Macquarie showcases sustainability leadership at Global Sustainable Development Congress in Jakarta

Associate Professor Fatemeh Salehi, Feargal Caley, Associate Professor Fiona Miller, Professor Kristian Ruming and Professor Abhay Singh represented Macquarie University at the Global Sustainable Development Congress (GSDC) in Jakarta, one of the world’s leading forums focused on advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Held at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition, attracting more than 5,000 attendees, the Congress brought together universities, government, industry, civil society and sustainability leaders to accelerate sustainable transformation through dialogue, collaboration and practical action.

Macquarie’s participation was an opportunity to showcase the University’s sustainability expertise, strengthen its visibility across the Asia-Pacific region and engage with partners from around the world.

Led by Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Engagement and Sustainability in the Faculty of Science and Engineering Fatemeh Salehi, the team highlighted Macquarie's contributions by presenting significant research under the theme 'Sustainability in Action'. This work spans biodiversity, ecosystem futures, smart green cities, living seawalls, synthetic biology, environmental law, nature-positive finance, emerging risks, energy markets and the net-zero transition.

Associate Professor Salehi, who also serves as Hub Chair for UNAI SDG 15, said advancing the Sustainable Development Goals requires universities and employers to move beyond consultation to genuine co-design and co-delivery.

"It was powerful to engage with universities and partners from Indonesia, the UK, India, South Africa, Australia, China and Singapore, and to discuss how we can work together to translate sustainability ambitions into practical outcomes."

Associate Professor Fiona Miller, Director, Housing and Urban Research Centre said The University’s presence highlighted growing leadership in sustainability.

“The event reinforced the value of cross-faculty collaboration and helped identify opportunities to further strengthen sustainability performance across research, teaching, community engagement and institutional practice.”

Professor Abhay Singh, Director of Nature Positive Finance and Business Research Centre said the sustainability challenges surpass between universities and industry, and neither should the solutions.

"GSDC 2026 made clear how eager universities are to collaborate, not just on research but on teaching too. From joint projects to shared curricula, there is real scope to engage further and help shape how the next generation learns about sustainable finance."