Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda in Spain: an
analysis of the effects of communication campaigns and public knowledge
Los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible y la Agenda 2030 en España: análisis de
los efectos de las campañas de comunicación y del conocimiento de la población
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How to cite this article:
López-Carrión, A. E. (2024). Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda in Spain: an analysis of the eects of communication campaigns
and public knowledge.
Doxa Comunicación
, 38, pp. 293-315.
https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n38a1997
Alberto E. López-Carrión
. PhD student of Communication and Interculturality at the Universitat de València. He holds
two Bachelor’s Degrees, one in Journalism and another in Advertising and Public Relations, as well as a Master’s Degree
in Emerging Trends and Innovative Processes in Communication, with a specialisation in Strategic Communication
Management. He has more than ten years of professional experience in various national and international
communication companies, corporate communication agencies, and newspapers. Moreover, he has held the post of
Associate Professor in the Journalism Degree at the Universitat de València, and has also carried out a research stay at
Wageningen University & Research Institute in the Netherlands. His lines of research focus on communication regarding
the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, in addition to institutional communication and advertising protocol, among others.
Universitat de València, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-9548-2991
is content is published under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. International License CC BY-NC 4.0
Received: 23/05/2023 - Accepted: 09/07/2023 - Early access: 28/09/2023 - Published: 01/01/2024
Recibido: 23/05/2023- Aceptado: 09/07/2023 - Early access: 28/09/2023 - Published: 01/01/2024
Abstract:
In 2015, the United Nations announced the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda, which is a plan aimed at improving
the lives of people worldwide, and protecting our planet as well. In
2018, the Spanish government made a commitment to ensuring that the
country’s entire population would be aware of this initiative by 2020. e
aim of this research is to measure the eectiveness of the communication
campaigns focused on this issue, which were carried out between 2015
and 2022, and to discover the characteristics of the proles who have
very limited knowledge about this issue, as well as those who have
expert knowledge, along with the channels that have been the leaders
in disseminating this information. e methodology is based on a
survey of a representative sample of the Spanish population (n=400).
e key ndings show that the majority of citizens say they have very
little knowledge about the issue. Furthermore, although the diusion
Resumen:
En 2015, Naciones Unidas promulgó los Objetivos de Desarrollo Soste
-
nible (ODS) y la Agenda 2030, un plan de acción orientado a mejorar la
vida de las personas y del propio planeta. El Gobierno de España adqui
-
rió en 2018 el compromiso de que, en 2020, el 100% de la población del
país conocería esta iniciativa. El objetivo de esta investigación es medir
la ecacia de las campañas de comunicación sobre este tema realizadas
entre 2015 y 2022, detectando las características de los perles que saben
poco y mucho sobre esta cuestión, y también qué canales lideran su di
-
fusión. La metodología se ha basado en la realización de una encuesta a
una muestra representativa de la población española (n=400). Los prin
-
cipales resultados muestran que la mayoría de la ciudadanía admite un
conocimiento muy bajo. También que la recurrencia en los canales de
difusión es muy baja, pese a que admite un mayor conocimiento a tra
-
vés de los medios de comunicación y la publicidad institucional, frente a
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1. Introduction
On the 25
th
of September, 2015, the United Nations approved the so-called SDGs, a global action plan that was endorsed by all
193 member states of the UN. e initiative consists of 17 goals and 169 interrelated objectives that incorporate major global
challenges for improving the situation of humanity, such as ending all forms of poverty worldwide, reducing inequality within
and between countries, and making cities more inclusive, safer, more resilient, and sustainable, to cite a few examples (UN,
2015a).
e SDGs are part of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
, which denes the major courses of action that must be
adhered to in creating public policies of development and international cooperation for the next fteen years (UN, 2015b). Since
their announcement, there have been diverse opinions regarding the usefulness of the SDGs, as well as the realistic possibility of
achieving these goals by the deadline accorded by the UN, which is the year 2030.
In the nal document of the Rio+20 UN Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in June of 2012 (three years
before the SDGs were approved), the United Nations itself made a commitment to ensuring that the goals would be action-
oriented, concise, and easy to report (UN, 2012). Nevertheless, some studies have criticised the language used in the SDGs and
how they have been communicated.
To cite a few examples, a scientic report by the International Council for Science (ICSU), in collaboration with the International
Social Science Council (ISSC), argues that the SDGs are too repetitive and rely too much on vague, qualitative language, rather
than strong, measurable, deadline-driven quantitative targets (ICSU and ISSC, 2015). Following this theory, Gómez-Gil (2018)
highlights “the extraordinarily weak, vague and imprecise vocabulary with which objectives and goals have been deliberately
drafted, thereby making their achievement dicult· (p. 113). Moreover, despite their aim of building a better world, these targets
are full of rhetoric, political cynicism, and technical incoherence.
With regard to the role of public knowledge in achieving the goals, Easterly (2015) questions why large-scale action plans such as
the SDGs do not actually result in action being taken, asserting that society must rst become familiar with them and know that
they exist before anything can be done. He also mentions that practitioners living inside the sustainable development bubble
think that the 2030 Agenda has captured everyone’s attention, when just the opposite is true.
frequency on dissemination channels is very low, the interviewees admit to
having gained more knowledge through the mass media and institutional
advertising than through social networks and corporate communication.
In conclusion, it has been conrmed that the campaigns carried out to
date have proven to be ineective and/or insucient.
Keywords:
SDGs: 2030 Agenda; UN; communication campaigns; knowledge.
las redes sociales y la comunicación de las empresas. Como conclusión,
se corrobora que las campañas realizadas hasta la fecha han resultado
no ser ecaces y/o han sido insucientes.
Palabras clave:
ODS; Agenda 2030; ONU; campañas de comunicación; conocimiento.
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With regard to the originality, or novelty, of the SDGs, Gómez-Gil (2018) asserts the incorrectness of calling it “the most innovative
Development Agenda ever designed, considering the fact that many of its fundamental objectives and goals have emanated from
international agreements, summits, and conferences established years ago and systematically unfullled” (pp. 111-112). One of
the agreements to which he refers is the approval in 2000, by the United Nations, of the Millennium Declaration and, a year later,
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with 2015 as the target date (Sanahuja and Tezanos-Vázquez, 2017). e content of
the MDGs, unlike the SDGs, was more focused on ending poverty. Regarding the previous goals, Kroll (2015) suggests that “from
the perspective of high-income countries, if the MDGs were the telescope through which they looked at the developing world, the
SDGs are the mirror in which they see their own policies and performance reected” (p. 4).
Cummings et al. (2018) conclude that the SDGs represent a politically powerful central discourse and imaginary that is already
being applied on a global scale. ey argue that there is a mismatch between their vision and strategy, which are transformative,
and their implementation and objectives, which seem to indicate business as usual. Moreover, these authors predict that the 2030
Agenda will not achieve success unless the transforming power of knowledge is harnessed in implementing the SDGs. To this
end, they point out that there are certain opportunities for some groups to raise their voice in terms of discourse, narratives, and
arguments, thereby taking an active role in putting the SDGs into eect.
Regarding this increased participation, in recent years some companies have been using the values of sustainability, sustainable
development, or the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, among others, to create a respectable image for themselves, oering a portrayal
that is very dierent from that which is real. is phenomenon is known as washing, which takes many forms (Luna-García et
al., 2022). Numerous studies have analysed this supercial use of the aforementioned concept. For example, Ruiz-Blanco et al.
(2022) have analysed one of the aspects of this practice, known as greenwashing, which they dene as “the dierence between
what companies say they do, or the discourse component, and what they actually do, which is the action component”. ese
authors also indicate that many companies engage in this practice because “the general public is currently highly sensitive to
environmental issues, and environmental issues put a lot of pressure on companies” (p. 4,040).
e English platform ESGgen has analysed another aspect of washing, which is SDG washing, or bluewashing, referring to the
blue colour of the UN ag. e platform denes it as a form of greenwashing that consists of marketing carried out by companies
and organisations to deliberately take advantage of the SDGs, in which they advocate certain responsible practices that they do
not actually carry out (ESGgen, 2022). Regarding this concept, Heras-Saizarbitoria et al. (2022) argue that most organisations
make a supercial commitment to SDGs, reporting very limited information on specic indicators: “In most cases, the SDGs are
only used to add colour and icons to reports”. Ultimately, these stances try to prevent SDGs and sustainability from experiencing
an upsurge and becoming trendy terms (ElAlfy et al., 2020).
Given this context, the overall objective of the present research is to measure citizens’ perception of their own knowledge of the
SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, by conducting a survey of a representative sample of the Spanish population, and by observing the
general eects of the communication campaigns carried out to date. In addition, based on the overall objective, the following
specic objectives are proposed:
SO1: Detect patterns of information consumption and socio-demographic aspects of the Spanish population according to their
level of knowledge of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda.
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SO2: Determine the level of knowledge of SDGs and the 2030 Agenda among the Spanish population in the following channels:
media, social networks, institutional communication and publicity by key public administrations, and corporate communication.
SO3: Gain knowledge regarding the opinion of the Spanish population regarding the fullment of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda,
as well as their point of view on aspects related to the communication and dissemination of this action plan.
2. Literature review
2.1. Knowledge of the SDGs at the international level
On the ocial website of the SDGs, the United Nations states that “to achieve these goals, everyone needs to do their part:
governments, the private sector, society in general, and people like you” (UN, 2015a), calling on citizens to play a leading role
in implementing this plan of action. However, despite the fact that more than seven years have passed since the SDGs were
approved, numerous studies and surveys indicate a high level of ignorance among the world’s population regarding the goals.
DevCom, which is the communication network of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
conducted a comparison of several surveys using various methodologies in diverse countries just two years after the SDGs were
enacted. Its key ndings conrm that on the one hand, 35-45% of the people had heard of the SDGs, yet on the other hand,
awareness of the goals did not necessarily imply knowledge (e SDG Communicator, 2017).
A 2017 survey in Brazil revealed that 49% of the country’s population did not know what the SDGs were; 38% had heard of them
but did not know much about them (a percentage in line with the trend observed by DevCom); 10% said they had some knowledge
about the goals; and only 1% said they knew a lot about them (Rede Conhecimento Social, 2018).
Moreover, the French portal known as Focus 2030 recently carried out research based on an international survey. In comparing
the level of knowledge of SDGs in four industrialised countries, it found that only 10% of the people in France, 9% in Germany and
the United States, and 7% in the United Kingdom had heard or read something about the goals and had some knowledge about
them (Focus 2030, 2023).
In contrast to these studies, which indicated a low level of public awareness of the SDGs, other sources point to higher levels of
awareness. A survey by the World Economic Forum asserts that 74% of all people worldwide have some knowledge of the SDGs.
Looking at individual countries, the organisation highlights the high degree of familiarity with these goals in Turkey (92%) and
China (90%), compared to countries with a low level of knowledge, such as Great Britain and Japan (49% in both cases). According
to this organisation, 80% of the population of Spain have some knowledge, yet only 5% are very familiar with the goals.
With regard to China, research carried out by Guan et al. (2019) involving ve cities in the Asian country shows unusually strong
support for the SDGs among its population at the rate of 88%. Moreover, with regard to the vital role played by having knowledge
of SDGs, the study notes that it is “crucially important in building public support” (p. 14).
Finally, using the study of a specic age group as an example, AIESEC International
(2020) highlights the high level of knowledge
that young people have about the SDGs, which reaches 73.6% of the 57,480 people surveyed from 157 countries, with an average
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age of around 25 years. It emphasises that their main sources of knowledge about the goals are universities and social networks,
and their condence level that the SDGs will be achieved is 6.5 out of 10.
2.2. Knowledge regarding the SDGs in Spain
In Spain, the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda experienced a certain lack of institutional support as soon as they were approved by the
UN, unlike other countries, which started to implement them in their respective public policies immediately. Gómez-Gil (2018)
comments on this point:
Spain should be mentioned as an exception, due to its passivity, abandonment and obvious negligence being displayed once again
toward the SDGs, as it did with the MDGs. Since the approval of the 2030 Agenda, Spain has not launched a single initiative, unlike
most of the world’s governments. Not even on institutional websites regarding Spanish collaboration is there any ocial document
related to the SDGs, nor has it approved any strategy, entity, or programme linked to the goals (p. 115).
On the other hand, Gracia de Rentería et al. (2019), consider that “the SDGs have had a strong impact and visibility in Spain since
they were adopted in 2015, and especially during 2018”. Likewise, they add that Spain is in a good position in some rankings that
measure implementation of the goals, such as the SDG Index and Dashboards 2018, prepared by the SDSN. In that year, Spain
ranked 25th out of 156 countries (Sachs et al., 2018), and in the current 2023 ranking it has climbed to 16th out of 166 (Sachs et
al., 2023).
In 2018, the Council of Ministers of Spain approved the so-called
Plan de acción para la implementación de la agenda 2030:
hacia una estrategia española de desarrollo sostenible
(action plan for implementation of the 2030 Agenda: Spain’s strategy
for sustainable development), which established the objective that by 2020, 100% of Spanish citizens would know about the
2030 Agenda, and would be aware of the scope of transformation it entails. is plan emphasises that knowledge among the
population, accompanied by awareness-raising in society, are essential in fullling the 2030 Agenda. e government also made
a commitment to reaching “an agreement for the communication of the 2030 Agenda among all public administrations, private
actors, and civilians as well” (Government of Spain, 2018, p. 148). Among the measures established, two stand out: one is to
develop a joint communication plan with the appropriate monitoring mechanisms; the other is to carry out of a periodic study
on the knowledge and public attitudes of Spanish citizens and institutions related to the 2030 Agenda, the SDGs, and sustainable
development. e plan also ensures the following:
Coordination of the respective communication plans and actions of local governments, companies, NGOs, and the Spanish
government focused on creating a Communication Agreement of the 2030 Agenda, in order to mobilise all media, spaces, and
communication channels in a coherent manner, is capable of having a powerful impact. By respecting the diversity and creativity
of each actor, collaborative action surrounding such an Agreement will make it possible to tailor the messages, carry out joint
campaigns in a coordinated way, and monitor the results (p. 149).
Specically, in terms of monitoring results and carrying out a study that could oer a proposal similar to the aforementioned
Agreement, over the last few years two barometers of the Sociological Research Centre (
CIS
) have carried out questionnaires
of citizens regarding the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. In study No. 3238 (January of 2019), the following question was asked: e
Horizon 2030 Agenda is a strategic plan to promote sustainable and egalitarian development in Spain. Do you know what it is,
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or have you heard about it? e gure of 10.8% of those surveyed said they knew what it was or had heard about it, while 88.7%
answered no, and said it was the rst time they had heard of it (
CIS
, 2019). More than a year later, survey No. 3292 (September of
2020), asked the same question, and the results were somewhat higher: 29.4% said they knew or had heard of the 2030 Agenda,
while 70.4% said they knew nothing about it, or said it was the rst time they had heard of the action plan (
CIS
, 2020).
Researchers Boto-Álvarez and García-Fernández (2020) acknowledge the uncertainty surrounding the true level of Spanish
society’s commitment to sustainability and, consequently, the prospects for success of the SDGs in Spain. ey attest that progress
in implementing the SDGs in the early stages was limited by the political fragmentation and instability that led to the early call
for general elections in April and November of 2019. However, they also arm that in recent years, Spain has displayed one of the
highest levels of commitment to the SDGs, not only by identifying the 2030 Agenda as a new social contract, but also as a great
opportunity for the country. As an example of this statement, their research mentions certain campaigns and actions taken to
make the population aware of the 2030 Agenda:
In autumn of 2019, an ocial campaign called #ODSéate was launched to raise public awareness of SDGs in general. Since then, any
institutional communication by the Spanish government, as well as social media, have been represented by the #
ODSéate
logo, icons,
and the colour wheel emblem. is campaign is one of the measures envisioned by the aforementioned Cabinet Plan, and its very
necessity proves that citizens are still not suciently aware of the existence of the 2030 Agenda (p. 2).
As a result of this campaign, the SDG logo has appeared on a multitude of institutional channels since its launch, with the aim of
improving public awareness.
2.3. Communicating the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda
Prior to approval of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, the role of communication in sustainable development was addressed in
various research studies. Díaz-Bordenave (1998) argued that “sustainable development depends above all on what citizens think,
feel and do, and for this reason, communication is an essential tool for sustainable development” (p. 18). In fact, its importance is
such that specic disciplines have even appeared that focus on this eld, such as Sustainable Communication for Development
and Social Change, in which the position of Servaes (2007) is noteworthy. is author denes the concept as a social process of
knowledge exchange aimed at reaching a consensus for action, in which the interests, needs and capabilities of all those involved
must be taken into account.
Following on from this idea, Toro and Rodríguez (2001) stressed the power of communication and social mobilisation in the
construction of public goods, and added that any project or initiative “must pay special attention to communication strategies” (p.
4). Along these lines, Manfredi-Mayoral (2006) arms the importance of having communication strategies to support sustainable
development, an argument closely related to the previous thesis.
Since the announcement of the SDGs in 2015, various studies have focused on establishing diverse theories regarding the
communication and dissemination of this action plan to society. Toro-Peña (2020) argues that this international roadmap gives
scarce importance to communication and information processes: “e SDGs have a limited vision of communication, which is
reduced to its most instrumental concept in connection with ICT” (p. 773).
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How do the media disseminate information regarding the SDGs? McArthur and Zang (2018) note that international media
coverage of the SDGs (and previously the MDGs) not only stands out, but it also increases in those years when international
summits take place. Regarding the way in which Spanish media communicate the SDGs, Herranz and García-Caballero
(2020) refer to several Spanish media campaigns, such as that of
Radio Televisión Española
entitled,
Por un Planeta Mejor
[for a better world], launched in January of 2020 by
RTVE
, as well as others initiated by private corporations such as
Mediaset
España
and
Atresmedia
, although they were not directly linked to the SDGs. ey also point out that some media specialise in
social responsibility and have incorporated the SDGs into their news content on a regular basis in recent years. ese include
programmes such as
Corresponsables
,
Ethic
,
Diario Responsable
,
Compromiso Empresarial
, and
Cultura RSC
. In this regard, Toro-
Peña (2020) considers that “journalism specialising in development has the opportunity to hold a prominent position in the
framework of implementing the 2030 Agenda” (p. 771).
In the public institution domain, Benavides (2018) states that communication of the SDGs is mainly carried out through publicity
on institutional channels, which this author considers “usually inadequate, outdated and probably very limited in terms of
eectiveness and real benets for citizens” (p. 52). In line with this argument, García-López (2007) had previously stated that “this
is the only channel capable of awakening the civic involvement of citizens” (p. 292), although it addresses the issues disseminated
from a technocratic point of view. With regard to institutional communication, he asserts that its processes “are seen as the
exclusive competence of the government’s proposals through the mediation of advertising agencies” (p. 293). In addition to these
ideas, it bears mentioning the socialising and educational aspects of the communication carried out by public administrations
which, according to Cortés-González (2008), include the role of “introducing social change [...] and, moreover, they must use the
appropriate tools to achieve such modications” (p. 233).
In the business realm, since the enactment of the SDGs, companies have begun to use them as a framework for their sustainability
reports through emerging inter-organisational processes (Williams, Whiteman and Parker, 2019), following a strategic approach
to incorporate sustainability by publishing content on certain social networks about the SDGs in relation to their core business
(ElAlfy et al., 2020). e SDG Observatory (2018), which assesses the progress and contributions of Spanish companies in meeting
the SDGs, highlights the following comments in its rst report: “For a company to be a true leader, it must support the SDGs with
action and communication that are consistent” (p. 33).
Regarding the role played by social media in communicating SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, De Luca et al. (2022) conclude that
in the specic case of companies, six goals appear most frequently in their communications, which are the following: creating
partnerships to achieve the goals; actions directed at climate issues; reducing inequality; underwater life; life in terrestrial
ecosystems; and gender equality. In addition, based on the CHAID analysis conducted in their research, these authors have
found that the characteristics of the tweets published, “such as the type of content, the use of hashtags, the existence of a link,
and the number of characters, as well as the type of industry and the country where the company is located, have a signicant
inuence on stakeholders” (p. 12).
Finally, some of the main obstacles in communicating the SDGs in the current context are the following: the rst is the fact
that the SDGs are linked to development cooperation; the second is the broad terminology that mixes and dilutes sustainable
development or social responsibility with new concepts introduced by the SDGs; the last impediment is the scattering of
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proposals, data, information and reports that prevent the achievement of a global vision. For this reason, some studies maintain
that communication of the SDGs must be led by cities, referring to New York, Helsinki, Bristol and Los Angeles as examples of
urban centres that have made these goals visible, and whose strategic model can be exported to any other territory (García-
Caballero et al., 2021).
3. Methodology
In order to achieve the objectives of this study and determine the eectiveness of the communication campaigns carried out
so far regarding the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, the authors have chosen to use the survey technique, one of the most widely
used research strategies (Sierra Bravo, 1991), as it collects and analyses a series of data from a sample of cases that represent a
population (Casas-Anguita, Repullo-Labrador and Donado-Campos, 2003). e ndings obtained through this methodology will
be used to answer the following research questions:
RQ1: Based on a representative sample of the Spanish population, what percentage of citizens say they have seen the logo of the
SDGs and the 2030 Agenda at some time?
RQ2: What are the characteristics of the populations that have the lowest and highest amount of knowledge regarding this UN-
driven action plan?
RQ3: Based on a representative sample of the Spanish population, what is the diusion frequency of communication campaigns
regarding SDGs and the 2030 Agenda among the various actors responsible for disseminating this information to the public?
By using the surveys cited in section 2.2 of this article as a reference, and adapting them to both the unique aspects of this study
and the Spanish casuistry as well, a survey of 17 closed questions has been designed, which can be consulted in Annex I at
https://
bit.ly/odsencuesta
. According to their relationship with the specic objectives of this study, the questions can be classied into
the following thematic blocks: general knowledge of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda; frequency of transmission of the SDGs and
the 2030 Agenda in dissemination channels; and opinions regarding the diusion of SDGs and the 2030 Agenda.
Prior to these, yet directly related to the object of study of this article, other questions were asked in order to determine the socio-
demographic proles of the population surveyed, specically regarding gender, age, autonomous region of residence, socio-
economic status, and educational level.
e drafting of the questions and answers was carried out with the help of two survey experts who validated the design of the
survey. Moreover, before conducting a mass survey at the national level, a pilot test was performed on a small group of 25 people
in order to verify the reading comprehension of the questions posed, and of the dierent response options as well.
Regarding the platform used to conduct the survey, the data and results presented in this article were obtained through Netquest,
a worldwide data provider for social and marketing research, whose survey panel is ISO 20252 certied. Specically, the sampling
service of this platform was hired, and the steps taken were as follows: rstly, to determine the size and characteristics of the
sample; next, participants were invited to answer the questionnaire in exchange for some kind of incentive; nally, the raw data
was delivered for its subsequent exploitation (Netquest, 2023).
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Regarding the main features of the sample design, the scope is national (Spain); the universe is the general population, aged 18-
99; the size, 400 interviews; and the eld period, between 12/07/2022 and 18/07/2022. Considering that the Spanish population
was 47,432,805 inhabitants on 1
st
January 2022, according to the National Institute of Statistics (
INE
), the selected sample of 400
interviews is representative, as the minimum recommended sample size for this type of survey is 385, assuming a margin of error
of 5% and a condence level of 95%. In addition, based on the latest
INE
data, quotas of gender, age, and autonomous region have
been included so that the prole of the sample is as similar as possible to the true circumstances of the Spanish population, in
order to make national level armations.
As for the prole of those surveyed, the author has adhered to the characteristics of the Spanish population, as reected by the
latest
INE
data. According to gender, 53.75% are men and 46.25% are women. By age, the distribution of the groups can be seen
in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1. Distribution by age group of the surveyed population
specifically regarding gender, age, autonomous region of residence, socio
-
economic status, and
educational l
evel.
The drafting of the questions and answers was carried out with the help of two survey experts
who validated the design of the survey. Moreover, before conducting a mass survey at the
national level, a pilot test was performed on a small group of 25 people in order to verify the
reading comprehension of the questions posed, and of the different response options as well.
Regarding the platform used to conduct the survey, the data and results presented in this article
were obtained through Netquest, a worldwide data provider for social and marketing research,
whose survey panel is ISO 20252 certified. Specifically, the sampling service of this platform
was hired, and the steps taken were as follows: firstly, to determine the size and characteristics
of the sample; next, participants were invited to answer the questionnaire in exchange for some
kind of incentive; finally, the raw data was delivered for its subsequent exploitation (Netquest,
2023).
Regarding the main features of the sample design, the scope is national (Spain); the universe is
the general population, aged 18
-
99; the size, 400 interviews; and the field period, between
12/07/2022 and 18/07/2022. Considering that the Spanish population was 47,432,805
inhabitants on 1
st
January 2022, according to the National Institute of Statistics (
INE
), the
selected sample of 400 interviews is representative, as the minimum recommended sample size
for this type of survey is 385, assuming a margin of error of 5% and a confidence level of 95%.
In addition, based on the latest
INE
data, quotas of gender, age, and autonomous region have
been included so that the profile of the sample is as similar as possible to the true circumstances
of the Spanish population, in order to make national level affirmations.
As for the profile of those surveyed, the author has adhered to the characteristics of the Spanish
population, as reflected by the latest
INE
data. According to gender, 53.75% are men and
46.25% are women. By age, the distribution of the groups can be seen in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1. Distribution by age group of the surveyed population
Source: created by the author
By autonomous region, the distribution is in proportion to the population of each Spanish
region. By social class, the criterion applied is the new socio
-
demographic index proposed by
the
Asociación para la Investigación de Medios de Comunicación
[association for media
research] (
AIMC
), which has been used for some years now. For example, this index was used
for the
Estudio General de Me
dios
[general media studies] (
AIMC
, 2015). Regarding this
indicator, Quintas
-
Froufe (2018) describe it as follows:
25,00%
15,50%
17,75%
19,75%
13,50%
8,50%
0%5%10%15%20%25%30%
Over 65
55-64 years
45-54 years
35-44 years
25-34 years
18-24 years
Source: created by the author
By autonomous region, the distribution is in proportion to the population of each Spanish region. By social class, the criterion
applied is the new socio-demographic index proposed by the
Asociación para la Investigación de Medios de Comunicación
[association for media research] (
AIMC
), which has been used for some years now. For example, this index was used for the
Estudio General de Medios
[general media studies] (
AIMC
, 2015). Regarding this indicator, Quintas-Froufe (2018) describe it as
follows:
is socio-economic index has segmented Spanish society into eight groups: IA1 is the highest income group (3,005 or more), and
IE2 is the lowest (less than 745 euros). e intermediate groups are as follows: IA2 (from 2,452 to 3,005 euros), IB (from 2,146 to 2,451
euros), IC (1,603 to 2,145 euros), ID (from 1,313 to 1,602 euros) and IE1 (745 to 1,312 euros) (p. 880).
Following this classication, Figure 2 shows the surveyed population according to their level of income, listed from highest to
lowest. Finally, in terms of education, the distribution is shown in Figure 3.
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Figure 2. Distribution of income level of the surveyed population
This socio
-
economic index has segmented Spanish society into eight groups: IA1 is the highest
income group (3,005 or more), and IE2 is the lowest (less than 745 euros). The intermediate groups
are as follows: IA2 (from 2,452 to 3,005 euros), IB (from 2,146 to 2,451 euros), IC (1,603 to 2,145
euros), ID (from 1,313 to 1,602 euros) and IE1 (745 to 1,312 euros) (p. 880).
Following this classification, Figure 2 shows the surveyed population according to their level
of income, listed from highest to lowest. Finally, in terms of education, the distribution is shown
in Figure 3.
Figure 2. Distribution of income level of the surveyed populat
ion
Source: created by the author
Figure 3. Distribution of educational levels of the surveyed population
Source: created by the author
2,25%
10,50%
15,50%
17,50%
41,50%
16,75%
1,25%
2,00%
0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%
PhD
Master's Degree
Bachelor's Degree (5-6 years) technical engineering, etc.
Bachelor's Degree (4 years)
6th Form or Vocational Training (basic and high levels)
Compulsory Secondary Education
Primary Education
No formal education (primary school not completed)
3,25%
14,00%
11,50%
27,25%
16,75%
20,75%
6,50%
0%5%10%15%20%25%30%
iE2 (less than 745 euros)
iE1 (745 to 1,312 euros)
iD (1,313 to 1.602 euros)
iC (1,603 to 2,145 euros)
iB (2,146 to 2,451 euros)
iA2 (2,452 to 3,005 euros)
iA1 (3,005 euros or more)
Source: created by the author
Figure 3. Distribution of educational levels of the surveyed population
This socio
-
economic index has segmented Spanish society into eight groups: IA1 is the highest
income group (3,005 or more), and IE2 is the lowest (less than 745 euros). The intermediate groups
are as follows: IA2 (from 2,452 to 3,005 euros), IB (from 2,146 to 2,451 euros), IC (1,603 to 2,145
euros), ID (from 1,313 to 1,602 euros) and IE1 (745 to 1,312 euros) (p. 880).
Following this classification, Figure 2 shows the surveyed population according to their level
of income, listed from highest to lowest. Finally, in terms of education, the distribution is shown
in Figure 3.
Figure 2. Distribution of income level of the surveyed populat
ion
Source: created by the author
Figure 3. Distribution of educational levels of the surveyed population
Source: created by the author
2,25%
10,50%
15,50%
17,50%
41,50%
16,75%
1,25%
2,00%
0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%
PhD
Master's Degree
Bachelor's Degree (5-6 years) technical engineering, etc.
Bachelor's Degree (4 years)
6th Form or Vocational Training (basic and high levels)
Compulsory Secondary Education
Primary Education
No formal education (primary school not completed)
3,25%
14,00%
11,50%
27,25%
16,75%
20,75%
6,50%
0%5%10%15%20%25%30%
iE2 (less than 745 euros)
iE1 (745 to 1,312 euros)
iD (1,313 to 1.602 euros)
iC (1,603 to 2,145 euros)
iB (2,146 to 2,451 euros)
iA2 (2,452 to 3,005 euros)
iA1 (3,005 euros or more)
Source: created by the author
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4. Analysis of the results
4.1. Results overview
4.1.1. General knowledge regarding the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda
e main objective of this thematic block of questions was to quantitatively determine the general level of knowledge that the
Spanish population has about the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. Without referring to the specic research topic, the rst question
was aimed at determining the level of recognition of the SDG logo by displaying an image of the wheel-shaped emblem with the
17 colours that represent the UN initiative. In response to this question, 57% said they had never seen it, 28% said they had seen
it, and 15% did not know or did not answer, as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Responses to the question, “Have you ever seen the SDG logo”?
4. Analysis of the results
4.1. Results overview
4.1.1. General knowledge regarding the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda
The main objective of this thematic block of questions was to quantitatively determine the
general level of knowledge that the Spanish population has about the SDGs and the 2030
Agenda. Without referring to the specific research topic, the first question was aimed at
determining the level of recognition of the SDG logo by displaying an image of the wheel
-
shaped emblem with the 17 colours that represent the UN initiative. In response to this question,
57% said they had never seen it, 28% said they had seen it, and 15% did not know or did not
answer, as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Responses to the question, “Have you ever seen the SDG logo”?
Source: created by the author
In the second question, the first reference to the main topic of the research appears, as citizens
are asked to make a self
-
assessment of their own level of knowledge on the subject. The
question is, “On a scale of 1
-
10, where 1 means 'zero' and 10 means 'highest', could you indicate
your level of knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030
Agenda?” As shown in Figure 5, the highest percentage of people (36.75%) gave themselves
the lowest score (1), and it is striking that 68.75% of the respondents admit to having
insufficient knowledge about the issue, which is the collective percentage of scores below 5.
Moreover, the average score calculated by dividing the sum of all the scores by 400 interviews
that comprise the sample is 3.27 out of 10. By gender, women show an average level of
knowledge of 3.38 out of 10, slightly higher than that of men, which is 3.17.
In terms of age, adults aged 34
-
44 have the highest scores (3.63 out of 10), while the 25
-
34 and
45-
54 age groups are at the bottom (3.0).
28%
57%
15%
Yes (113)
No (228)
Does not know /
No answer given
(59)
Source: created by the author
In the second question, the rst reference to the main topic of the research appears, as citizens are asked to make a self-
assessment of their own level of knowledge on the subject. e question is,
On a scale of 1-10, where 1 means ‘zero’ and 10 means
‘highest’, could you indicate your level of knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda
? As
shown in Figure 5, the highest percentage of people (36.75%) gave themselves the lowest score (1), and it is striking that 68.75%
of the respondents admit to having insucient knowledge about the issue, which is the collective percentage of scores below 5.
Moreover, the average score calculated by dividing the sum of all the scores by 400 interviews that comprise the sample is 3.27
out of 10. By gender, women show an average level of knowledge of 3.38 out of 10, slightly higher than that of men, which is 3.17.
In terms of age, adults aged 34-44 have the highest scores (3.63 out of 10), while the 25-34 and 45-54 age groups are at the bottom
(3.0).
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Figure 5. Level of knowledge about the SDGs and Agenda 2030
Figure 5. Level of knowledge about the SDGs and Agenda 2030
Source: created by the author
In order to determine whether citizens are aware of the organisation that has been promoting
this action plan to help both people and planet Earth, the choices given were the European
Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the
Organisation for Economic Co
-
operation and Development (OECD) and, finally, the
participants were offered the option of answering
, “I don't
know
”.
As can be seen in Figure 6,
the findings show that 50.75% of the interviewees do not know which organisation initiated the
SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, and it is interesting to note that the response with the second
highest percentage, 24%, is wrong, as nearly 25% state that the EU enacted the SDGs and the
2030 Agenda. The correct answer is the UN, which is in third place, as only 17% of the
respondents gave this answer.
36,75%
12,25%
12%
7,75%
13,25%
5,75%5,75%
2%
3,75%
0,75%
12345678910
Source: created by the author
In order to determine whether citizens are aware of the organisation that has been promoting this action plan to help both
people and planet Earth, the choices given were the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and, nally, the participants were
oered the option of answering, “I don’t know”. As can be seen in Figure 6, the ndings show that 50.75% of the interviewees do
not know which organisation initiated the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, and it is interesting to note that the response with the
second highest percentage, 24%, is wrong, as nearly 25% state that the EU enacted the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. e correct
answer is the UN, which is in third place, as only 17% of the respondents gave this answer.
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Figure 6. Responses to the question, “Of the following international organisations, which one enacted the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda?”
Figure 6. Responses to the question, “Of the following international organisations, which one
enacted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda?”
Another question asked the respondents to state the number of goals that comprise the SDGs
and the 2030 Agenda. A total of 90.75% either did not know the answer, or simply did not
answer the question. Although the remaining 9.25% claimed to know how many there were,
only 2% of the sample gave the correct answer, which is 17 goals.
To determine whether communication campaigns regarding the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda
have been successful since the enactment of this action plan at the end of 2015, citizens were
asked whether they could remember approximately how long they had been aware of this issue.
While the majority of respondents (61.75%) said they either did not know or preferred not to
answer, 5.5% said they had been aware of the SDGs since their approval in 2015, 16.25% said
they had become aware of them sometime during the first five years after their enactment (2016
-
2020), 10.75% became aware of their existence during the years 2020 and 2021, and 5.75%
believed they had become aware of them during the last few months, or in other words, from
the beginning of 2022.
Finally, they were asked if they were aware that the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda are part of the
name of a Spanish government ministry, which is the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030
Agenda.
The results show that the highest percentage of the respondents, 34.25%, did not know
that this Ministry existed, followed by 18.25% who did not know the exact name, and 19%
were familiar with it, but it was the first time they had heard the name of this government body.
Only 17% said they knew the name of the Ministry, and 11.5% chose not to answer or did not
know.
4.1.2. Frequency of publication of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in dissemination channels
24%
17%
1%
7,25%
50,75%
EUUNNATOOECD
I don’t know
Source: created by the author
Another question asked the respondents to state the number of goals that comprise the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. A total of
90.75% either did not know the answer, or simply did not answer the question. Although the remaining 9.25% claimed to know
how many there were, only 2% of the sample gave the correct answer, which is 17 goals.
To determine whether communication campaigns regarding the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda have been successful since the
enactment of this action plan at the end of 2015, citizens were asked whether they could remember approximately how long they
had been aware of this issue. While the majority of respondents (61.75%) said they either did not know or preferred not to answer,
5.5% said they had been aware of the SDGs since their approval in 2015, 16.25% said they had become aware of them sometime
during the rst ve years after their enactment (2016-2020), 10.75% became aware of their existence during the years 2020 and
2021, and 5.75% believed they had become aware of them during the last few months, or in other words, from the beginning of
2022.
Finally, they were asked if they were aware that the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda are part of the name of a Spanish government
ministry, which is the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda. e results show that the highest percentage of the
respondents, 34.25%, did not know that this Ministry existed, followed by 18.25% who did not know the exact name, and 19% were
familiar with it, but it was the rst time they had heard the name of this government body. Only 17% said they knew the name of
the Ministry, and 11.5% chose not to answer or did not know.
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4.1.2. Frequency of publication of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in dissemination channels
In this block of questions, the aim was to discover the main sources or media through which the Spanish population has learned
about the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, since its enactment in 2015, according to the frequency with which they have received
content on this topic.
Firstly, with regard to the question.
On a scale of 1-10, where 1 means ‘zero’ and 10 means ‘highest’, what is the frequency with which
you have received information about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda through the media, such as
newspapers in paper format, the digital press, radio, or television?
e highest percentage of the interviewees (37%) responded
with the lowest score, which is 1. In addition, 75.25% of the respondents gave a rating of less than 5 regarding the frequency with
which they had learned about this subject through the media, with an average score of 3.05.
When asked about the frequency with which they have received information about this topic through social networks (e.g. Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube), the majority of the respondents gave the lowest score, which is 1, but with
a percentage of 52%, considerably higher than that of the mass media. In this case, the scores below 5 represent 80.5%, and the
average is 2.57.
One dissemination channel of great interest for this research is that of institutional publicity carried out by government bodies,
due to the fact that various studies have made reference to several communication campaigns developed by these organisations
to disseminate the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda among Spanish society, as outlined in the theoretical framework of this article. To
obtain data on whether these campaigns are eective, when the population was asked about the frequency with which they had
received information on this subject through publicity carried out by the Spanish government, the autonomous regions, or town
halls, once again the highest percentage of interviewees (42%) responded with the lowest score (1). In this case, scores below 5
represent 73.25% of the total, and the average stands at 3.03.
Finally, in terms of the frequency with which citizens have received information about the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda through
communication and advertising by companies, the same trend is repeated, with the lowest score (1) being given by the highest
percentage of people (53%). In this case, scores below 5 represent 81.75%, and the average stands at 2.45.
To summarise this block of questions, Table 1 shows a comparison of the frequency of knowledge received about the SDGs and
the 2030 Agenda by the Spanish population through the four dissemination channels mentioned above. As can be seen, the
general trend is that the highest percentages of the respondents gave the lowest score (1) with regard to the amount of information
received about this topic. ereafter, as the scores for the diusion frequency of information increased, the percentages of
respondents who gave these scores gradually decreased. In the end, the highest scores for the frequency of information received
were given by the lowest percentages of respondents.
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Table 1. Comparison of the diusion frequency of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in dierent dissemination channels
Table 1. Comparison of the diffusion frequency of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in
different
dissemination channels
FREQUENCY
Media
companies
Social
networks
Institutional
publicity
and
communication
Company
communication
1
37.00%
52.25%
42.50%
53.00%
2
16.25%
14.50%
14.00%
13.75%
3
14.00%
8.25%
9.25%
9.50%
4
8.00%
5.50%
7.50%
5.50%
5
8.75%
7.25%
9.50%
8.00%
6
4.75%
3.25%
5.00%
4.25%
7
4.25%
2.50%
4.75%
2.50%
8
4.50%
4.50%
4.25%
1.25%
9
1.75%
0.75%
2.75%
1.50%
10
0.75%
1.25%
0.50%
0.75%
Especially noteworthy is the small amount of information citizens claim to have received
through company communications and advertising (53%) and social networks (52.25%). These
two media show the lowest average values of information diffused, as mentioned above (2.45
and 2.57 respectively), and also have the highest percentages of citizens who state having
knowledge of less than a score of 5 (81.75% and 80.50%, respectively).
4.1.3. Opinions regarding the dissemination of the SDGs and the 2030
Agenda
In the last block of questions, the aim was to learn more about Spanish society's opinion
regarding the SDGs and 2030 Agenda, especially aspects related to the communication and
dissemination of this action plan.
Firstly, when asked who currently leads in the dissemination of information on this issue, the
majority (48.75%) said it is the Spanish government, the autonomous regions, and town halls,
followed by the media (23.25%), other bodies (13.5%), companies and the private sector (8%)
and citizen organisations (6.5%). When the same question was asked hypothetically, the
percentage who believe that public institutions should carry out this task is considerably higher
(67.25%), and the rest are lower: 17.25% say it should be done by the media; 8% say other
bodies; 4.25% mention companies and the private sector; and 3.25% say it should be done by
citizen organisations.
Source: created by the author
Especially noteworthy is the small amount of information citizens claim to have received through company communications
and advertising (53%) and social networks (52.25%). ese two media show the lowest average values of information diused, as
mentioned above (2.45 and 2.57 respectively), and also have the highest percentages of citizens who state having knowledge of
less than a score of 5 (81.75% and 80.50%, respectively).
4.1.3. Opinions regarding the dissemination of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda
In the last block of questions, the aim was to learn more about Spanish society’s opinion regarding the SDGs and 2030 Agenda,
especially aspects related to the communication and dissemination of this action plan.
Firstly, when asked who currently leads in the dissemination of information on this issue, the majority (48.75%) said it is the
Spanish government, the autonomous regions, and town halls, followed by the media (23.25%), other bodies (13.5%), companies
and the private sector (8%) and citizen organisations (6.5%). When the same question was asked hypothetically, the percentage
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who believe that public institutions should carry out this task is considerably higher (67.25%), and the rest are lower: 17.25% say
it should be done by the media; 8% say other bodies; 4.25% mention companies and the private sector; and 3.25% say it should
be done by citizen organisations.
Regarding whether they believe a larger amount of communication on the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda would make their
attainment more likely, 67% said yes, while 11% disagreed, and 22% did not know or declined to answer. Continuing along the
same lines, with regard to audience preference, citizens were asked whether they believe that issues such as sustainability, social
responsibility, respect for the environment, social equality, and sustainable development should have a stronger presence in
advertising and communication campaigns. A total of 76.25% answered yes, 9.75% said no, and 14% did not know or did not
answer.
e citizens were also asked their opinion about whether they believe that having more knowledge about the SDGs and the 2030
Agenda would make them more likely to be fullled. In this case, 71.75% answered yes, while 11% said no, and 17.25% did not
know or did not answer.
Finally, in order to discover the opinion of Spaniards as to whether or not the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda will be achieved, the
following question was asked:
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 meaning ‘no progress will be made’, and 10 meaning ‘all the goals will
be achieved to the maximum extent’, what do you think will be the degree of fullment or eectiveness, generally speaking, of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda?
e results are not optimistic. In addition to the fact that the highest
percentage of respondents (21.75%) gave the lowest score (in other words, this percentage represents those who think that ‘no
progress will be made’), a large majority (64.25%) believe that the level of achievement will be below 5.
4.2. Access to information according to the degree of knowledge
After the survey was analysed to determine the degree of knowledge that the Spanish population claim to have about the SDGs
and the 2030 Agenda, the results have enabled the establishment of a pattern or prole of people with a very low level of knowledge
on this issue, as well as those with an expert level of knowledge about the UN action plan.
Based on the lowest scores (1 and 2) and the highest (9 and 10), the specic proles of these samples (196 and 18, respectively)
have been analysed. us, as can be seen in Table 2, the socio-demographic prole of the population with the least amount of
knowledge about the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda are men over 65 years of age, with a monthly income of between 1,603 and 2,145
euros, and with an educational level of vocational training, either basic or advanced. Regarding the prole with the highest level
of knowledge, this is mainly composed of women over 65 years of age, with a monthly income of between 1,603 and 2,145 euros,
also with vocational training, either basic or advanced. In summary, with the exception of gender, the characteristics of both
proles are quite similar.
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Table 2. Comparison of the diusion frequency of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in dierent dissemination channels
LOW LEVEL OF
KNOWLEDGE (N=196)
HIGH LEVEL OF
KNOWLEDGE (N=18)
GENDER
Men57.14%38.89%
Women42.86%61.11%
AGE
18-248.16%11.11%
25-3414.29%16.67%
35-4415.31%22.22%
45-5419.39%5.56%
55-6413.76%16.67%
Over 65
29.09%27.78%
INCOME
iA1 (3,005 euros o more)
8.16%16.67%
iA2 (2,452 to 3,005 euros)
19.39%11.11%
iB (2,146 to 2451 euros)
17.35%11.11%
iC (1,603 to 2,145 euros)
28.57%33.33%
iD (1,313 to 1,602 euros)
11.73%11.11%
iE1 (745 to 1,312 euros)
12.76%11.11%
iE2 (less than 745 euros)
2.04%5.56%
EDUCATION
No formal education (primary school not completed)
2.04%5.56%
Primary education
1.53%5.56%
Compulsory secondary education
9.69%5.56%
6th Form or Vocational Training (basic or high level)
37.24%38.89%
Bachelor’s Degree
17.86%16.67%
Bachelor’s Degree (5-6 years) technical engineering. etc.
14.80%0
Master’s Degree
13.78%5.56%
PhD3.06%22.22%
Source: created by the author
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Finally, when comparing the specic proles with the diusion frequency of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in dierent
dissemination channels, it has been found that the Spanish population with the most knowledge on this subject have been
informed mainly through publicity and communication carried out by public institutions, as well as companies (in both cases,
the percentage is 77.78%), followed by social networks (72.22%), and in last place through the mass media (67%). However, in
the case of citizens with the least amount of knowledge, only 1.02% claim to have learned about the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda
through companies, and 2.04% through social networks, with the mass media and public institutions showing the highest gures
at 3% and 3.03%, respectively.
5. Discussion and conclusions
e research herein has measured the level of knowledge that Spanish society have about the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, the aim
which is to analyse in a general way the eects that the communication campaigns carried out to date have had on this initiative.
e main ndings conrm that there is considerable ignorance on the issue, with an average score of 3.27 out of 10. In response to
RQ1, only 28% recognise its logo, and the majority are confused. ey do not know which organisation has approved the initiative,
nor exactly how many goals there are, nor are they aware that a Spanish Government Ministry includes the 2030 Agenda in its
name.
One factor that may have inuenced citizens’ perception of having a low level of awareness of the initiative could be the scant
number of eorts made to disseminate the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda during the rst few years following its approval in Spain
(Gómez-Gil, 2018). However, the data from this study have veried that only in the last few years, even with large-scale campaigns
such as the one mentioned by Boto-Alvarez and García-Fernández (2020), which consisted of including the logo of the SDGs in
all institutional communications by the government, these might not be eective or sucient.
e data provided in this research also conrm that the goal of making 100% of the Spanish population familiar with the 2030
Agenda, and making them aware of the scope of the transformation it entails, has not been achieved (Government of Spain,
2019). Furthermore, what is clear is that this goal is still a long way o in the opinion of the tiny percentage of citizens who have
substantial knowledge about the plan.
In line with SO1, and in order to answer RQ2, this study has determined the characteristics of the populations with the lowest and
highest amount of knowledge on the issue: the prole with the least amount of knowledge consists mostly of men, while the prole
with the most knowledge is comprised mainly of women. With regard to other factors, they are quite similar in both cases: over 65
years old, with a monthly income level between 1,603 and 2,145 euros, and with an education level of vocational training, either
basic or advanced. Furthermore, an interesting conclusion regarding SO2 is that people who claim to have expert knowledge on
the SDGs state that they have been informed mainly through communication by public institutions and companies.
In comparing the results of this study with similar research at the national and international level, it is unusual to nd surveys
that assure that the majority of the population claim to be aware of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, with the exception of the
World Economic Forum (2019). erefore, the survey conducted for the present research is in line with those that have found a
low level of knowledge regarding the goals (e SDG Communicator, 2017;
Rede Conhecimento Social
, 2018;
CIS
, 2019;
CIS
, 2020;
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Focus 2030, 2022). However, in relation to the population proles that have higher and lower levels of knowledge, this research
has found some discrepancies with other surveys. For example, although the data obtained at the international level by
AIESEC
International
(2020) points to a high level of knowledge among young people, the survey conducted for the present article has
found much lower levels for this population in Spain, highlighting other groups that have more knowledge, such as those aged
35-44, or those over 65. It should be noted, however, that 71% of young Spaniards are very or extremely concerned about climate
change, exceeding the European average of 46% (Alliance for Solidarity, 2021), so the low rates mentioned above refer only to
their knowledge of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, and not whether they are mobilised by the content and values of the action
plan.
In response to RQ3 regarding the diusion frequency of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, in relation to the communication
campaigns carried out by the various actors responsible for their dissemination to the Spanish population, the values are very
low among the four channels analysed, which is a clear example of the supercial commitment to this action plan noted by
Heras-Saizarbitoria et al. (2022). e average scores were 3.05 out of 10 for diusion frequency in the media and 3.03 out of 10
for institutional publicity and communication carried out by public administrations. ese gures are slightly higher than those
detected in social networks at 2.57, and advertising and communication carried out by companies at 2.45. Along these lines,
the majority of the citizens surveyed believe that public entities are currently leading the dissemination of this issue among
the Spanish population, but an even higher percentage believe that government institutions should make an even stronger
commitment and take a more prominent role. is idea is an example of the active role that Cummings et al. (2018) demand of
certain actors in society, so that the SDGs and sustainability do not become just a passing fad (ElAlfy et al., 2020), which is typical
of those who resort to the multiple dimensions of
washing
.
e study by these authors also reects the importance of knowledge, especially in raising awareness among the Spanish
population about the scope of the transformations entailed in the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda (Government of Spain, 2018). In
order for them to be successful and become a reality, society must be aware of them and know that they exist (Easterly, 2015).
Moreover, communication needs to play a fundamental role, as it has until now, in raising awareness of the transforming power of
sustainable development (Díaz-Bordenave, 1998; Toro; Rodríguez, 2001; Manfredi-Mayoral, 2006; Servaes, 2007). In line with the
foregoing arguments and the proposal of SO3, the majority of the respondents in this study sample believe that a larger amount of
communication content and more knowledge about the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda could make them more likely to be achieved.
In short, this article has attempted to provide an overview of the knowledge that exists in Spain about the initiative promoted by
the UN in 2015, with a vision toward meeting the goals and targets outlined for the year 2030. is research and its main ndings
are intended to serve as a starting point for future studies, which could address the way in which the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda
are communicated from more specic perspectives, and in greater depth.
e main limitation of this study is precisely the restricted variety of dissemination channels through which citizens acquire
knowledge on this issue, such as those analysed in this article: the media, social networks, institutional publicity and
communication, and corporate communication. ese are highly diverse elds with very dierent characteristics, and each of
them would be of interest for future research and analysis. Another recommendation for a future line of study would be to analyse
each of the actions and campaigns related to communication of SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, in order to determine those that
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are more eective, as well as those that are less successful, and to assess whether there has been a sucient amount of such
communication, when such actions and campaigns are considered as a whole.
6. Acknowledgements
e author would like to thank José Manuel Pavía Miralles, who is a Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the
Universitat de València, in addition to serving as Director of the Research Group on Electoral Processes and Public Opinion, as
well as Julián Cárdenas Herrera, Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the Universitat de València,
for their active collaboration in reviewing and validating the questionnaire upon which the methodology of this article is based.
Gratitude must also be given to Professors Germán Llorca-Abad, Lorena Cano-Orón, and José María Herranz de la Casa for their
comments and guidance throughout the entire research process. Finally, the author would like to thank Charles Arthur for his
diligence in translating the article into English, maintaining the spirit of the original text.
7. Conict of interest
e author declares that there is no conict of interest contained in this article.
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