Sustainability is a principle of action directed at a liveable future. It means meeting the needs of today's generation without compromising the opportunities of generations to come.

Sustainability covers three closely interconnected areas: ecology — the responsible use of natural resources and the protection of our environment; economy — a stable, future-proof way of doing business; society — justice, education and social cohesion. Sustainable development is possible only when all three dimensions are in balance.

To move closer to this aim, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda in 2015 — a global framework signed by all member states. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be achieved by 2030. All 17 goals are presented on the sustainability table in this exhibition.

Plant–microbe research can contribute to several of these goals. Five goals related to this research are explained in more detail on the fold-out leaves of the sustainability table. Plants and microorganisms interact closely: they influence soil fertility, nutrient cycles and the stability of ecosystems, and in doing so they shape ecological, economic and social sustainability.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in September 2015 at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York by all member states of the United Nations. At its core are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are addressed explicitly to all countries — industrialised and developing alike — and form a shared framework for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.

Sustainability covers three closely connected areas: ecology, the responsible use of natural resources; economy, a stable and future-proof way of doing business; and society, meaning justice, education and social cohesion. Sustainable development requires all three to be in balance.

The SDGs build on decades of work. In 1992, more than 178 states adopted Agenda 21 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In September 2000 the Millennium Summit produced the Millennium Declaration and, from it, eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed at reducing extreme poverty by 2015. In 2012, at the Rio+20 conference, member states decided in the outcome document "The Future We Want" to launch a process for developing the SDGs; in 2013 the General Assembly set up a 30-member Open Working Group for that purpose, and negotiations began in January 2015.

Progress has since been reviewed annually at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Substantive support is provided by the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) within the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

The sustainability table in this exhibition presents all 17 goals; five of them are explained in more detail on fold-out leaves, because plant–microbe research can contribute to them. What that contribution will amount to in any individual case is the subject of ongoing research — the examples in this exhibition show approaches, not finished procedures.