Berlin, December 2020. EnergyLabs offers a portfolio of solutions that realizes energy savings and CO2 savings for buildings. With our ActiveEnergy solution, we fulfill three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030.
Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, the United Nations agreed on 17 goals against poverty, inequality, and climate change: the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, or Global Goals. All member states are responsible for implementing them. They must act within their specific context to achieve the defined goals. On the way to a more sustainable world, the Global Goals represent a problem-solving, future- and action-oriented approach to social change. The central motto of the 2030 Agenda is “leave no one behind”.
SDGs: implementation until 2030
The UN’s political objectives are planned to be achieved by the year 2030. Thus, they pursue the securing of sustainable development on an economic, social, and ecological level. Central points of the SDGs are the achievement of equal opportunities, peace and justice, as well as the improvement of the world’s climate, less environmental destruction, and sustainable management of resources.
SDGs and EnergyLabs
Some of the Global Goals address the topics of energy and sustainability. This is also an issues of particular concern to the team of EnergyLabs. Our goal is to turn buildings into active protectors of the environment. We improve the status quo. If you’d like to find out more about what ActiveEnergy does and how we are reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions, check out more information on ActiveEnergy here.
Affordable and clean energy
Goal number 7 of the SDGs is tailored to EnergyLabs’ portfolio of solutions. The goal is the access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for everyone. ActiveEnergy is an efficient way to increase the energy efficiency of buildings. We enable lower energy consumption and less CO2 emissions. Increasing energy efficiency worldwide is one of the essential measures that needs to be taken to achieve a more sustainable world.
Responsible consumption and production
The twelfth goal defines sustainable consumption and production. ActiveEnergy increases the lifespan of electronic devices noticeably. Accordingly, those devices need to be replaced less frequently. This is of high importance as the increasing amount of electronic waste is an immense problem for our society and the environment.
Climate action
Another goal (13) states that immediate action should be taken to combat climate change and its effects. ActiveEnergy does not only save around 10% of the consumed energy in buildings. It also saves around 10% of CO2 emissions which is crucial in our fight against climate change.
The SDGs Report 2020
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 brings together the latest data regarding the SDGs. It shows how far the implemented measures go and what successes can be associated with them. Regarding the goals relevant to EnergyLabs, the following status quo can be reported:
“The world continues to move towards sustainable energy goals, although efforts are no where near the scale needed to achieve Goal 7 by 2030.” Millions of people still lack access to energy, let alone modern and sustainable energy. However, the report notes that progress has been made when it comes to energy efficiency. For more information, see pages 38 and 39 of the report.
The voltage optimization that ActiveEnergy performs is part of energy efficiency. The report points out clearly that improving energy efficiency is critical to meet the global climate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
More electronic waste
Furthermore, the report states that the disposal of electronic and electrical equipment has become a rapidly growing waste stream. This waste stream is driven by increasing consumption, short product life cycles, and limited repair options. For more information, see page 48f of the report.
One of the side benefits of ActiveEnergy is the prolonged lifetime of electronic and electrical devices.
Paris Agreement
As a final point, we would like to summarize that the world is far from reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement calls for limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The 2020 Report states that global greenhouse gas emissions from developed and emerging economies have declined by 6.5 % from 2000 to 2018.
Meanwhile, developing country emissions increased by 43.2 % from 2000 to 2013. More detailed information can be found starting on page 50 of the report
The SDGs in Germany
The base for the implementation of the SDGs in Germany is the “German Sustainability Strategy” phrased by the German government in January 2017. An online monitoring toolkit for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is available via the Open Knowledge Foundation’s 2030 Watch portal. The portal is among others funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Following, a complete list of the 17 Global Goals:
- No poverty
- Zero hunger
- Good health and well-being
- Quality education
- Gender equality
- Clean water and sanitation
- Affordable and clean energy
- Decent work and economic growth
- Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- Reducing inequalities
- Sustainable cities and communities
- Responsible consumption and production
- Climate action
- Life below water
- Life on land
- Peace, justice, and strong institutions
- Partnerships for the goals
Pictures: Unsplash