In today’s world, technology plays a crucial role in achieving sustainability and sustainable development. With the introduction of various mobile applications, achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has become more accessible and possible. In this article, we will dive deep into the concept of the Sustainable Development Goals app, its benefits, and how it contributes significantly to saving the environment. Read on to find out more!
What are sustainable development goals (SDGs)
Sustainable development goals date back to 2015, when the United Nations Assembly decided to formulate specific actions or plans that achieve global sustainability and help individuals, communities, and the planet. Throughout the years, the United Nations has identified specific concerns that impact not only people but the whole planet. These concerns have major consequences, such as affecting the quality of life, damaging the environment, etc. That is when the world needed a clear plan or framework to follow and try to reverse the deterioration caused by people’s poor habits. Sustainable development goals, or SDGs, always aim to give people the life they deserve and ensure prosperity and a better environment. SDGs include 17 actions, including:
End Poverty
This goal aims to eradicate poverty everywhere on Earth. Many countries that you may know or even don’t know suffer from extreme living conditions and poverty. Poverty doesn’t only include food; it also includes a lack of education, injustice, wars, and many more.
Zero Hunger
Another very essential concern and action is achieving zero hunger. This goal aims to reduce food waste and provide people in extreme need with food. It might surprise you, but over 30% of food is wasted globally each year, which is roughly about 1.3 billion tons of food that can benefit others. Interestingly, affordable meal kits could be one way to combat this waste. These kits, often ordered online, contain pre-portioned ingredients designed to reduce waste, while also providing a healthy, balanced meal for those who might otherwise struggle to source or afford it. This food can be wasted through the distribution process, harvesting, and plate waste in restaurants and homes.
Good Health and Well-being
Another sustainable development goal and a certain right for any human being is good health and well-being. This goal retains many important targets, such as:
- Developing a good health care system for people with poor health care or no health care at all
- Raise awareness about bad health habits and take steps to avert potentially fatal diseases.
- Eradicate gender discrimination in the health sector and provide proper women’s health care
Quality Education
The fourth goal of sustainable development goals is quality education. This goal aims to:
- Provide everyone with a proper and free education throughout their lives
- Eradicate illiteracy rate around the world
- Facilitating a friendly and inclusive learning environment for students of all genders, ethnicities, and abilities
Empowering women and achieving equality
An increasingly important goal of the SDGs is achieving gender equality. In many countries, women suffer from extreme conditions and limitations in terms of education, work, legal rights, and overall life. In addition, they are poorly or not represented at all in society. This objective is to raise awareness about the role and value of women in all professions and to teach women and girls about their rights and how to advocate for them. Also, demand equal pay for men and for women and seek to remove all forms of workplace discrimination against women.
Protecting and Saving Water
One goal that people are especially and greatly focusing on is saving water. Due to widespread water pollution, a shrinking water supply, and the slow disappearance of lakes and rivers, water conservation is essential for everyone right now. This goal aims to raise awareness about saving water by decreasing consumption, reducing water pollution, and providing access for people who suffer from the deadly shortage of water and dehydration.
Combating Climate Change and Global Warming
As the world is going through many environmental changes at the moment, we realize more and more how dangerous the situation is. Combating climate change is the main goal of the SDGs, as the consequences, as we might expect, are destructive and frightening, and we all need to fight and find solutions to reverse them. In addition to raising awareness of all the environmental issues, this goal also aims to implement all the needed actions to solve them. It is not just up to people to take these measures; governments also have a responsibility to do so.
Sustainable Cities and Communities
The next generation should be able to experience all that we missed out on, so working towards creating sustainable cities and communities is essential. This goal seeks to ensure the stability, sustainability, and flexibility of cities and communities. It focuses on improving access to basic services and reducing the environmental impact of cities. It also places a high priority on the development and availability of accessible, sustainable transportation options.
Affordable and Clean Energy
After years and years of using non-renewable sources of energy that did more harm than good, it is time to take action. This goal aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and clean sources of energy for all people. It focuses on increasing the use of renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and expanding access to electricity in developing countries. Achieving this goal requires extensive cooperation between governments, businesses, and communities to promote sustainable energy practices and reduce unneeded consumption.
Sustainable Development Goals Apps
In order to achieve all these important and essential goals, you need a companion and motivation. And there is no better companion than mobile apps. Luckily, apps streamlined many aspects of our lives; in addition, they expanded our horizons and provided access to resources we had previously never known about. Apps are such a great technology to take advantage of. That is why we will break down all the apps you need to accomplish sustainable development goals.
1. Reduce Food Waste
Olio
The first app that accomplishes a great sustainable development goal is Olio. Olio is an app that encourages reducing food waste. The app works by connecting neighbors and local businesses to share excess food instead of throwing it away. Users can post photos and descriptions of their surplus food items, and others in the community can request them for pickup. This not only reduces food waste but also helps build stronger communities by establishing connections between neighbors. Olio also partners with local businesses and restaurants to redistribute their excess food to those in need instead of throwing it away.
Food Rescue Us
Food Rescue US is an app that helps individuals reduce food waste and fight hunger. The app connects volunteers with local food donors and agencies to transport excess food from businesses, restaurants, and events to those in need. Volunteers can sign up for food rescue shifts and receive notifications when food donations are available for pickup. The app also tracks the amount of food rescued and provides data on the impact of the program. Food Rescue US operates in several cities across the United States and is always looking for more volunteers to help those in need.
In addition to establishing sustainable development goals, the United Nations helped develop the app “Share the Meal.” The United Nations World Food Organization created the Share the Meal app, which enables users to make donations to fight hunger worldwide. With just a few taps, users can donate as little as they can to provide a meal to a person in need. The app also provides information on the impact of donations and allows users to track their contributions over time. Share the Meal has helped provide millions of meals to those in need around the world and is a great way to reduce food waste by supporting those who may not have access to enough food.
2. End Poverty
Round Up app
The Roundup app is a great way to help end poverty in many places. This app encourages users to make donations to non-profit organizations and charities. All the users have to do is link their bank accounts, and for each daily transaction, they make it, no matter how small it is. The app will round up the amount and save the spare change, which you can donate to any cause you’d like later on.
Compassion
Compassion is another great app where you can not only support someone financially but also mentally. Through compassion, you will be able to sponsor a child in any country suffering from extreme living conditions. You can then communicate with them by writing letters and sending pictures. You can also send them gifts and money and provide them with any help they need.
3. Make Your City Sustainable
BlaBlaCar
BlaBlaCar may be a commuting app, but it is not your regular one. Instead of people riding separate cars, which increases the emission of greenhouse gases and the carbon footprint, this app allows carpooling. This means that users traveling to the same destination can share a ride instead of taking separate vehicles. Not only does it save tons of money, but it also significantly reduces the environmental impact and keeps cities clean and sustainable.
Lime
The Lime app also contributes significantly to making cities sustainable and accomplishing sustainable development goals. Through Lime, users can forget all about cars and the damage they do and start finding better alternatives. The Lime app provides users with either electric scooters or bikes that they can use anywhere and anytime in exchange for a small amount of money. All they have to do is just install the app, register, and find the nearest electric bike or scooter to start their journey.
4. Save Water
Tap
If you want to save water, Tap is a fantastic app to do so. With Tap, you can have access to any of the local water refilling stations. It is unnecessary to buy plastic water bottles if you have a refillable bottle and access to water fountains or water ATMs. A large number of local businesses and coffee shops have joined forces with the app to offer free water refills to app users. Tap has made a tremendous impact and helped spread the word about the importance of reducing water use and consumption.
Refill
Refill My Bottle is a water conservation app that helps users find nearby locations where they can refill their reusable water bottles for free. The app uses GPS to locate refill stations, and users can add new refill stations to the map as well. By using this app, you can reduce your reliance on single-use plastic water bottles and help conserve water resources. Plus, it’s a great way to save money on bottled water!
5. Fight Climate Change
Earth Hero
With this app, you can track your daily habits and see how they impact the planet. These daily habits include your carbon footprint, food and fashion waste, and energy consumption. You can easily stop doing these things, which unnecessarily contribute to climate change and global warming, if you keep track of them. You can set goals for yourself and earn points for taking actions that benefit the environment. The app also provides educational resources to help you learn more about sustainability. One of the unique features of the Earth Hero app is the ability to connect with other users and share tips and ideas for living a more sustainable lifestyle.
Tree App
Nothing is better to fight climate change than to restore nature. TreeApp is another prominent application that allows users to plant a tree anywhere with just a tap. You can also choose where in the world you want to plant your tree, invite your friends, or even plant trees as free gifts. The app will provide you with details on how your contributions helped the environment.
6. Empower Women
Watch Over Me
Watch Over Me is an app designed to help women feel safe and secure when walking alone or in potentially dangerous situations. With just a few taps, the app can alert your emergency contacts and send them your location if you feel threatened. It also has a timer function that will automatically send an alert if you don’t check in within a certain amount of time. This app is a must-have for any woman who wants to feel more confident and secure when out and about.
Hey! Vina
Speaking of empowerment, Hey! Vina is an app designed to help women communicate and build a strong society. Whether you’re new to a city, looking to expand your social circle, or just want to meet like-minded women, Hey! Vina can help. The app will connect you with potential friends based on your interests, location, and personality. You can chat with other women, join groups to discuss topics and events, and even plan meetups. This application helped women in many communities significantly, as it gave them a chance to find a safe place, communicate, and relate to each other.
Join the Movement Towards Change With nandbox!
As much as there are many apps that allow people to take action toward sustainability, they are still not enough. Not enough goals were acknowledged, thus, people know very little about them. And this is where our part as people who aim to save our planet and environment comes in. Nothing will be accomplished without taking strict action, and the nandbox no-code app builder gives you the opportunity to do so.
With nandbox, you can develop a fully functional app in no time at an affordable cost to raise awareness about sustainable development goals. The plethora of features provided by nandbox is more than enough for you to achieve any goal you’d like. Also, the intuitive and easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface allows everyone, developers or non-developers, to go through the app development process easily. It’s time to act! so give the nandbox app builder a try today to start making the world a better place.
