SDG Align

THE PROFESSION CAN CONTRIBUTE TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

How the global pandemic and sustainability trends have become a huge opportunity for Consulting Surveyors

by Willem Overbosch, SDG Align

 

The global pandemic, extreme weather conditions in Australia and growing consumer awareness for sustainability have emphasised the urgency for environmental, societal and economic change towards a new way of working and living.  The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approved in 2015 by 193 nations, are a global framework of 17 ‘wicked problems’ that require governments, civilians and private sector to solve in partnership.

The aspiration is to create global solutions towards 2030—solutions that eliminate poverty, care for the environment and leave no one behind. According to a 2019 global survey from the World Economic Forum, Australia is currently listed number 37 on the Global Sustainable Development Report rankings¹, with nearly 60 per cent of the general public unfamiliar with the content of the SDGs. And that's quite substantial if you compare it to the global average, which is only 42 per cent. So there's a lot of room for improvement.

There is also a lot of knowledge to be shared with industry sectors in the build environment, especially as the built environment is responsible for over 37 per cent of global CO2 emissions and one of the largest polluters in the world².

Some members of Consulting Surveyors National (CSN) are already committed to these goals, but many, like most Australians, are not aware of the SDGs. We need to be asking questions such as ‘what is the impact of the SDGs for the built environment’?, ‘how can CSN help to build partnerships for change and lead the profession towards a more sustainable future?’ and ‘how can the SDGs help to solve the workforce challenges the surveyors have in the near future?’.

With these questions in mind, CSN teamed up with SDG Align—a consulting organisation delivering sustainable social impact solutions—to explore the opportunities surrounding the implementation of the SDGs in the built environment.

CSN formed a Sustainability Task Force comprised of 15 industry leaders, academics and corporate sponsors who, during a 90-day period from October through to December 2020, participated in sessions facilitated by SDG Align Consultants to create a ‘5-step bold vision’. Using digital whiteboards from Miro.com, this vision was created for the establishment of the SDGs into the profession.

 

According to a 2019 global survey from the World Economic Forum, Australia is currently listed number 37 on the Global Sustainable Development Report rankings, with nearly 60 per cent of the general public unfamiliar with the content of the SDGs. And that's quite substantial if you compare it to the global average, which is only 42 per cent. So there's a lot of room for improvement.

 

Preliminary research results from a survey show that CSN members are currently prioritising good health and wellbeing, decent work hours, economic growth and affordable and clean energy. Focusing on affordable and clean energy, surveyors are able to define the places where renewable energy solar plants and, of course, hydrogen plants can be built, therefore playing a very important role in that sector.

Surveyors are particularly equipped for the adaption of SDGs into the built environment. As digital experts, they are able to build digital versions of cities to demonstrate how a circular economy fuelled by solar and wind power would actually work.

As part of the vision creation, the Task Force studied the current context of the built environment from a surveyor’s perspective and then went into an ‘ideation’ process to come up with new ‘sustainable’ business models that incorporate minimising the cost for the environment and society, but also maximising revenue for the organisation, society and environment.

This 5-step vision was used to create a roadmap for moving forward with the implementation of the SDGs into the surveying profession. As leader of this project, I look forward to reporting back on how this roadmap comes to life and changes the profession for the better.

For more information about SDG Align please visit us at www.sdgalign.com.au or contact Willem Overbosch (willem@sdgalign.com.au) or Jeremy Rose (jeremy@sdgalign.com.au)

¹ https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings
² World Economic Forum press release