SDGs-UV (Sustainable Development Goals in the Light of the Unifying Vision) is developed in A Unifying Vision for Sustainability (Babu & Sambhav, 2026). The framework reinterprets the 17 Sustainable Development Goals through a perspective grounded in interconnectedness and coexistence.
The questions below address some of the critical issues that may arise when examining SDGs-UV, including its purpose, originality, relationship with existing sustainability approaches, measurement, implementation and empirical validation.
The answers distinguish between what the framework proposes conceptually and what remains to be established through further research.
1. What exactly is the central problem that SDGs-UV is trying to address?
Answer
SDGs-UV does not assume that the SDGs are wrong or that individual goals are unimportant. The concern is that sustainability is often approached through separate goals, sectors and interventions, whereas human beings, society, development and nature are interconnected. The Unifying Vision therefore asks whether sustainability can be understood as an alignment among human understanding, relationships, social systems and ecological order. SDGs-UV provides a way of viewing the existing SDGs within this larger interconnected context. The book presents the 17 goals as interconnected expressions of a larger aspiration for human fulfilment and ecological harmony.
2.What is actually new about SDGs-UV? Isn't interconnectedness already well known in sustainability science?
Answer
Interconnectedness is certainly not a new idea. It is well established in ecology, systems thinking and sustainability science. Therefore, SDGs-UV does not claim to have discovered interconnectedness. Its contribution is to bring together interconnectedness, coexistence, human understanding, relationships, societal organisation and ecological alignment and use them as a unifying conceptual lens for understanding all 17 SDGs. The framework then proposes corresponding conceptual and indicator-level shifts. For example, SDG4-UV moves from an understanding of education centred primarily on literacy and skills towards education for coexistence, including right understanding, harmonious living, cooperation and mutual fulfilment. Thus, the claimed contribution is primarily the integration and systematic application of these ideas across the SDGs, rather than claiming that the individual concepts themselves are new.
3. Does SDGs-UV replace the UN Sustainable Development Goals?
Answer
No. SDGs-UV is not intended to replace the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It provides another way of understanding and implementing them. The original SDGs identify important areas of global development, while SDGs-UV asks whether these goals can be understood within a larger framework of human relationships, coexistence, mutual fulfilment and ecological harmony. The framework therefore retains the 17 SDGs while proposing a coexistential interpretation of them. The book presents, for example, SDG1 as Prosperity for All, SDG4 as Education for Coexistence, SDG13 as Climate-aligned Living, and SDG17 as Partnerships for Coexistence.
4. Why is it called the “Unifying Vision”? What exactly is being unified?
Answer
The framework does not attempt to make everything identical. “Unifying” refers to recognising the relationships and coherence among human beings, relationships, society, development, technology, production and nature. The Unifying Vision seeks to understand these different dimensions within their relationships to one another rather than treating them as completely separate domains. In this sense, the Vision provides a common perspective through which human development, social relationships, institutional systems, technology, production and ecological systems can be understood as interconnected.
5. How is SDGs-UV different from simply applying systems thinking to the SDGs?
Answer
Systems thinking helps us understand relationships and interdependencies among different parts of a system. SDGs-UV builds on interconnectedness but also focuses on the quality and orientation of relationships through concepts such as coexistence, mutual fulfilment, right understanding, trust, reciprocity, sufficiency, responsibility and ecological alignment.
Therefore, the framework asks not only:
“How are the parts connected?”
but also:
“How can these relationships be organised so that human and ecological well-being are mutually supported?”
This is why SDGs-UV attempts to move from simply recognising interconnections towards considering the nature of relationships within an interconnected whole.
6. Isn't SDGs-UV simply renaming the existing SDGs?
Answer
No. Renaming is only the visible part of the framework. The intended change is in the orientation, interpretation, indicators and implementation implications of the goals. For example, the book presents SDG4-UV as Education for Coexistence. The proposed conceptual shift includes moving from education as literacy and skills towards right understanding of coexistence, from employability towards harmonious living, from knowledge accumulation towards clarity about self, relationships and existence, and from competition-driven learning towards cooperation and mutual fulfilment. Similarly, SDG17-UV presents partnerships as relationships of trust, shared responsibility and mutual fulfilment rather than only strategic or transactional arrangements. Therefore, SDGs-UV is intended as a reinterpretation with proposed operational implications, not merely a renaming exercise.
7. How can concepts such as coexistence, mutual fulfilment and right understanding actually be measured?
Answer
The book proposes indicator clusters for moving these concepts towards operationalisation. For example, SDG5-UV includes proposed indicators concerning understanding of gender complementarity, equal dignity, reduction of stereotypes and biased perceptions, acceptance of mutually fulfilling relationships, education and awareness, institutional alignment and accountability. SDG17-UV includes indicators related to cooperation, trust, mutual respect, collective success and collaborative values. However, these should currently be presented as proposed indicators and an operational direction, rather than as a fully validated measurement instrument. A major next step is therefore to test the clarity, reliability, validity and practical usefulness of these indicators through empirical research.
8. Why “Gender Complementarity” instead of “Gender Equality”? Could complementarity reinforce traditional gender roles?
Answer
The intention of SDGs-UV is not to deny equal dignity, rights or opportunities. The book presents SDG5-UV as Gender Complementarity and includes equal dignity, reduction of stereotypes and biased perceptions, acceptance of genders as mutually fulfilling, and institutional accountability for discrimination and injustice. However, the concern about possible interpretation is legitimate. If “complementarity” were interpreted as assigning fixed or predetermined roles to men and women, it could reinforce stereotypes. Therefore, the concept requires careful contextual interpretation and empirical examination. The intended meaning within SDGs-UV is mutually fulfilling participation with equal dignity, rather than compulsory or predetermined gender roles.
9. Does the framework provide evidence that SDGs-UV actually produces better sustainability outcomes?
Answer
Not yet in the strong empirical sense. The book develops the conceptual framework, provides applications and proposes indicators and pathways towards implementation. However, this is different from demonstrating through systematic empirical research that SDGs-UV produces better outcomes than alternative approaches.
Therefore, empirical validation is an important next stage of the work.
The framework should be tested through real institutional and community applications, appropriate outcome measures, comparative studies and independent evaluation.
10. If I accept the philosophy, how would a university actually use SDGs-UV?
Answer
A university could use the framework across interconnected areas such as:
- curriculum and pedagogy;
- student development;
- campus operations;
- institutional culture;
- research and innovation;
- governance;
- community engagement; and
- partnerships.
For example, education could focus not only on technical competence but also on understanding, relationships and responsibility. Campus operations could incorporate sufficiency and ecological responsibility. Institutional culture could emphasise trust, participation and mutual respect. Research and innovation could address contextual human and ecological needs. The implementation of SDGs-UV in higher education would require translating its conceptual principles into specific practices, indicators, evidence requirements and institutional development plans. This is an important area for further development.
11. What is genuinely original in your framework?
Answer
I would not claim that interconnectedness, coexistence, systems thinking or holistic sustainability are individually new ideas. The contribution of SDGs-UV lies in bringing these ideas together into a single conceptual lens for interpreting all 17 SDGs. The framework connects human understanding, relationships, societal organisation and ecological alignment and systematically applies this perspective to the SDGs, including proposed conceptual and indicator-level shifts. Thus, the originality is primarily in the integration and systematic application rather than in claiming that the individual concepts themselves are new.
12. How is SDGs-UV different from existing systems or holistic sustainability frameworks?
Answer
SDGs-UV is intended to be complementary to existing sustainability approaches rather than a replacement for them. Systems approaches help us understand how different dimensions are interconnected. SDGs-UV adds a focus on the nature and orientation of those relationships, using concepts such as coexistence, mutual fulfilment, right understanding, trust, reciprocity, sufficiency, responsibility and ecological alignment.
It therefore asks not only:
“How are the different dimensions of sustainability connected?”
but also:
“What kind of understanding, relationships and human organisation can make those relationships mutually fulfilling and ecologically aligned?”
A detailed comparative examination of SDGs-UV alongside existing sustainability frameworks is an important area for further research.
For a detailed presentation of the 17 SDGs-UV, their conceptual shifts and the Unifying Vision underlying the framework, visit: 👇👇
SDGs-UV: Sustainable Development Goals in the Light of the Unifying Vision
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