SDG 7 "Affordable and clean Energy" - Chair of Building Energy Systems and Heat Supply

Prof. Clemens Felsmann heads the Chair of Building Energy Systems and Heat Supply and wholeheartedly supports SDG 7:

What is the project about and how does it relate to SDG 7?

Ensuring a reliable supply of heat and hot water for domestic purposes, as well as the elements to carry out processes requiring heat, is a major challenge if said heat is to be provided in a climate-friendly manner using renewable energy sources, both in line with demand and at a low cost. We are conducting research into relevant technologies and investigating sustainable heat supply concepts for uses ranging from single-family homes to large municipal district heating systems.

SDG 8 "Decent work and economic growth" - Amnesty International Dresden

Lotta Borkhardt is a member of the university group Amnesty International Dresden and an avid supporter of SDG 8:

What is the project about and how does it relate to SDG 8?

We are the university group Amnesty International at TU Dresden. Fundamentally, Amnesty International is a human rights organization that identifies, informs, educates, and takes action on human rights violations in various areas.

“Our” SDG subgoal 8.7 calls for the immediate and effective end to forced labor, modern slavery and human trafficking. It also demands the implementation of a ban on and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including the conscription and use of child soldiers. We are working towards ending all forms of child labor by 2025. Our group has often addressed the issue of supply chain laws, which include requiring companies to ensure that their products are made without child or slave labor.  Amnesty International already has numerous petitions against child labor and child soldiers, for example in Bolivia, Congo and Sudan, and is actively working to achieve the aforementioned subgoal.

What word would you use to describe this project that focuses on SDG 8?

Activism

SDG 9 "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure"

Prof. Christian Leßmann is the Chair of Economics, esp. International Economics, and is dedicated to SDG 9:

What is the project about and how does it relate to SDG 9?

SDG 9 is about industrialization - especially in the poorer countries of the global south. This includes integrating countries and industries into global value chains and international markets - without this foreign trade, an industry can hardly develop. However, this goes hand in hand with the corresponding negative effects on people’s living conditions.

There is a lot of academic and public discussion about free trade agreements. But there are also non-tariff trade barriers. That’s what we are working on here - especially on quality infrastructure issues. This includes things like standardization, testing services, accreditation and quality management system certification.

Imagine that you - as a company - want to export your goods. You have to comply with certain standards. Standards are important when it comes to, for example, product compatibility, safety and environmental friendliness. Now, of course, they have to be aware of and ensure that their products meet these standards. To do this, the country must have a quality infrastructure, meaning that it must have sufficient measuring and testing systems, as well as corresponding laboratories.  

In a cooperation with the Physikalisch Technischen Bundesanstalt - National Metrology Institute and TU Braunschweig, we are analyzing these processes. We are doing this with macroeconomic data for a number of different countries, but also with company surveys in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is an interesting case because the quality infrastructure is evolving. We are hoping to use this example to demonstrate the benefits of reforms for businesses, their export opportunities, and ultimately for the individual themselves. One policy could entail that we need to support countries specifically in improving quality infrastructure through technical cooperation. I see this as a prerequisite for sustainable industrialization.

What word would you use to describe this project that focuses on SDG 9?

Quality infrastructure