This article argues that journalism scholars and practitioners worldwide should not view 2030, i.e. the year in which the UN Agenda sustainable development goals are to be fulfilled, as a symbolic date, but instead as a real deadline. Such a posture could spur discussion about what more the media could do in these remaining years to promote sustainable development, as well as concrete action. To normatively support such a process in this context, the purpose of this contribution is to suggest news value criteria tailored to manage the challenges of sustainable development. They presuppose a well-functioning relationship between the media’s business and planetary needs. The former concern how to finance journalism and attract audiences/users, while the latter concern what kind of journalism a sustainable world de facto requires. The proposed news value criteria could serve as a point of departure for the development of sustainability-oriented news, which could be jointly tested and configurated by scholars and practitioners.