World Efficiency Solutions (WES) is the premier international meeting for the low-carbon and resource-efficient economy focussed on creating the low-carbon and resource-efficient market place. WES was first held in 2015 in Paris during COP21 negotiations, focusing on climate change solutions. World Efficiency develops a new environment consensus: economic and human activities must, to be sustainable, be redesigned to limit their impact on the environment while awareness of the planetary limits (climate change and resources scarcity) becomes widespread. A key objective for WES 2017 is to Identify new market opportunities aligned to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (estimated market opportunities are larger than USD 12 trillion) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change from 2015.
This book presents the country development diagnostics post-2015 framework, developed by the World Bank Group to assess the country-level implications of the post-2015 global agenda, as well as brief, ‘at-a-glance’ applications of the framework to ten countries: Ethiopia, Jamaica, the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Senegal, and Uganda.
This article highlights the winning proposals of the second edition of the Elsevier Foundation Green & Sustainable Chemistry Challenge. The winning proposals were chosen for their innovative green chemistry aspects and their large positive impact on the environment, contributing to SDGs 3, 8, 13 and 15.
Field trial visit to the Center of Excellence for Rice in Malaysia, left to right: Shahrizal Abdul, Rob van Daalen, Raudhah Talib, Dr. Suzana Yusup, Noor Hafizah Ramli and Abu Bakar Ahmad.
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 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 15.
In the US, land owners are liable for environmental impacts in relation to contaminated land. This Lexis Practice Advisor practice note explains what due diligence should be carried out in relation to the purchase of land/buildings to assess the environmental risk. Environmental due diligence advances SDG 3.9 to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination, and generally supports SDG 11 Sustainable cities and SDG 15 Life on land.
The state of nature report has revealed that more than half of UK wildlife species studied have declined since 1970. This decline has been linked to intensive farming practices although farm leaders have disputed the findings. Understanding these issues and the role of agriculture will contribute to the advancement of SDG 15.5 to take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.
An autonomous harvester starts to cut robot-grown barley
The groundbreaking Hands Free Hectare project has just seen its first harvest. This £200,000 Innovation UK-funded project by Harper Adams University with Precision Decisions has modified existing machinery to drill, sow, spray and harvest the crop without any human control. The project aims to show how automation can facilitate a sustainable farming system where multiple smaller, lighter machines will enter the field, minimising the level of compaction (SDG 15, life on land and SDG 9, industry, innovation and infrastructure).
This article highlights the winning proposals of the first edition of the Elsevier Foundation Green & Sustainable Chemistry Challenge. The winning proposals were chosen for their innovative green chemistry aspects and their large positive impact on the environment, contributing to SDGs 6, 12 and 15.

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