As described in my blog entry February 3rd, I am referring, on a weekly basis, to each of the SDGs: facts, targets, and how could companies be engaged. This week is about SDG#11 - Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
By 2050, 70 % of the world’s population will live in cities, making cities critical in achieving a sustainable future for the world.
Facts:
Half of humanity – 3.5 billion people – lives in cities today and 5 billion people are projected to live in cities by 2030.
95% of urban expansion in the next decades will take place in developing world
883 million people live in slums today and most of them are found in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia.
The world’s cities occupy just 3% of the Earth’s land, but account for 60-80% of energy consumption and 75 per cent of carbon emissions.
As of 2016, 90% of urban dwellers have been breathing unsafe air, resulting in 4.2 million deaths due to ambient air pollution. More than half of the global urban population were exposed to air pollution levels at least 2.5 times higher than the safety standard.
Targets: There are 10 targets and they can be found here: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/
Companies’ engagement
As pointed out by the UN, here are some examples of actions where businesses could engage:
Jointly develop and/or participate in a sustainable community that brings together relevant stakeholders through a common and neutral platform to jointly analyze, discuss and act on urban functionality, resilience and sustainable development.
Use technological expertise to help build capacity of building owners to deliver solutions to improve energy efficiency in buildings and enable sound building management practices using good data about a building’s performance.
Collaborate with cities and governments to find solutions to future mobility needs that minimize environmental impact while making transportation safer and more affordable for all.
Invest in safe and sustainable infrastructure in the community and or city of operation, including lighting, transportation, alarm systems etc.