. Results show that 16/17 SDGs and associated targets were present on the program. Environmental SDGs were implemented the most, followed by social and economic ones. SDGs 2, 12, and 5 had the most general implementation and direct paired interactions and were associated with the broadest number of SDGs across the project. These findings support the existence of a Food-Circular Economy-Women nexus in Guelph-Wellington’s agri-food sector. Further analysis shows that this nexus is most active in agriculture, and that women are responsible for introducing a social aspect, which addresses food security. Results can inform food system and circular economy researchers and practitioners.
Highlights
Sustainable development has evolved to include an economic, environmental, and social component [1]
Our Food Future (OFF) is a project led by the City of Guelph and County of Wellington as part of Canada’s Smart Cities Challenge
One was relevant for all three (Table 1). This result shows that in general, Seeding Our Food Future (SOFF) businesses pursued Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets in a manner which was consistent with sustainable development [1]
Summary
Sustainable development has evolved to include an economic, environmental, and social component [1]. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an evidence-based framework of 17 goals, 169 targets, and 232 indicators. They were designed for sustainable development planning and programming in all countries of the world from 2016 to 2030 [2]. Much work is required to clarify the complex interactions between the goals [5] This process is compounded by the reality that SDGs are often situated within area-specific policy, business, and research silos [6]. Within this context, some critics have been encouraged to suggest the SDGs lack theoretical integration [7]
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