SDG Campus
Learning the Sustainable Development Goals through story, science, and everyday life.
The SDG Campus is a network of living laboratories stewarded by the Responsible Innovation Lab. Each site is a “world” where people can explore the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through coffee culture, corn, mobility, consent, community organizing, and more.
What Is the SDG Campus Educational Project?
Instead of treating the SDGs as abstract targets, the SDG Campus makes them concrete. Each Campus site focuses on a specific slice of life — cafés, kitchens, relationships,
cars, or civic life — and connects that world back to the SDGs with checklists, stories, tools, and student-led projects.
The Campus is:
- Hosted by: Responsible Innovation Lab (RIL)
- Powered by: research, student teams, and responsible innovation frameworks
- Applied Concepts: INNOVATE Framework, What is Design Thinking?, ISO/IEC 42001:2023 – AI management systems, United Nations Sustainable Development
- INNOVATE incorporates Responsible Innovation (where it all began), Principled Innovation, and Sustainable Innovation influenced by our academic work and their foundations
- The Power of Responsible Innovation: Shaping the Future with Science and Society | Graduate College
- Designed for: learners, educators, communities, and partners who want SDGs in plain language and real context
How the SDG Campus Works
- Pick a world. Visit a Campus site that matches your life: coffee, corn, hemp, kitchens, consent, cars, or civic action.
- Follow the SDG threads. Each site names the SDGs it touches and offers stories, audits, and “doable next steps.”
- Apply it locally. Use our tools to audit your café, kitchen, block, relationship culture, or community group.
- Share what you learn. Campus sites highlight community examples and partner projects doing it right.
Behind the scenes, RIL connects these worlds with data, ethics frameworks, and student teams working on responsible innovation.
SDG Campus Worlds (By Topic)
These domains are officially part of the SDG Campus network.
Each one is a focused learning world aligned to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals,
showing how global goals translate into local stories, classrooms, and everyday life.
Food, Coffee & Sustainable Consumption
EcoCafe.com
Good coffee, clean conscience.
A zero-waste, ethically sourced café universe showing how your daily cup connects to waste streams,
carbon footprints, and local economies. Now home to the Climate Literacy Corner,
helping visitors understand the environmental story behind every bean.
SDGs: 12 – Responsible Consumption & Production · 13 – Climate Action · 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
EcoConcern.com
From concern to circularity.
The thrift and circular-economy hub of the Campus — turning environmental worry into hands-on action.
Features repair cafés, thrift partnerships, and upcycling projects that make sustainability practical and affordable.
SDGs: 8 – Decent Work & Economic Growth · 12 – Responsible Consumption & Production · 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
WeAreCorn.com
Why our food system is… mostly corn.
An evergreen explainer on corn, GMOs, and hidden derivatives — revealing how one crop shapes global health,
trade, and environmental justice.
SDGs: 2 – Zero Hunger · 3 – Good Health & Well-Being · 12 – Responsible Consumption & Production
PeopleOfTheCorn.com
Stories from a village built on corn.
A fictional-but-familiar community that shows how subsidies, seed choices, soil health,
and trade ripple through everyday lives and local resilience.
SDGs: 2 – Zero Hunger · 11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities · 15 – Life on Land
Hemp, Health & Regenerative Kitchens
CulinaryHemp.com
Plant-based, nutrient-dense, soil-smart.
Hemp in the kitchen as a doorway into nutrition science, regenerative agriculture, and lower-impact food choices —
served with a side of stoner-chef humor.
SDGs: 3 – Good Health & Well-Being · 12 – Responsible Consumption & Production · 13 – Climate Action
RusticChef.com
From soil to stove, without the greenwash.
Simple, rustic recipes and kitchen hacks that respect ingredients, farmers, and the planet — focusing on low-waste,
seasonal cooking and practical sustainability.
SDGs: 2 – Zero Hunger · 12 – Responsible Consumption & Production
Well-Being, Equity & Consent
TrulyBeloved.com
Intentional love, informed consent, emotional literacy.
A research-backed, pleasure-positive hub for emotional intelligence, trust, consent,
relational design, and equity in intimate life.
SDGs: 3 – Good Health & Well-Being · 5 – Gender Equality · 10 – Reduced Inequalities
Civic Action, Communities & Mobility
DoWhatMATAs.org
When “someone should do something” becomes “we did.”
Civic storytelling, porch talks, and local-to-national action frames that help communities
move from outrage to organized, sustainable change.
SDGs: 11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities · 16 – Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions · 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
ChevyLegacy.com
Looking back at car culture to drive a cleaner future.
Automotive nostalgia as a lens on circular economy, right-to-repair,
and the transition to cleaner, more just mobility systems.
SDGs: 9 – Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure · 12 – Responsible Consumption & Production · 13 – Climate Action
Water, Oceans & Resilient Futures
TidesOfAtlantis.org
Where myths meet rising tides.
An imaginative gateway into SDGs 6 and 14 — exploring clean water, ocean health, and human connection to aquatic ecosystems.
This world blends science, storytelling, and mythic reflection to inspire stewardship.
SDGs: 6 – Clean Water & Sanitation · 14 – Life Below Water · 13 – Climate Action
SDG Campus Index (Sorted by SDG)
This table flips the view: instead of starting with the sites, it starts with the
Sustainable Development Goals themselves. The first column shows the SDG icon and number;
the second blends the UN goal theme with our learning focus; and the third lists which Campus worlds bring that goal to life in practice.
| SDG | Focus in the Campus | Campus Worlds & Programs |
|---|---|---|
 1 – No Poverty |
Ending poverty and making sure basic needs are met, with a focus on food and housing security and access to support systems. | Lurch / HouseKey (food & housing concierge, in development) • EcoConcern.com (circular economy helping keep essentials affordable) |
 2 – Zero Hunger |
Food systems, soil health, regenerative agriculture, and access to nourishing food that doesn’t exploit people or the planet. | WeAreCorn.com • PeopleOfTheCorn.com • RusticChef.com • CulinaryHemp.com • Lurch / HouseKey (linking food security resources) |
 3 – Good Health & Well-Being |
Nutrition, chronic health impacts of food systems, emotional well-being, consent, and relational literacy. | WeAreCorn.com • CulinaryHemp.com • TrulyBeloved.com (CarnalJoy.com → TrulyBeloved.com) |
 4 – Quality Education |
Inclusive, lifelong learning and AI/innovation literacy, using real worlds as living classrooms rather than abstract case studies. | SDG Campus (all worlds) • ResponsibleInnovationLab.org • Midlife College • Cognifi-AI.com (AI literacy, in development) |
 5 – Gender Equality |
Consent, power, pleasure, and equity in relationships and community cultures—centering dignity and agency. | TrulyBeloved.com (CarnalJoy.com → TrulyBeloved.com) |
 6 – Clean Water & Sanitation |
Clean water, sanitation, and resilient water systems—from oceans and rivers to desert aquifers and household taps. | TidesOfAtlantis.org (water + ocean ethics, in development) • WaterWiseWorld.org (clean water literacy, concept stage) |
 7 – Affordable & Clean Energy |
Affordable, reliable, and clean energy, plus the ethics of energy transitions in mobility, housing, and everyday tech. | ChevyLegacy.com (mobility & energy transitions) • Noir Nexus / Kade the PI Guy (energy & tech ethics, in development) |
 8 – Decent Work & Economic Growth |
Decent work, green jobs, and fair local economies shaped by thrift, repair, entrepreneurship, and responsible innovation. | EcoConcern.com (thrift & circular economy) • Midlife College certifications • Cognifi-AI.com (future-of-work literacy, in development) • PIIC / NOVA workforce pathways |
 9 – Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure |
Mobility transitions, circular manufacturing, and reimagining infrastructure through repair, reuse, and clean tech. | ChevyLegacy.com • Noir Nexus / Kade the PI Guy (principled innovation stories, in development) |
 10 – Reduced Inequalities |
Equity in intimate life, housing, and access to knowledge and tools that support agency and fair opportunity. | TrulyBeloved.com • Lurch / HouseKey (resource access) • RIL programs focused on inclusive innovation |
 11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities |
Community storytelling, organizing, and how policy choices, housing, and local economies shape everyday life. | DoWhatMATAs.org • PeopleOfTheCorn.com • Lurch / HouseKey (housing & neighborhood support) |
 12 – Responsible Consumption & Production |
From coffee cups to car parts and thrift stores: waste, reuse, sourcing, circular economy, and everyday consumer choices. | EcoCafe.com • WeAreCorn.com • RusticChef.com • CulinaryHemp.com • EcoConcern.com (thrift & reuse) • ChevyLegacy.com |
 13 – Climate Action |
Everyday climate choices through food, cafés, crops, mobility, and resilience planning in a warming world. | EcoCafe.com (Climate Literacy Corner) • CulinaryHemp.com • ChevyLegacy.com • TidesOfAtlantis.org (in development) |
 14 – Life Below Water |
Ocean health, marine biodiversity, and the water systems that connect coasts, climate, and inland communities. | TidesOfAtlantis.org (ocean & water ethics, in development) |
 15 – Life on Land |
Land use, biodiversity, agriculture, and the ecosystems that feed and shelter us—from soil microbiomes to village life. | WeAreCorn.com • PeopleOfTheCorn.com |
 16 – Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions |
Civic literacy, justice, trust, and “how change actually happens” in communities and institutions. | DoWhatMATAs.org • ResponsibleInnovationLab.org (NOVA, INNOVATE, PIIC frameworks) |
 17 – Partnerships for the Goals |
Partnerships across cafés, campuses, community organizations, and global initiatives to co-create SDG-aligned experiments. | EcoCafe.com • EcoConcern.com • DoWhatMATAs.org • ResponsibleInnovationLab.org • inNOVAte Collective & SDG Campus network |
Coverage is intentionally uneven: the Campus starts where our existing worlds are strongest and expands over time as new projects and partnerships come online.
Powered by the Responsible Innovation Lab
The SDG Campus is backed by RIL’s research, student teams, and responsible innovation tools.
- NOVA Certification: a framework for responsible innovation and ethical AI.
- inNOVAte Collective: SDG-aligned projects connecting students, faculty, and community partners.
- Lurch / HouseKey: concierge tools for food and housing access intersecting SDG 1 and SDG 11.
- Midlife College Certifications & PIIC programs: workforce pathways and micro-certificates that help people work on the goals, not just read about them.
How to Use the SDG Campus
For Educators
- Choose one Campus world as a case study for your class or program.
- Use the SDG-sorted table to align assignments with specific goals.
- Partner with RIL on co-designed projects, micro-certificates, or campus activations.
For Learners & Communities
- Start with the world that feels closest to your daily life (coffee, corn, consent, cars, etc.).
- Trace the SDGs linked there and try one small behavior or policy change.
- Share your stories or findings for potential Campus highlights.
For Partners
- Embed pilots inside one or more Campus worlds (café audits, consent education programs, repair events, etc.).
- Support student teams and SDG-aligned experiments through sponsorships or internships.
- Co-author reports, toolkits, or certifications with RIL and SDG Campus sites.
Interested in partnering or bringing SDG Campus content to your organization or classroom?
Contact Chris at the Responsible Innovation Lab to start a conversation.