ActNow: The UN’s Call to Action for a Sustainable Future

The United Nations’ ActNow campaign is encouraging individuals to take action now to advance the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and secure a healthier, more equitable planet. It aims to turn urgent collective ambition into daily, meaningful activities. 

Launched at COP 24 in December 2018, ActNow was introduced with a stirring call by Sir David Attenborough and the innovative “People’s Seat” initiative. What started off as a climate-centered campaign has now developed to cover all facets of sustainable development, regarding anything from clean energy to job creation, peace, and resilience.  

ActNow employs a series of accessible, tech-driven tools to inspire and track person-level action: 

• AWorld mobile app: Users track their carbon footprints, earn points, complete challenges, and receive personalized tips powered by AI 

• Chatbot interface: Available on the ActNow website and via Facebook/Instagram, the bot suggests everyday actions and logs them toward a growing global tally 

• WhatsApp integration: In collaboration with WhatsApp and Turn.io, the campaign offers automated tips and lets people choose and log sustainable actions directly via messaging  

Over 3 million individual actions were logged by mid-2021, showing strong grassroots engagement ahead of COP 26. The campaign increased that number to over 26 million by mid-2025, demonstrating a clear growth.  

Building a just society means turning values into daily practice: standing up for gender equality, teaching children fairness and respect for diversity, supporting education through scholarships and school resources, fighting hunger and food waste, advocating for universal health care and mental well-being, promoting accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities, and knowing and defending human rights by holding leaders accountable. 

With global progress toward the SDGs still lagging, individual behaviors cumulatively have enormous potential. The UN underscores that two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions stem from household consumption. Consumer choices can drive up to 55% of needed emissions cuts in energy systems, and as much as 40-70% by 2050 if consumption shifts toward clean transport and plant-based diets.  

ActNow not only provides tools and metrics but also offers motivation through community, rewards, creative storytelling, and policy-raised expectations. It demonstrates one simple truth: when millions act, meaningful change follows.  

For more information, please visit the UN ActNow website.