Promoting Sustainable Development Goals through laboratory practices

Universities have a responsibility to help students develop sustainability skills as well as to work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, the core of the 2030 Agenda, seek to transform our world and comprise the main development challenges for humanity. Universities provide students with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that favor a transformation in the way of thinking and acting in favor of sustainable development, facilitating them as agents of change. In the first-year Chemistry laboratory practices, aspects related to the SDGs were worked on, such as waste management and water saving. After the laboratory practices, the students answered two questionnaires related to the SDGs. The students showed that they knew the purpose of the SDGs. 91.4% of the students indicated that after the laboratory practices their awareness of the importance of proper handling of chemical waste had increased to a great extent, and 82.9% of the need to save tap water and distilled water during the practices. This shows that students can be agents of change and teachers facilitators of education for sustainable development.