Engineering for Sustainable Development Goals

"Meeting the demands of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs" is a popular definition of sustainability. This must be translated into a clear understanding of what sustainability means for their companies, including KPIs and objectives, by businesses of all sizes and across all industries. The secret to demystifying sustainability for any firm is to link it to essential business objectives, including financial measures. Let's examine some important sustainability issues as well as the measures that affect engineering and construction organizations.

In lieu of the 17 Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to end extreme poverty and hunger, advance economic prosperity, enhance public health and education, and safeguard the environment. Sustainable Development Goals are a strong call to action from the UN, which expects nations to follow and report on a defined set of objectives in order to create a more sustainable world by 2030. Engineers' expertise will be needed to realize the newest Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN. Here is how they can help.

Engineering expertise will be essential to achieving the objectives of many of these goals, according to Dr. Marlene Kanga, a former Engineers Australia National President and the WFEO's President-Elect. The availability of renewable energy sources (Goal 7), building robust and resilient infrastructure (Goal 9) and establishing liveable cities, she added, are significant goals where engineers can play a role (Goal 11).

There are particular objectives for each of the goals, including one to make cities more sustainable with targets to enhance affordable housing and access to sustainable transportation by 2030 and another to double the pace of progress in energy efficiency by that year (Goal 11). Integrated engineering solutions that offer robust infrastructure, sustainable energy, and access to cutting-edge communication technologies are required to meet many of these goals. It's also critical to bridge the digital gap, which prevents the majority of the world's population from having internet access.

To provide the tools for integrated solutions for sustainable development, engineers will need to make use of both currently available and widely used technologies as well as upcoming developments in ICT, including next-generation mobile broadband, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and others.

The engineering community will face challenges as it works to achieve milestones and solve some of the most challenging problems in the world because of the vastness of the field. The more important query is, however, how might engineers assist in the achievement of these objectives? The question of how engineers from various fields, sectors, and locations collaborate and use ethical standards to uphold these objectives is also crucial.

“A lot of employers have their own sustainability guidelines, but none from a whole-of-engineering perspective,” said National Manager of Engineer Australia’s Learned Society, Sheryl Harrington. “If engineers know the context in which to be sustainable, it will make their jobs a lot easier.”

SDGs present a fantastic chance for engineers to demonstrate their leadership abilities. SDGs also have the potential to create new professions that may compete with engineers' interests if the engineers are unable to respond to the challenge. When it comes to sustainable development, engineers cannot remain impartial. The SDGs must be kept in mind while we go about our everyday tasks, and we must alter the way we approach design. Engineers will successfully contribute to the SDGs in this way.

New technologies are available to help your organization achieve SGD goals. Contact us today to learn more.

Sources: https://www.machinedesign.com/automation-iiot/art... ; https://createdigital.org.au/engineers-crucial-success-sdgs/#:~:text=Key%20UN%20SDGs%20for%20engineers,Foster%20innovation.; https://worldengineeringday.net/2020/03/07/do-engineers-have-the-right-tools-to-meet-the-un-sustainable-development-goals/ ; https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/engineers-role-un-...