  The commercial launch of 6G communications systems and United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals, UN SDGs, are both targeted for 2030. 6G
communications is expected to boost global growth and productivity, create new
business models and transform many aspects of society. The UN SDGs are a way of
framing opportunities and challenges of a desirable future world and cover
topics as broad as ending poverty, gender equality, climate change and smart
cities. The relationship between these potentially mutually reinforcing forces
is currently under-defined. Building on the vision for 6G, a review of
megatrends, on-going activities on the relation of mobile communications to the
UN SDGs and existing indicators, a novel linkage between 6G and the UN SDGs is
proposed via indicators. The white paper has also launched the work of deriving
new 6G related indicators to guide the research of 6G systems. The novel
linkage is built on the envisaged three-fold role of 6G as a provider of
services to help steer and support communities and countries towards reaching
the UN SDGs, as an enabler of measuring tool for data collection to help
reporting of indicators with hyperlocal granularity, and as a reinforcer of new
ecosystems based on 6G technology enablers and 6G network of networks to be
developed in line with the UN SDGs that incorporates future mobile
communication technologies available in 2030. Related challenges are also
identified. An action plan is presented along with prioritized focus areas
within the mobile communication sector technology and industry evolution to
best support the achievement of the UN SDGs.
