UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Call to Action to End Poverty and Protect our Planet
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a call to action to end poverty and protect our planet. Consumers around the world are demonstrating willingness, even enthusiasm, to follow that call. They are rejecting products that weigh heavily on our future and embracing alternatives that support equality and sustainability. At Vireo Advisors we continue to support safe commercialization of these sustainable alternatives.
On Earth Day 2022 we recognize and thank the pioneers in companies, universities, NGOs and government laboratories who are reinventing products ranging from plastics and building materials to consumer goods and foods.
We also recognize and thank the researchers and regulators who are establishing the safety and sustainability of these new products and materials.
Meeting the SDGs by 2030 will be a challenge for us all and we are inspired and proud to support our clients and collaborators as they make an impact on:
The Zero Hunger SDG:
Novel bio-based packaging and coating materials will preserve food and reduce waste, without contributing to landfill or atmospheric CO2. Foods that remain fresh longer reduce hunger in harder to reach regions. Innovations in animal-free production will improve access to high quality meat, fish and protein-rich foods anywhere in the world.
The Clean Water and Sanitation SDG:
Novel soil microbes will capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and reduce the use of chemical nitrogen fertilizer in agriculture. This will mitigate the impact of fertilizer runoff on water sources, as well as the pollution impacts from manufacturing.
The Affordable and Clean Energy SDG:
Innovations in carbon-based electrode technology will increase battery range and decrease charging time allowing renewable electricity to replace fossil-oil in the transportation sector. New technologies will realize the dream of carbon capture converting CO2 emissions from power generation into high value materials.
The Decent Work and Economic Growth SDG:
Safe(r) and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) strategies will assess potential human health and safety impacts and sustainability metrics for new materials across the entire product life-cycle supporting safe working environments and the green economy.
The Sustainable Cities and Communities SDG:
New forms of concrete with bio-based additives will reduce carbon impacts and increase strength and durability while providing safer and more sustainable built environments.
The Responsible Consumption and Production SDG:
Novel microbes and enzymes will revolutionize waste remediation. New technologies will convert landfill waste into valuable, climate-positive materials. Cultured and bio-based ingredients for home and personal care products will replace petroleum based materials reducing the impetus for fossil-oil extraction.
The Life on Land SDG:
Cultured meat and animal-free protein will feed a growing world population while reducing the unsustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems for animal agriculture.
The Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure SDG:
Support for public-private partnerships and donor-funded research institutes will ensure that research findings are available to innovators around the world, reducing inequalities and harnessing the creative talents of all peoples to achieve the goals of sustainable development.