Given their importance to the survival of the planet and our societies, we should be tracking how the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 are influencing research activity worldwide. For example, scientific journals could develop a shared international coding system for tagging research publications according to their alignment with the SDGs and the 169 targets within them.

This would have several advantages. Scientists would have to ask themselves how their intended research could add value to the world’s commitment to reach the SDGs, which would encourage the development of interdisciplinary research synergies to combine multiple SDGs. Stakeholders could identify the most-investigated SDGs and those that need more research, thereby helping funding agencies to evaluate research priorities.

We invite research institutions, funding agencies and journals to consider this proposal as part of their contribution to a more equitable and sustainable world.