Sustainable Development

We talk a lot about sustainable urban mobility at UITP, and indeed in the public transport sector as a whole. But what does it really mean to be sustainable? And in what ways do we incorporate messages on sustainability in our outreach plans?

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Without sustainable mobility, sustainable development will not be possible, and at UITP our mission is to make this a reality.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are the blueprint to achieve this vision: a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030.

Our advocacy work at UITP demonstrates how the public transport sector is making an essential and positive contribution to the SDG Agenda by making cities better places to live, enhancing people’s quality of life, and protecting the environment.

We encourage our members to work with us on sustainability as much as possible – from integrating sustainability principles into their business practices with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ensuring that their operations provide citizens with access to a full range of urban opportunities to enhance their quality of life. The links between climate change and sustainable development are intertwined. By setting global initiatives and campaigns to raise awareness of public transport’s and members’ contribution to the climate agenda at the annual climate talks (COP), it not only raises the profile of the sector, but highlights to key policymakers the need to invest in the sector.

It’s through our work on sustainability that we find ourselves in the global spotlight more often. Most recently, by connecting our sector with the SDGs and climate action we have shown the many ways in which great public transport helps to deliver cleaner air in our cities. By encouraging decision makers to include public transport in their policy agendas, we can better meet the targets set on the SDGs and climate action at all levels. And that’s from UITP, to our members, all the way to national governments.

Sustainable Development means collaborating with our members on all of the measures it takes to achieve lasting change. This includes assessing the progress being made on reducing our carbon footprint, lowering emissions around the world, and showing what strong urban mobility can do for achieving healthier city living. We can’t do this without our members. We can only be sustainable together.

The UN Paris Climate Agreement established a dedicated partnership mechanism to strengthen collaboration between governments and key stakeholders to scale up climate action. These actions are guided by the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and undertaken in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UITP’s Declaration on Climate Leadership is one of a handful of transport collaborative actions recognised by the Agreement’s partnership mechanism and demonstrates the sector’s commitment to climate change and achieving net neutrality.

The Declaration shows that climate action with public transport is possible by implementing climate projects around the world, which helps build momentum towards raising the climate ambition of countries and cities towards achieving a climate-neutral and resilient world.

The UITP Sustainability Charter supports the Declaration by acknowledging the work of UITP member’s direct contribution to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the value of public transport undertakings measuring and reporting on their revenant corporate sustainability (CSR) policies, practices and achievements. 

Read the UITP Sustainability Charter and find the full list of UITP Sustainability Charter signatories!