Participatory planning for local sustainability guided by the Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainability planning is required to achieve sustainable development across the world at all scales. Such planning should be aligned with and grounded in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be comparable across scales, and use participatory techniques to understand local contexts. Planning for urban sustainability using the SDGs is well developed, but this concept has not yet been extended to rural sustainability. We describe an approach to co-create a local sustainability plan using the SDGs for a rural community in south-eastern Australia using participatory techniques for co-creation, data collection and review. We found that the community believes that infrastructure is fundamental to achieving sustainable growth and social equity while preserving their unique environment. By articulating their priorities in this community-led plan, the community are empowered to advocate for the sustainable development of their town with decision-makers and funding bodies. If rural communities create sustainability plans using the SDGs, then such planning will be consistent between and across scales, and aligned with the global goals. This will also aid in achievement of the SDGs at national and global scales, as suggested by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.