Supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has become a key priority for the Conference of Spanish University Rectors (CRUE) – the most influential higher education association in Spain, composed of 76 universities. Through the adoption of a whole institution approach, it has recently established an Inter-sectoral Committee for the 2030 Agenda that will examine policies and programmes to identify existing opportunities to implement the SDGs effectively in the Spanish higher education system.
Through the adoption of a whole institution approach, CRUE is seeking to embed sustainable development across all its activities. In addition to supporting sustainable development actions through the Sustainability Commission and the Internationalisation and Cooperation Commission, it has recently established an Inter-sectoral Committee for the 2030 Agenda with representatives from all CRUE sectoral commissions. This new Commission, chaired by the Rector of the University of Oviedo, will examine policies, programmes and reporting systems to determine the changes needed and capitalise on existing opportunities to implement the SDGs effectively in the Spanish higher education system. The Commission is also preparing a large-scale study on the status of the SDGs in Spanish universities.
As part of its policy work, CRUE is collaborating with the Spanish government to develop the National Action Plan for the Implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, becoming an active high-level stakeholder with the Spanish High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda. It has also participated in multilateral events, conferences and policy-dialogues, promoting good practices and disseminating CRUE working groups’ activities and topic-related results for the achievement of the SDGs.