Photos of a beach on Henderson Island in the Pacific Ocean provides yet more evidence of the detrimental impact that packaging and other plastics waste is having on the environment globally. Creating a virtuous circle out of what, until now, has largely been a chain of production from feedstock to consumer will not be easy. But it is the innovation aspect that has fired the imagination of producers, processors and corporate consumers of plastics packaging. This fits with SDG 9.4 to upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes and SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy.
The marketing value of the concept of ecotourism is now very low, as there is very little evidence that it delivers. Many people in the developing world are unable to visit National Parks and suffer only negative impacts – loss of access for meat, fruits, thatching grass and land for agriculture. How does a consumer or tour operator identify wildlife operators and conservancies that are really making a contribution? Either to wildlife and habitat conservation or to the livelihoods of local communities to ensure that they benefit from conservation?
The winner of the first ever Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge, Dr Suzana Yusup, invited Rob van Daalen (publisher Chemistry and initiator of the Challenge) to make a site visit to see the progress of her project "Biopesticide for Improvement of Paddy Yield". The visit made clear that the Elsevier sustainability program and specifically this challenge have a positive impact on health, environment and society in local communities in Malaysia, enhancing efforts to advance SDGs 1, 6, 12 and 15.
This article highlights one of the winning proposals of the Elsevier Foundation Green & Sustainable Chemistry Challenge - “Biopesticides for improved paddy yield” - led by researcher Dr. Suzana Yusup. Her work shows how bio-pesticides can be safer and more effective than traditional pesticides, contributing to SDGs 8, 12, 13 and 15.
The 2017 Responsible Tourism Awards, presented during World Responsible Tourism Day, are focused on the SDGs. The first three categories are looking for specific contributions to SDG 8, SDG 12, SDG 3 whilst the remaining two categories are open to businesses and other tourism organisations supporting the remaining 14 SDGs. Entries close on 31 August 2017.
Livestock has disappeared from swathes of England in the past 50 years as many growers became increasingly specialised. However as our soils increasingly suffer leaching, erosion and compaction from ever-heavier modern machinery, more and more arable farmers are reaping the benefits of bringing sheep and cattle back on to the land. Such measures help support SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production.
Critics claim that maize can cause unwanted environmental impacts. But supporters of the crop are able to show how by use of cover crops it can be grown responsibly, reducing or eliminating, for example, nutrient leaching and soil erosion. In south-west England, a Wessex Water project is using cover crops to protect and improve drinking water quality by working with growers whose farms surround boreholes and reservoirs that supply water for human consumption. Steps like this can contribute to SDG 6 to ensure sustainable management of water and SDG 12 to ensure sustainable production.
The Blueprint for Business Leadership on the SDGs aims to inspire all business — regardless of size, sector or geography — to take leading action in support of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It illustrates how the five leadership qualities of Ambition, Collaboration, Accountability, Consistency, and Intentional can be applied to a business' strategy, business model, products, supply chain, partnerships, and operations to raise the bar and create impact at scale. The Blueprint is a tool for any business that is ready to advance its principled approach to SDG action to become a leader. This chapter relates specifically to SDG 12.
2017 is the UN’s International Year of Sustainable Development through Tourism, the spotlight is going to be shone on the industry’s contribution to sustainable development in destinations. Businesses in the sector, in originating markets and destinations, often talk about the contribution that the industry makes to development in destinations. But when the spotlight is shone what evidence will we have to share with the UN and other sectors? How convincing is our case? What evidence can we provide that out contribution is real and significant?
Israeli startup tech firm SuperMeat is attracting substantial crowd funding to support its development of chicken meat grown in a laboratory. This technological solution could open the door to an affordable and sustainable source of human food. Developing sustainable sources of conventional meat will contribute to the advancement of SDG 12.2 to achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources in the food sector and address SDG 2 zero hunger.
