SDG 1: No Poverty

When the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, in 2015, we were there, leading our industry. Since then we have adopted the goals as the framework for measuring our impact on society. With expertise in ICT and a sustainability strategy incorporated into our business, we have a strong platform for making decisive advances. This is how we work with sustainable development—and with each one of the 17 SDGs.

The potential benefits of ICT include m-commerce and mobile financial services to increase social and financial inclusion. ICT can also be a trigger for increasing productivity and competitiveness among small and medium-sized enterprises as well as assisting entrepreneurs. ICT enables and increases literacy, vocational skills for the future and engagement among people living in poverty.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

As the fastest and largest global technology uptake in history, mobile broadband has the potential to positively impact all of the 17 SDGs. While there are considerable challenges to be tackled in achieving this ambitious agenda, the examples of our products, services and solutions demonstrate the role ICT can play in accelerating the achievement of the Global Goals.

ICT positively impacts GDP across the development scale. ICT can bring solutions in the areas of nutrition and sustainable agriculture, it can also aid in humanitarian circumstances, improving people’s ability to access basic goods in times of crisis. When it comes specifically to food, ICT access such as SMS, can improve the sustainability of agriculture by empowering farmers and fishermen in rural communities to run their businesses more efficiently and reach new markets which can be a trigger for increasing productivity.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

ICT tools can help interconnectivity and integration of different parts of the health system, it can also enable telemedicine software, remote diagnostics, unified databases, improved quality, accountability, cost-effectiveness, patient empowerment and disease surveillance. The use of ICT tools can empower patients to employ preventive medicine that improves well-being and reduces health costs, and data collection centers that use mobiles as tools to reduce the risks of disease outbreaks.

SDG 4: Quality Education

As mobile broadband becomes even more ubiquitous, reaching out to the most remote regions of the world, it offers unparalleled opportunities to transform education. ICT has the power to raise the quality of education by increasing the efficiency of education systems, innovating pedagogical practices, expanding learning and teacher professional development opportunities beyond the limits of schools, and building students’ 21st century skills (ITU, 2013).

SDG 5: Gender Equality

Goal 5 has a clear ambition, to enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular ICT, to promote the empowerment of women. Greater access to technology has been proven to support women, and a number of organizations including the GSMA have m-women programs. The World Bank suggests that investing in women and girls can have a 10-times multiplier effect on the community in developing countries.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Smart solutions can contribute significantly to a sustainable future by for example reducing water in the production of food and other commodities. ICT infrastructure is enabling access to water, can also help with solutions for digitally monitor rainfall and the status of drinking water. Broadband penetration can positively impact societies and enable access to sustainable agriculture and improved well-being and livelihood.

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

We see huge potential for the ICT sector to provide solutions that reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Our own research, shows that the total GHG emission reduction potential, thanks to ICT solutions in the areas of smart grids, transportation, buildings, work, travel, services, agriculture and land use, is about 10 Gigatonnes of CO2e in 2030, corresponding to 15.7 percent of global emissions.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

ICT has a key role as a source of economic growth, productivity enhancer, job creator and generator of consumer surplus. On average 10% increase in mobile broadband adoption ratio causes 0.6-2.8% increase in economic growth, according to a joint research project with the Imperial College in London. ICT infrastructure is increasingly recognized as a key technology for development and enabling increase efficiency and improvements in areas such as transport, energy, health and education.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

ICT is increasingly recognized as a key infrastructure for development and progress. From bringing connectivity to the most remote villages, transforming industries through innovation, to solving pressing challenges around urbanization, ICT can have an impact on every one of the Sustainable Development Goals, and will provide essential infrastructure to help achieve them.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

In connecting the unconnected, there are huge opportunities for business, people and society. ICT infrastructure improves access to health care, education and livelihoods around the world. ICT is an essential part of every aspect of our lives, mobile broadband extends opportunities to all, allowing everyone to benefit from the digital age on more equal terms. It also helps advance equality, democracy, governance and freedom of expression. Today those benefits are available to more people than ever before with the rapid growth of mobile communications.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

ICT can reduce administration costs and improve access to key areas such as health care, education and banking, and provide a platform for inclusion. By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas, according to UN-Habitat, posing a number of sustainability challenges including increased traffic congestion and climate impact. At the same time, cities create wealth, generate employment and drive human progress. ICT is an essential infrastructure to address the challenges of urbanization and support the sustainable cities of the future.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

By supporting services instead of physical products, ICT is helping reduce energy use as well as material consumption. ICT also supports the reuse, sharing and remanufacturing of products and goods. Key enablers are the dematerialization of certain processes and the collection and processing of data in others; an example of this is the music industry and digital services such as Spotify. In terms of cloud services, studies show that moving to the cloud could dramatically affect resource use, both in material and energy.

SDG 13: Climate Action

Since ICT is a carbon-lean sector that accounts for less than 2% of global CO2 emissions, we advocate for ICT-based solutions as a viable means for cities and countries to reduce their carbon footprints. According to Ericsson Mobility Report, ICT solutions such as IoT can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 15% by 2030. The main areas where ICT can support are transportation and traffic management, buildings, services, manufacturing, agriculture and land use. We provide innovative ICT-enabled solutions as well as advocacy to address the interlinked global challenges of climate change and sustainable development.

SDG 14: Life Below Water

Mobile sensors and IoT can be a powerful enablers for monitoring the state of the planet, for example, terrestrial ecosystems, desertification, rainforests, and flooding. ICT can contribute to the monitoring of water flows, rain, snow, and winds, and provide more effective early-warning systems to protect species and fragile land areas. Mobile phones and sensors are also being used to track poaching and trafficking of protected species as well as natural heritage. ICT plays a key role in supporting to raise people’s awareness of their environmental influence.

SDG 15: Life on Land

Mobile sensors and IoT can be a powerful enablers for monitoring the state of the planet, for example, terrestrial ecosystems, desertification, rainforests, and flooding. ICT can contribute to the monitoring of water flows, rain, snow, and winds, and provide more effective early-warning systems to protect species and fragile land areas. Mobile phones and sensors are also being used to track poaching and trafficking of protected species as well as natural heritage. ICT plays a key role in supporting to raise people’s awareness of their environmental influence.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Many fundamental human rights such as the right to health, education, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are enabled through ICT. ICT enables citizens’ participation in society allowing them to express their opinion through media, the internet and other channels, keeping them engaged with institutions and providing them access to information. ICT helps bringing more transparency to society and institutions at all levels.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

We believe that public-private partnerships have a crucial role to play in addressing the global challenges and as an industry leader we engage in public­-private partnerships to advance shared aims and visions. ICT can potentially benefit every one of the 17 SDGs but its greatest impact can be in economic development, access to health and education, low-carbon development, environmental management and peace, justice and social inclusion. Since ICT is a carbon-lean sector that accounts for less than 2% of global CO2e, we advocate for ICT-based solutions as a viable means to help shape a more sustainable future for all.