Call for ICT sector to build trust Saturday, 15 October 2016

News article written by Corbett Communications. The statements made or opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Engineers Australia

Digital solutions across all areas of society can directly contribute to achieving the 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) set out by the United Nations between now and 2030, but this isn’t without obstacles to overcome, according to the UN’s Global Sustainability Initiative (GeSI).

The #System Transformation report by GeSI has been welcomed by big industry types including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, Houlin Zhao. The digital solutions that were analysed in the report comprised smart agriculture; smart building; e-health; e-learning; e-government; smart police; real-time disaster warnings; e-banking; e-commerce; e-work; smart manufacturing; connected private transportation; smart logistics; traffic control and optimisation; connectivity; smart energy; smart conversation; and smart water management.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) envision a world without poverty or hunger, in which high quality healthcare and education are available to all, gender inequalities have been abolished, economic growth does not harm the environment and where peace and freedom exist throughout the world. While this may seem a bit of a pipe dream, goals give us a point to aim for.

GeSI’s analysis of the 17 SDGs against 63 KPIs for 215 economies in the world revealed US$2.1 trillion in additional revenue can be generated by 2030 from digital solutions with positive impact on the SDGs alone – a 60% increase compared to current ICT sector revenues. It also identified over $9 trillion in economic benefits to business, government and individuals could be created in additional revenues and reduced costs, helping to spur investment and innovation to meet SDGs 8 and 9. Additionally, delivering on broadband expansion (target 9.c) could protect 12% of GDP in developing countries (target 8.1). Detailed analysis can be read in the report.

GeSI is “deeply concerned” the world’s current trajectory is indeed off kilter. It recognises that social change is too slow for too many people; current growth is unsustainable; and projected climate change impacts are dangerously high. But the digital revolution needed won’t happen on its own and GeSI has identified several roadblocks to deploying digital solutions that exist “within the rules of the game” on the supply side and on the demand side, in particular in developed countries and those developing.

Specifically, it found effort is needed urgently to overcome regulatory and financial barriers and that digital transformation needs to be steered responsibly with “the ICT sector addressing people’s concerns by building trust, ensuring the ethical use of data and tackling cybercrime”. 

Author: Desi Corbett