It is almost a year since COVID-19 gripped the world, but there is no end in sight. With the virus set to persist into the near future, the United Nations has announced Guiding Principles for the rollout of the UN framework “Building Back Better” — an immediate country-level socio-economic response to COVID-19. The focus, understandably, is on near-term economic recovery, but it is also on turning the crisis into an opening to steer economies towards more sustainable trajectories. Agendas such as the year 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) may not have anticipated pandemics, but may be still relevant as guiding principles in the transition to a green economy.