Co-op News October 2019: Sustainable Development

TECH
&
THE SDGs
The UN Sustainable Development Agenda has
positioned science, technology and innovation
(STI) as key means of implementation of the SDGs.
Goal 9 – Industry, innovation and infrastructure
– specifically refers to the role of technology
in achieving the United Nation's sustainable
development agenda.
Targets include supporting domestic technology
development, research and innovation in
developing countries; increasing access to
information and communications technology; and
striving to provide universal and affordable access
to the internet in least developed countries by 2020.
Tech can enhance productivity, accelerate
economic growth, enable knowledge and
information sharing and increase access to
basic services. But digital divides can also
further inequality. “We need to harness the
benefits of advanced technologies for all,” said
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, at the
closing of the 2018 High-level Political Forum on
Sustainable Development.
The 2019 SDG Report reveals that the share of
medium-high- and high-tech industries in total
manufacturing value added increased from 40.5%
in 2000 to 44.7% in 2016. Yet not all regions
across the world benefited. The shares in Oceania
(excluding Australia and New Zealand) and
sub-Saharan Africa were only 1.9% and 14.9%,
respectively.
Similarly, in 2018, 96% of the world’s
population lived within reach of a mobile-cellular
signal, and 90% of people could access the
internet through a third generation (3G) or higherquality
network. But while most live within range
of these signals, not all are able to take advantage
of them. Half of the world’s population is currently
using the Internet, with rates much lower in least
developed countries.
Disparities also exist in terms of research
and development. In Europe and Northern
America, 2.21% of GDP was spent on research
and development in 2016, compared to 0.42% and
0.83%, respectively, in sub-Saharan Africa and
Western Asia.
Can co-operation help to drive the agenda?
The Age of Digital Interdependence, a 2018
report of the UN secretary-general’s High-level
Panel on Digital Cooperation, says increasing
digital interdependence means that more digital
co-operation is required. The panel works to
explore ways for various stakeholders to come
together to address the social, ethical, legal and
economic impact of digital technologies in order to
maximise their benefits and minimise their harm.
The report suggests creating digital co-operation
networks. These networks would be issue specific
horizontal collaboration groups, involving
stakeholders from relevant vertical sectors
and institutions.
In the UK, co-ops in the tech sector are already
working together under CoTech’s umbrella. CoTech
is a network of ethical co-operatives and freelancers
providing technology, digital and creative services.
The network’s members collaborate and share
resources and skills to make access to technological
know-how fairer and more efficient.
Other co-ops are using the Coopsfor2030
platform to pledge their commitment to the SDGs.
More than 300 co-ops do so – including the
US-based CoLab Cooperative. In its pledge, the
co-op commits to building websites and tools
based on partnership and people-focused solutions
that support achievement of the SDGs. As part
of this, CoLab says it is focusing on starting new
partnerships to support the achievement of the
• Environmentally
friendly clothing
shop Just Hazel uses
Partago to reflect its
sustainability values
(Photo: Partago)
46 | OCTOBER 2019