What are Sustainable Development Goals?

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are a system formulated by the United Nations that binds targets and indicators together to thoroughly solve the three dimensions of problems in development: social, economic, and environmental, right after the proposal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This system is continuously guiding the direction of global and modern urban construction in different aspects.

In 2018, to better localize the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the Chinese government released the "China Sustainable Development Indicator System", and annually evaluates and releases reports according to this indicator system at the national, provincial, and city levels. In the process of localization, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals have been summarized into five aspects according to China's actual national conditions: economic development, people’s livelihood, resources and environment, consumption and emission, and governance and protection. The data we have obtained is also based on this localized indicator system.

Chengdu City, where we are located, is a technological, financial, and cultural center in southwest China that has been experiencing rapid development and expansion in recent years. At the same time, the municipal government is committed to the construction of "park city", which has greatly optimized the ecological environment of the city, such as the water ecological environment treatment of the Jinjiang River basin and the completion of the Tianfu Greenway ecological park around the city.

However, according to the 2022 China Sustainable Development Evaluation Report, due to the rapid expansion of city scale and the increase of migrant population, Chengdu's ranking in the five categories of first-level indicators, "resources and environment" and "social livelihood" has dropped significantly. Among them, "the proportion of fiscal energy conservation and environmental protection expenditure to GDP" and "urban green space per 10,000 people" suggest that we still need to pay attention to the balance between economic development and environmental and livelihood protection in the era of rapid urban economic development.

In trying to solve environmental problems, we have found that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is an ideal reference model to guide us in designing solutions that consider environmental, social, and human interests beyond the lab. Our work on Human Practices began this year with a focus on the issue of hydrogen sulfide in sewers, focusing on the following issues:

1. Public safety impacts of hazardous gases in sewers (SDG11).
2. Construction and Maintenance of Urban Sewers (SDG6, 11)
3. Health protection of sewer dredging workers (SDG8)
4. Ecological and Environmental impacts of engineering microorganisms (SDG6)

These issues coincide with SDGS 6, 11, and 8. To a certain extent, it can solve the weaknesses in the development of urban social livelihood, resources, and environment.

Goals, current situations, and our attempts

SDG6 is committed to protecting the right of all people to clean drinking water. Water is the source of life and plays an indispensable role in the development of agriculture and industry. However, if handled improperly, it can also become a carrier of many dirty and epidemic diseases. Therefore, in the process of urbanization, an efficient drainage system is indispensable. Through the collection, treatment, and discharge of sewage, it ensures that urban residents enjoy clean drinking water and maintains a good ecological environment in the city.

The criteria for SDG goals 6.3 and 6.6 relate to SRBioQuencher. We found in the official data of Chengdu in recent years that compared with the 2030 target, the water environment of Chengdu is generally good, but there is still room for improvement in the centralized treatment rate of sewage treatment plants.

Combined with the goal and the current situation, we believe that SRBioQuencher needs to consider:

1. The SRBioQuencher system can degrade the sewage biofilm without affecting the collection, treatment, and discharge of sewage.
2. Pay attention to the impact of engineering probiotics in drainage pipes on the water environment to reduce the risk of genetically engineered organisms leaking into nature.
3. Carry out promotion and education activities to improve the public's understanding of the role of drainage systems on the water environment and call on the public to protect the water environment.

To better implement SDG6, we have done:

1. Interviewed the managers of drainage systems in Beijing and Chengdu to understand the process of sewage collection, treatment and discharge, and asked how to improve the SRBioQuencher system to better adapt to the drainage system;
2. Conducted an interview with sewage treatment experts to understand the current sewage treatment technology in Chengdu, and discussed the impact of engineering probiotics on the sewage treatment process and water environment.
3. Educate primary school students, call on them to understand the urban drainage system and pay attention to the protection of drainage system and water environment;
4. To educate freshmen majoring in life sciences and call on them to pay attention to biosafety and ethical issues brought about by genetic engineering in their future study and scientific research.

SDG11 is dedicated to guiding city managers and citizens to build safe and sustainable cities. Among them, the construction and maintenance level of infrastructure and whether to consider many aspects of construction are related to the living comfort of the city and the future development space. As an important part of urban infrastructure, the drainage system always affects the convenience of residents' lives and urban public safety. Since the drainage pipe is buried deep in the ground, the failure can’t be timely and the damage such as cracking and blocking of the drainage pipe may bring immeasurable consequences.

SDG 11.6 and 11.5 targets relate to SRBioQuencher. The main criteria for consideration are whether the infrastructure is built with the principle of minimizing the impact on the urban environment and whether it can withstand the disasters encountered by the city. At the same time, through the visit to the city manager, we learned that the safety requirements of the drainage system construction in Chengdu are very strict, but the impact on the environment is very serious, on the other hand, there is indeed an odor problem around the sewage treatment plant.

Combined with goal 11 and the current situation, we believe that SRBioQuencher needs to consider:

1. Understand the impact of hydrogen sulfide gas and biofilm on drainage systems and public safety and improve our solutions according to the current situation to meet the needs of society.
2. Understand the demands of urban residents and help us improve the urban drainage system.
3. Consider the financial burden that the use of SRBioQuencher in reality may impose on the city.

To better implement SDG11, we have done:

1. Consult the operation and maintenance department of the water supply and drainage system in Chengdu to understand the characteristics and problems of the local drainage system and the current operation and maintenance cost.
2. Visit a sewage treatment plant.
3. Go to the job site to experience the drainage system maintenance process.
4. Conduct a questionnaire survey on urban residents to understand their concerns and improvement needs for the drainage system.

SDG8 strives to provide all citizens with a quality working environment and sound employment security. Sewer dredging workers, as the ultimate performers of drainage system maintenance work, are exposed to certain hazards in their work, and the large amount of hydrogen sulfide in drainage pipes is one of the sources of hazards. We have focused on their working environment, contents and the potential health hazards that their work may bring to them.

SDG8.8 looks more broadly at the frequency of fatal and non-fatal workplace accidents. As shown by the data, the number of workplace accidents has gradually decreased in Chengdu in recent years. However, we still cannot ignore its harm.

From this, we consider the design of the subject:

1. To learn more about the health problems posed by hydrogen sulfide to the human body, especially the health of workers in the region.
2. To understand the social security situation of sewerage workers in the region to understand the needs of workers for labor security and social care.

To better implement SDG8, we did:

1. Interviewed occupational disease specialists to learn about worker health risks they observe in their clinical work
2. Interviewed sewer dredging workers to gain specific insights into their working conditions and health
3. Interviewed managers of local drainage systems to gain insight into the social security situation of sewer workers

Extension activities

In addition to this, we participated in several iGEM Community activities related to SDGs both online and offline. We discussed with other iGEM teams on how SDGs can be realized in the region, and presented the team's achievements and reflections on SDGs.

Online meeting : iGEMer Speaks - Intercollegiate Forums

On July 27, 2023, we were invited by UESTC-China to participate in the iGEMer Forum. The theme of the forum was "What can synthetic biology do in agriculture, medicine, energy and environment", and five teams, UESTC-China, SCU-China, WHU-China, NPU-China and ZJU-China, participated in the discussion.

During the meeting, each team briefly introduced and summarized the topics of the previous years' competition, and the participating teams had a full discussion on the inspirations they received. Meanwhile, roundtable talks were set up after each half of the forum, in which the five teams focused on the real problems in the realization of SDGS, analyzed the roles that synthetic biology can contribute to SDGs, and discussed the future direction of synthetic biology.SCU-China shared the topics of the teams in the past ten years and actively participated in the roundtable talks. After the meeting, the teams organized the content and inspiration into a conference manual.

Online Meeting: Synthetic Biology x Sustainable development goals

On September 17, 2023, SCU-China was invited by the Tsinghua-TFL team to participate in the Synthetic Biology x Sustainable development goals onling meeting and delivered a presentation on the topic of "How to relate How to relate SDGs to local problems" was the theme of the presentation. A total of 6 teams from China and around the world participated in the meeting. We found that teams from different countries and regions have different focuses on SDGs, for example, some teams focus on exploring the concepts and policies related to SDGs, while others focus on exploring the socio-economic issues in the application of the topic. These different ways of thinking have brought us a lot of inspiration.

Synbio & SDG Exhibition

On September 30th, 2023, SCU-China participated in a science exhibition themed "Synthetic Biology & Sustainable Development", jointly organized by SCUT-China and SCAU-China teams at Guangdong Science Center. The exhibition aimed to convey the concept of "Synthetic Biology and Sustainable Development" to the public, hoping that the public would have a better understanding of synthetic biology and its application in the direction of sustainable development.

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Discussing SDGs with high school students

On October 11, 2023, SCU-China came to Chengdu Shilu Tianfu Middle School to teach a lesson on "Synthetic Biology and Sustainable Development" to the first year high school students. During the lesson, we guided the students to think about how biotechnology can be used to solve the problems around them, discussing the different UN Sustainable Development Goals, identifying the problems that need to be solved, and proposing solutions to the problems.

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