Digitalization to achieve sustainable development goals: Steps towards a Smart Green Planet

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 403, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
² Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
³ Plant Protection Division, Head of Agricultural Pests Group, National Center for Animal and Plant Health (CENSA), Apartado 10, San José de las Lajas, Provincia Mayabeque, Cuba.
⁴ Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India; NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, School of Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
⁶ Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, 550 N3rd St, AZ 85004, United States.
⁷ School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁸ Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Department of Electrical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁹ Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 23, Ethiopia; Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Althanstr, 14, 1090 Wien, Austria.
¹⁰ Department of Geography, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur 610 005, India.
¹¹ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798, Singapore; Singapore Membrane Technology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 637141, Singapore.
¹² Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-3005, United States. Electronic address: Sergio.Garcia.Segura@asu.edu.

PMID: 34323742
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148539

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Digitalization to achieve sustainable development goals: Steps towards a Smart Green Planet

Maria E Mondejar et al. Sci Total Environ. 2021.

Free article

. 2021 Nov 10:794:148539.

doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148539. Epub 2021 Jun 19.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 403, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
² Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
³ Plant Protection Division, Head of Agricultural Pests Group, National Center for Animal and Plant Health (CENSA), Apartado 10, San José de las Lajas, Provincia Mayabeque, Cuba.
⁴ Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India; NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, School of Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
⁶ Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, 550 N3rd St, AZ 85004, United States.
⁷ School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁸ Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Department of Electrical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁹ Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 23, Ethiopia; Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Althanstr, 14, 1090 Wien, Austria.
¹⁰ Department of Geography, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur 610 005, India.
¹¹ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798, Singapore; Singapore Membrane Technology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 637141, Singapore.
¹² Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-3005, United States. Electronic address: Sergio.Garcia.Segura@asu.edu.

PMID: 34323742
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148539

Abstract

Digitalization provides access to an integrated network of unexploited big data with potential benefits for society and the environment. The development of smart systems connected to the internet of things can generate unique opportunities to strategically address challenges associated with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure an equitable, environmentally sustainable, and healthy society. This perspective describes the opportunities that digitalization can provide towards building the sustainable society of the future. Smart technologies are envisioned as game-changing tools, whereby their integration will benefit the three essential elements of the food-water-energy nexus: (i) sustainable food production; (ii) access to clean and safe potable water; and (iii) green energy generation and usage. It then discusses the benefits of digitalization to catalyze the transition towards sustainable manufacturing practices and enhance citizens' health wellbeing by providing digital access to care, particularly for the underserved communities. Finally, the perspective englobes digitalization benefits by providing a holistic view on how it can contribute to address the serious challenges of endangered planet biodiversity and climate change.

Keywords: Digitalization; Food-water-energy nexus; Geographic information system (GIS); Internet of things; Sustainable development.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Digitalization to achieve sustainable development goals: Steps towards a Smart Green Planet

Affiliations

Digitalization to achieve sustainable development goals: Steps towards a Smart Green Planet

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Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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