Abstract
In September 2015, world leaders came together at a historic United Nations (UN) summit where the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) were developed. Acknowledging the fact that humanity only has one beautiful planet earth and no other alternative. Some of the main points of the UN-SDGs is to combat climate change, eradicate poverty and inequality, and the idea of leaving no-one behind for a peaceful and sustainable planet earth.
To date several countries, private and public organizations have taken significant steps in achieving the sustainable development goals using their own innovative methods. The climate–water–energy–food nexus; environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) reporting, are some examples among many others that are being advocated as conceptual methods for achieving sustainable development. However, not all the current solutions clearly or sufficiently include thoughts on sustainability. Therefore, there is much room for other solutions. This thesis explored two emerging concepts: Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies and the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy (CE), with the aim of contributing positively to the UN-SDGs. The concepts were applied to a number of key sectors such as the built environment, information technology, education, sanitation, climate, farming, mining, water, energy and food. International and local (South Africa) policies, and roadmaps were also compared, and suggested solutions were mentioned in order to achieve sustainability. The application and testing process was in the form of prototypes and simulations. The results from these tests were published in journals, book chapters and conference publications.
The results had shown that the transition to a circular economy has yielded substantial benefits globally, but it is still in its nascent form in a number of sectors. By including circularity, we can achieve; sustainability, reduce waste, better business models, increase profits, job creation and energy efficiency. Similarly, whilst some view the new 4IR as a threat, we noticed that this is not the case, rather smarter technologies have offered additional instruments to expedite progress toward fulfilling the 2030 Agenda's goals. Research had also shown that COVID-19 has delayed systems and mechanisms in achieving the goals by 2030. Concepts such as CE, 4IR technologies and future Fifth industrial revolution (5IR) innovations could assist in speeding up the process and have a positive impact on the UN-SDGs.
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science iii
University of Johannesburg
The most notable results and outcomes from the application and testing phases across the key sectors included:
The built environment has already begun CE implementations. De-carbonization within the sector can be further assisted with 4IR technologies by digitally marking materials.
It was found in the information technology sector, that both the proposed tools can be used to analyse data centers systematically, control their mining, and have a favourable influence on the UN-SDGs. Furthermore, newer technological advancements can lead to greener and sustainable energy and water usage. At least six of the goals are positively and directly affected.
Results had also indicated that the climate-water-energy-food nexus approach may not be the greatest way for clearly or adequately including concerns on sustainability. Climate change cannot be solely solved with one solution, rather a range of solutions, Therefore, the addition of 4IR technologies and a transition to CE can assist. Additionally, CE and 4IR technologies proved helpful with respect to the farming and mining industry. This has a ripple effect on the climate-water-energy-food nexus and the SDGs.
4IR technologies and CE within the sanitation sector is lacking. An Internet of Things (IoT) prototype was developed which was tried and tested in university bathrooms. The implementation improves on existing traditional approaches in terms of efficiency and efficacy, but importantly in achieving SDG 6.3.
Education towards 4IR technologies, CE and the UN-SDGs is still lacking. Therefore, a Makerspace concept was developed. This eco-system leads to achieving some of the SDGs.
Finally, current government policies aren’t sufficient; therefore, improvements and additions to local and international policies are suggested.
Whilst this study showed much premise, it also showed that there is much room for future work efforts by scholars and researchers. Hypothetical and futuristic suggestions are conceptualized so that this thesis also serves as a basis for future work efforts aimed at achieving the goals.
In conclusion, as traditional solutions have proven ineffective in tackling sustainability issues, innovative ways to achieve the UN-SDGs have emerged in the form of circular economy and 4IR smart technologies. There is plenty of room for improvement. Our happiness is influenced by the environment in which we live. The future is now, and sustainability is something that applies to all.