As part of the UN’s efforts to combat climate change, the UN adopted 17 UNSDGs in 2015 with a view to achieving them partly or completely by 2030. These independent goals are interlinked and define objectives that provide a shared basis for progress towards making the world a better place. This means peace, prosperity and health for all of us and for the planet. Environmental, societal and commercial sustainability are at the heart of the UNSDGs, which replace the eight Millennium Goals that were supposed to have been achieved in 2015.
Within the graphics industry there are many players, ranging from conglomerates, which develop, manufacture and deliver production equipment, through to publishers, commercial printers and small businesses producing labels and signage. Graphic technology organizations include any company or association directly or indirectly involved in the development or application of technologies, systems, processes and methods to carry through the prepress, printing, postpress and distribution of printed matter.
Implementation of the UNSDGs is integral to the sustainability of the complex supply chains that support today’s printing and publishing industries. Although all 17 UNSDGs are relevant in principle to the sector, only a few of the goals can be realistically considered to be within the purview of ISO TC130, as it develops standards for the graphic technology sector.
The goals to achieve by 2030
Goal 1: No poverty
Goal 2: Zero Hunger
Goal 3: Healthy lives
Goal 4: Quality education
Goal 5: Gender equality
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
Goal 11: Sustainable cities
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Goal 13: Climate action
Goal 14: Life below water
Goal 15: Life on land
Goal 16: Peace and justice
Goal 17: Partnerships for goals
What the goals mean for TC130 and the graphic technology industry
The standards TC130 develops are intended to support business and process development and production quality for print media. Its standards are an aid to all parts of printing and publishing supply chains, so they have an indirect as well as a direct impact on print production. Correctly and consistently implemented, TC130 standards can improve efficiency, which has a direct impact on emissions and waste management, production processes and recycling. They also support print buyers’ efforts to improve their own sustainability, since all parts of an organisation work with print service providers to some extent. TC130 can further assist the communities it serves by providing more information about how its standards support the UNSDGs.
The following UNSDGs are directly relevant for TC130 and the industries it serves:
Goal 3: Healthy lives
Goal 5: Gender equality
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Goal 13: Climate action
Most of the other UNSDGs are important for our industry; however, only tangentially.
Achieving the UNSDGs
The UN has developed an implementation structure that uses targets and indicators to measure progress. TC130 aims to follow the same implementation structure to provide help and information for its target audiences interested to support the UNSDGs.
Targets and indicators are specified to help nations and organisations measure progress towards each goal. The UN has summarised the targets for each of the UNSDGs. For those goals and targets relevant to the graphic technology industry the achievable targets are as follows:
Goal 3: Healthy lives
- Number of chemical accidents
- Measurement of skin injuries caused by chemicals
- Air quality in work environment
- Emissions
- Water waste purity
Goal 5: Gender equality
- Eliminate violence and exploitation of all women and girls in public and private spheres
- Eliminate all harmful practices targeting women and children
- Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work
- Ensure women’s full participation and equal leadership opportunities
- Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights
- Give women equal rights to economic resources
- Enhance the use of information and communications technology
- Adopt and strengthen policies promoting gender equality
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
- Access to safe and affordable drinking water
- Access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene
- Improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials
- Increase water-use efficiency
- Implement integrated water resources management
- Protect and restore water-related ecosystems
- Expand international cooperation and capacity-building
- Support and strengthen participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
- Sustain per capita economic growth
- Raise economic productivity via diversification, technology and innovation
- Promote development-oriented policies to support productive activities, job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation
- Improve resource efficiency in consumption and production
- Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Reduce number of youth not in employment, education or training
- Take measures to eradicate forced labour, modern slavery and trafficking
- Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all
- Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure
- Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization
- Upgrade infrastructure and equipment for resource-use efficiency and clean and environmentally sound technologies and processes
- Enhance scientific research and upgrade technological capabilities
- Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
- Sustainable management and efficient use of resources
- Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes throughout their life cycle
- Reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
- Encourage sustainable practices and integrate sustainability reporting
- Ensure people have relevant information for sustainability
- Implement tools to monitor sustainability impacts
Goal 13: Climate action
- Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
- Improve education and awareness of climate change
- Integrate climate change measures into policies, strategies and planning (the most pressing issue is that of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which is included in this target).
Next steps
Within TC130 the aim is to identify specific and measurable actions that graphic technology organisations can use to measure their contribution towards sustainability. This will be co-ordinated by Work Group 11 (Environmental Impact of Graphics Technology) in order to help TC130 identify actions that it and the graphic technology sector can take to contribute towards achieving the UNSDGs.