How high-level career civil servants frame sustainable development and the sustainable development goals

Abstract

Sustainable development (SD) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were designed to inform public policy and drive sustainable practices. However, it is relatively unknown how high-level civil servants frame SD and the SDGs, consequently defining their scope in public policies. Frames are cognitive shortcuts derived from paradigms that guide decision-making. This study maps the relevant paradigms underlying the debate on sustainable development and their corresponding cognitive cues. Two principal axes organize these paradigms: strong versus weak sustainability and human-centric versus ecocentric. An online survey assessed how Brazilian high-level career civil servants evaluated the cognitive cues of the paradigm. Two main clusters of SD and SDG framing were identified. The first cluster (N = 51) aligns more closely with the ecological modernization paradigm, characterized by a pro-market stance and skepticism toward collective approaches and eco-ethics. The second cluster (N = 41) is more supportive of SD and the SDGs, sharing cognitive cues of societal responsibility and eco-ethics, but also strongly agreeing with frames of scarcity, the overpopulation crisis, and limits to growth. Results are discussed in consideration of the challenges of implementing Sustainable Development (SD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within public policies.