What is SDG?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

The 17 SDGs are integrated — they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others and that development must balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Either individuals or groups of organizations can assist and change the community sustainably. We believe in the importance of collaboration between people worldwide to solve the issues, such as environmental and social burdens, which have been masked by the unprecedented economic growth and amazing progression of new technologies. Even though one’s effort may seem trivial, by encouraging cooperation, the goals that are necessary for human development will be met.

Therefore, generating our projects, we considered contributing to several SDGs to build a better world using our knowledge of DNA storage, which is the main theme of our project. The SDGs we targeted were associated with various fields of sustainability, including education, climate change, and association. By going through the journey to achieve world sustainability, we significantly contributed to sustainable development goals #4, 13, and 17.

Public Survey - Online and In-person

In July, Korea_HS carried out a survey in order to comprehend the general level of understanding the public had on DNA-based data storage and its correlation to climate change. Both offline and online survey polls included questions asking how much the public knows about the relationship between data storage technology and climate change, how much the public is eager to learn about climate change, and how much they think they actually do. By receiving responses to the survey poll, our team was able to learn the level of public knowledge about climate change and clearly set our project's goal.

The offline survey poll was conducted at Apgujeong Station, which tens of thousands of people across all age groups use every day, which allowed our team to collect responses from a variety of different people, confirming that the results of the survey applied to a wide range of audiences. Furthermore, multiple foreigners of a variety of nationalities participated in our survey, showing that the results applied to not only Koreans but also people from other countries, highlighting the need for spreading awareness both inside and outside Korea.

The result of the survey from 127 responses was the following:

About 65% of the public answered they didn’t know about the relationship between data science and climate change. And 68% of the public answered they didn’t think data storage centers are a huge part of climate change or were unsure. Lastly, while the average of the responses was about 7.5 out of 10 when we asked them how much they were interested in climate change, the average turned out to be 5.7 out of 10 when we asked how much they think they actually know about climate change.

Therefore, through the data we have collected, we concluded that people don't know much about climate change and are unaware of how the current data storage method has a significant impact on the environment; as for all questions, a majority of people responded so. However, despite having little knowledge of such topics, a great percentage of the respondents were discovered to be very interested and eager to learn about climate change. Therefore, we deduced that by educating the public, filling their knowledge on these topics, and conveying the importance of DNA storage technology to climate change, the public's overall interest and knowledge in climate change and other SDG goals have a high potential of increasing significantly.

Interview with Experts and SDG Stakeholders

Hearing different opinions from stakeholders from various fields is very important. Therefore, to gain more accurate information that we can spread to the public and to more effectively convey our thoughts to everyone in a different environment, we interviewed a CEO of a biotechnology company, the general manager of data storage at Samsung, a founder of a climate activism organization, and the head of Energy Economy Adjustment Bureau.

To retrieve more accurate data and hear opinions from the biotechnology stakeholder, we interviewed Seung-Joon Yoon, CEO of Fortuna Bio, a biotechnology company.

First, he stated that the DNA data storage field is an up-and-coming technology and is very promising. Since it has a 44% CEGR, indicating the market's exponential growth, developing and researching this field is worthwhile. Also, he told us about the many benefits of the DNA storage method. For example, it can store data for much longer, store more data in a tiny place for its high density, and easily replicate the data through PCR tests. Furthermore, because it can save tremendous amounts of energy, it can also help slow down climate change, which is one of the most serious problems worldwide.

Through the interview with Seungjun Yoon, we not only could realize the current market flow of DNA storage but also could learn the potential impact of our project to the world from the perspective of a CEO of a biotechnology company. Therefore, we were able to convey more accurate information about DNA storage and gained new insights to influence the world to be a more sustainable place.

To further develop ideas on the benefits of our product in the field of data science, we have reached out to Mr.Park, the general manager of data storage at Samsung. Samsung, being one of the largest IT companies in South Korea, stores millions of information coded by their users. By asking how the current data storage methods function and how they can be improved, we could see clear benefits of implementing our product in corporations.

He stated that due to the development of AI and big data, the amount of data being produced is increasing immensely and will do more. Also, since the method to store data in hard drives has some limitations, such as the vast land it occupies and some physical limitations, it should definitely be improved. Thus, he indicated that if our product, which can effectively store immense data in DNA, is commercialized, it would help the development of data science, preventing the data overflow problem.

Furthermore, since current data storage centers consume tremendous amounts of energy, we asked Mr.Park how the current data storage mediums impact the environment. And he clearly indicated that the environment has been and is negatively impacted due to the chemical remains after disposal. He told us that if we can modify the DNA to be more popular, environmental issues such as climate change could be solved through our product.

All in all, we had a very fruitful discussion with Mr.Park and were able to gain insights into how our project can impact various fields and especially tackle the development of data science and the long-term solutions for climate change.

To gain further insight into how the current data storage methods impact the environment, we have conducted an interview with Cherry Sung, a leader of an organization for climate activism.

First, she highlighted the importance of individuals taking both immediate actions and long-term actions to prevent climate change. By quoting the 2022 IPCC report, she claimed that actions should be taken in the short and long term to prevent climate change. She stated that individual actions amplifying actions by climate activists could also contribute to change.

When we asked about our project concerning electronic waste, she first stressed that E-wastes could harm the environment if not disposed of correctly. She stated that because those wastes contain metals such as copper and aluminum and because they can emit toxic gasses when burned, a way to reduce the production of E-waste is important. More specifically, for our topic, she stated that reducing the required space and energy will contribute to both long-term and short-term climate change.

In conclusion, through the interview with Cherry, we learned various ways both individuals and organizations can do to slow down climate change and could hear the positive impact that our product can have on climate change from the perspective of a climate activist.

For further insight in terms of climate change, the interview was conducted with the head of the Energy Economy Adjustment Bureau. It was a precious experience interviewing the head of the national energy adjustment bureau because he is the real first-hand in solving environmental issues and belongs to the government, which has the biggest impact on society.

First, we asked about the impact of human activities in accelerating climate change. He strongly stressed that eccentric situations are being caused, which is mainly due to climate change. Even though human beings are working on solving this problem with various strategies such as 2050 carbon neutral, he has mentioned that daily life patterns must be improved to have a greater effect on the strategies.

Then, he emphasized that a significant amount of energy is being used in current storage methods, especially electricity. Even though there are developed methods of using environmental-friendly energy, most of the current methods are using the method of burning fossil fuels. Furthermore, while current navigation consists of two-dimensional planes, drones, Urban Air Mobility (UAM), and more will require three-dimensional navigation data. Because we need three-dimensional data, not flat data, we need a huge amount of data that we can't compare with the amount of data you've ever had, and we need a huge data center to be able to use and store this data. Naturally, this tremendous data could cause a data overflow or climate change since much more electricity will be needed to store this data. Therefore, as we require three-dimensional types of DNA due to the development of technology, he emphasized the importance of our project and highlighted the point that we would need a larger scale of DNA data storage in the future.

By interviewing Sang-Yoon Lee, the head of the Energy Economy Adjustment Bureau in South Korea, we could gain significant knowledge in how our product can solve various problems, such as data overflow and climate change, and could learn a lot of information that we can inform the public to raise their awareness.

Sustainable Development Goal #13 (13.3)

The climate disaster remains intact as the international community refuses to make a complete commitment required to reverse it. The decade from 2010 to 2019 was the warmest on record, bringing huge wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, and other climatic disasters across continents. To address this serious issue, in terms of SDG Goal #13, we especially decided to tackle subgoal 13.3, “Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.” We chose to contribute to subgoal 13.3 because we believed that teaching and letting the public understand the seriousness of the current situation clearly is the best way to let individuals act to slow down climate change, which is crucial in resolving this problem. To achieve the educational goal and raise awareness about climate change, we made Instagram posts and distributed wet tissues.

Since July 23rd, Korea_HS has established the “Climate Change Instagram project” through the official Korea_HS Instagram account. Korea_HS uploaded posts about different topics every week, resulting in a total of six themes with 38 pages of posts. We divided the theme of the posts into six different themes about climate change, including the effect of climate change on children, global temperature rise, the effects of increasing CO2 levels, the effects of global warming on animals and plants, the ice loss problem of Earth, and strategies to solve climate change problems. Korea_HS chose to use bullet points and photographs to increase information delivery and accessibility to the public.

Instagram is a platform where people can share and learn information openly and easily. Thus, team Korea_HS chose to publish the posts through our Instagram account. The public is aware of issues about climate change, but usually, they do not get the opportunity to learn the problem in depth. Therefore, Korea_HS used Instagram to promote this topic through social media to achieve our goal of increasing awareness and support of the public, achieving SDG goal 13.3 successfully.

To further increase awareness of climate change, we have designed and produced eco-friendly wet tissue. By not including plastics, we could minimize the environmental harm caused by the wastes produced by wet tissue. As wet tissues are used in daily lives, we aimed to print a few SDG goals on the wet tissue and distribute them to the general public. The lid of the wet tissue also included information about DNA data storage and how we tackle the issues, further increasing awareness about the impact of our project.

Overall, we were able to achieve our goal of spreading information and increasing awareness about climate change, especially those caused by data storage. This allowed us to reach towards achieving goal 13.3, increasing awareness of the general public on climate change.

Sustainable Development Goal #4

Education is crucial in improving a level of knowledge and makes learners look at the world from a higher viewpoint. Also, when an educator shares their experiences and thoughts with the learners, they gain the ability to put that knowledge into action, which makes the world better and higher level. To provide equal knowledge to the public, for SDG Goal #4, we mainly targeted subgoal 4.7, “Ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education.” We chose subgoal 4.7 because we thought people worldwide should have the same understanding of SDGs and new technologies, making them think at a higher level. Therefore, to provide the public an equal opportunity to learn about SDGs, the seriousness of climate change, and information about novel technology, we created reels through Instagram and distributed posters to the public worldwide without the limitation of borders.

Through the survey poll conducted towards the beginning of our project, it was made clear that the general public is mostly unaware of the impacts of data centers on climate change. To educate the public about the implications of unsustainable data storage methods, our team organized a short-form project that would enable us to promote the importance of sustainability while providing an equal opportunity for millions of people, thus landing on the reels project.

On August 17, Korea_HS uploaded a reel on our Instagram page, which included information about our project and how it can contribute to promoting sustainability and climate change. The purpose of the reels project was to spread awareness of how the conventional data storage method negatively affects the environment, thus preventing us from achieving the UN sustainable development goals, and how DNA-based data storage could solve this problem. Our team specifically set this project as a short-form project as short-form is a type of content that has risen to popularity recently. The public can easily access short-form contents with no restrictions to devices, allowing a wider range of audience to gain access to our information. We then selected the platform Instagram to execute our project, as billions of people use Instagram, and as it was a platform that all of the members of our team used, consolidating the openness and accessibility provided by the platform. On the Instagram platform, our reel video acquired over 1000 views, proving to be an efficient way to spread awareness and educate the public about less known or obscure information. Click this link to watch the reels.

As our reels project successfully expanded the access to the information about the repercussions of conventional data storage methods on climate change, our team planned to broaden our audience to a global level. To achieve this, our team decided to spread awareness on a global scale. As our team was consisted of members from 15 different schools and 4 different countries, all members of the Korea_HS team distributed a total of 100+ posters at our respective schools.

As articulated under “Education,” we thoroughly advocated for awareness of SDGs and DNA data storage by directly approaching students of our contexts. We have created a poster that features information on the principles of DNA data storage and how the technology can impact the world and the SDGs, particularly SDGs #7 and #13. The schools where the poster was distributed at were Korea International School (Pangyo, Republic of Korea), St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju (Jeju, Republic of Korea), The Stony Brook School (New York, United States), American International School of Johannesburg (Johannesburg, South Africa), Singapore American School (Singapore, Singapore), and many more summing up to a total of 15 schools. The distributors opened discussions with students over various grade levels supporting SDGs, where open expressions and suggestions flowed.

All in all, through distributing poster, we were able to increase awareness of DNA data storage, foster interest in SDGs, and promote discussions on the issues among high school students all around the world.

Sustainable Development Goal #17

Through the Covid-19 pandemic, we all have experienced the importance of global communication and partnership in terms of addressing global issues. Nothing will be achieved without effective communication and sharing. Therefore, to achieve SDG Goal #17, we contributed to subgoal 17.16, “Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries.” To bond various social groups, stakeholders of SDG, and individual world-changers, sharing ideas and addressing solutions to build a better world, we hosted a conference called SDG Networking Conference.

SDG Networking Conference

To provide a place where stakeholders of SDGs worldwide can share experiences and actions, we hosted a two-day SDG Networking Conference for both iGEM teams and outside organizations. By sharing and listening to the various actions that stakeholders of different SDGs have done, we let every participant get inspiration and be motivated to take action for SDGs to create a sustainable world, regarding them as the model. This conference consists of the SDG Impact Talk, where people can share experiences, and the SDG Action Summit, where stakeholders of SDGs can discuss and create solutions for Sustainable Development Goals. In this two-day conference, 15 presenters have shared their experiences, and participants from 8 different countries have gained insights.

On the first day of the SDG Networking Conference, we hosted an SDG Impact Talk, in which we provided opportunities for non-igem organizations and igem teams to share the initiatives and actions they have taken or are going to take. By doing so, we could see the importance of action in achieving SDG goals and how people worldwide are improving the world in various ways. Here is the list of teams and clubs who have participated in the presentation:

Empiregene, Korea_HS, Estonia TUIT, ICT Mumbai, CCU_iGEM, Valor FGCM Club, Journal of Emerging Scientists, CSIA Envirology, Beelieve, JoMUN, Inclusivity from SynBio Pittsburgh, Voiceless, Instruments without borders (East Asia Chapter), and Ensul Kim.

Individuals also listened to the presentation and gave feedback to the presenters. They were also given a chance to interact with each other through a feedback form we received after every team finished their presentation. The feedback was shared live with teams so that they could reflect on them when planning for future actions.

Overall, the amazing actions that clubs and teams have made were sufficient to tell that individual actions do make changes, ranging from local-level changes to international impacts.

We hosted an SDG action summit on the second day of the SDG Networking Conference. The action summit was held for all the organizations and iGEM teams presenting their projects and initiatives to gather up and write down actions at individual and government levels.

With the basis of Model United Nations (MUN), we drafted a four pages-long resolution as a whole group on what actions we can take in targeting different SDG goals. The resolution targeted the majority of the goals, ranging from dealing with poverty to climate change. As the resolution was written for both the government and the individual level, we could see the potential long-term and short-term changes to achieve SDGs and specifically aim for targets we can achieve. For example, for dealing with climate change, although we cannot enforce laws or restrictions such as carbon caps in countries as individuals, we were able to write down all the actions we can take, such as recycling and advocating for change.

The resolution was shared with other igem teams and clubs that participated on either day of the conference to ensure they could always refer back to the list we created together and take action.

Overall, we had a fruitful discussion to advocate for action and created a motivation for change for all members who participated. The information we gained through interviews about SDGs and the importance of achieving them helped a lot in writing an ideal and realizable resolution, which can address long-term social and environmental problems and make all individuals act on it. Furthermore, by sharing the complete resolution with all the participants, we let them add on and find possible and feasible solutions to achieve the purpose of sustainable development goals: making our society more sustainable.

Conclusions and Reflections

Through our journey of making a more sustainable world, we have successfully contributed to SDG goals #4, Quality Education, #13, Climate Action, and #17, Partnerships for the goals.

Before we took action and evoked public engagement, we conducted online and offline public surveys and interviewed experts from various fields. To understand the need for education regarding climate change and its relation to the novel but up-and-coming technology, DNA storage, we received 127 responses online and about 30 responses in front of the Apgujeong station, the most crowded place in Seoul. By interpreting the responses, we learned that there is an urgent need to educate the public about climate change and DNA storage technology. The interview with experts in various science fields and stakeholders of SDG, especially in climate action, helped a lot in collecting more accurate information and hearing opinions from various perspectives. The CEO of Fortuna Bio provided us with an overall prospect of DNA storage's current and future market. The general manager of the Samsung data storage department helped us understand the urgent need to develop a new technology that can store data more efficiently, which our product is responsible for. The founder of Greener is Cleaner, and the head of the Energy Economy Adjustment Bureau in South Korea provided us with effective ways that individuals can act to slow down climate change and the current environmental situation that our product can improve.

After collecting abundant information to understand the current situation and setting a clear goal that we could impact, we started acting upon goals 13.3 and 4.7. We achieved 13.3, providing education on climate change, by uploading posts on Instagram and distributing wet tissues. 38 posts, including information about different themes in climate change, made a wide range of the public learn about various environmental facts. Information designed on web tissue made the public understand the relationship between DNA storage and climate change. Also, spreading the reel on Instagram and distributing the posters helped achieve goal 4.7. By posting a reel on Instagram, where people worldwide can access information, we could educate various people equally. And students worldwide in 15 different schools could learn the necessity of climate action and how a novel technology, DNA storage, could impact the world positively.

Finally, SDG Networking Conference provided a place where people from various fields could gain inspiration and hear opinions from SDG stakeholders, achieving goal 17.16 and enhancing partnerships to achieve SDGs. The SDG Impact Talk enabled audiences to listen to the actions of 15 stakeholders of various SDGs, making them gain motivation to act to build a better world. In the SDG Action Summit, we made participants execute the motivation they gained in the SDG Impact Talk. By writing the specific MUN-style resolutions to address various sustainable development goals and sharing them with all participants, we let participants build upon the existing resolution and carry out better ways to make a sustainable world.

Link:

[1] Wikimedia. File: Sustainable Development Goals, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sustainable_Development_Goals.svg

[2] United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals