Swinburne holds third episode of SDGs Virtual Chat series
Swinburne Actions for Sustainability Impact (SA4SI) recently hosted the third episode of its Virtual Chat series to discuss practical ways to engage with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the United Nations (UN) in their daily lives.
The event is part of an ongoing collaboration between Swinburne School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship in Hawthorn, Melbourne and the Faculty of Business, Design and Arts of Swinburne Sarawak.
The university said the conversation series aimed to provide key insights into how university campuses may incorporate greater levels of sustainability into their operations. Themed ‘Being Water Wise’, episode 3 discussed water conservation in the university’s commitment to SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
The panellists comprised Swinburne Melbourne representatives Associate Dean of Education Dr Julian Vieceli; Executive Assistant to the Dean, Tania Sabatino; undergraduate student and president of Swinburne Sustainability Society, Nadim Nasr; while Swinburne Sarawak was represented by alumnus and founder of community group Sarawak EcoWarriors, Mark Liao Jun.
Throughout the episode, the university said the panellists highlighted important practices and actions that the community can take to conserve water usage in households and in the workplace.
“Among the key areas discussed included being water conscious when considering what type of plants to grow based on their ability to thrive in the local climate, tips for making effective use of runoff water in daily household routines, protecting water sources from pollution, as well as becoming more aware of water and fish consumption and its impacts thereof on the marine ecosystem,” it said.
The conversation also highlighted the findings from the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which was described by UN Secretary General António Guterres as an ‘atlas of human suffering’ if climate actions are not addressed as a matter of urgency.
Swinburne said this led to a call of action to all registered attendees to act quickly on being part of the SA4SI community to take a more active role in engaging with the SDGs in their daily lives.
To Swinburne Sarawak’s Dean for the Faculty of Business, Design and Arts Professor Lim Weng Marc, one action a day is a very pragmatic suggestion.
“Multiply one action a day with 365 days in a year and you get 365 SDG actions. And that’s the impact of only one individual,” said Lim.
Future episodes for the SA4SI series will include important aspects of sustainability such as ‘Gender Equality’, ‘Digitising Sustainability’ and ‘Keeping Sustainable Initiative Sustainable’. Participants who wish to take advantage and be part of the SA4SI community as a sustainability champion in the community can visit www.facebook.com/SA4SI/ or email to SA4SI@swin.edu.au.
For more information about Swinburne, visit its website www. swinburne.edu.my, Facebook page (@swinburnesarawak), Instagram (@swinburnesarawak), Twitter page (@Swinburne_Swk) or YouTube channel (Swinburne Sarawak).