Tech for Good Fast-Forwarding the Sustainable Development Goals

By Marga Hoek, author of Tech For Good: Imagine Solving the World’s Greatest Challenges

Technology will tremendously speed up our progress on achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As we cross over the threshold into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), 70% of the 169 targets that deliver the SDGs are impacted directly by advanced technologies. Tech for Good serves as way to fast-forward. A wide variety of new technologies blend digital and physical worlds, thereby going beyond former industrial revolutions and entering a new era.

Advanced technologies such as AI and data, 3D printing, robotics, autonomous vehicles and drones, and blockchain combine impactful and integrated solutions. Prioritizing purpose-driven technological implementation that is directed by the framework of the SDGs will accelerate the Tech for Good agenda.

Several technologies have already contributed to massive societal improvements, including access to public services and economic opportunities for millions of people. These new tech applications make it possible to leverage sustainable impact at scale, and at the same time seize exciting market opportunities. From administering medicines in remote areas to solving further biodiversity loss, from boosting our ability to mitigate climate change to reducing food waste, and from providing access to education to fostering greater equality, the technological capacity to touch all 17 SDGs is deep.

While momentum to tackle the SDGs has grown significantly, there is still a long way to go on this “to-do list” for the world. With the rising global population, pressure of developing economies and a growing middle class, we need to create solutions at a much larger scale and at a more rapid pace than we have up to now. We are at a pivotal moment, the halfway point on the SDGs timeline of 2015 to 2030, but we are nowhere near achieving our Global Goals.

All stakeholders together, including businesses, governments, civil societies, and scientists, will be catalysts for unlocking the potential of these advanced technologies. There is growing recognition that if we are to reach these targets and build a better world for all by 2030, business-as-usual and continued incremental reforms will not be enough. To achieve this monumental progress, we need the accelerating power of tech that propels solutions at scale.

The potential economic and societal impact of Tech for Good to meet the SDGs is substantial. For example, as one small aspect of the tech-SDG intersection, recent studies show that existing AI applications across agriculture, energy, transport, and water could conservatively contribute over $5 trillion to the global economy in 2030 and create nearly 40 million new jobs. At the same time, these estimates indicate reduced global greenhouse gas emissions by 4% which, for reference, is equal to the projected 2030 annual emissions of Australia, Canada, and Japan combined. The enormous promise of Tech for Good, both for the world as well as for business, is clear.

Tech for Good has become a global movement and is a defining term for business innovation acceleration. With a purpose-driven approach to the way technologies are deployed, businesses will undoubtedly play a crucial role in speeding up worldwide progress. While fostering a shared value operational model and building trust in technological breakthroughs, businesses will both gain a competitive advantage and perpetuate sustainable growth.

When developing technology, businesses must be nimble and take the lead to incorporate responsible practices and sound frameworks to ensure forward momentum. The Tech for Good movement reflects this positive and powerful joining of forces to solve our most pressing global challenges. This is how Tech for Good will accelerate our collective progress toward achieving the SDGs.

Bio: 

Marga Hoek is a three-time CEO, Chair, and Board Member. Due to her visionary, purpose-driven leadership, Hoek has gained recognition over the years as a global thought leader on sustainable business and capital. She is a multi-golden-awarded bestselling author of the trailblazing titles New Economy Business (2014), The Trillion Dollar Shift (2018) and Tech for Good (2023).

Fortune praised The Trillion Dollar Shift, which highlights opportunities the UN’s Global Goals hold for business, as “required reading.” Recognized by Thinkers50 for her global management thinking, Marga Hoek coined the slogan “Business for Good” in 2014 to emphasize her mission “to make Business for Good the norm, rather than the exception.”

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