On 10th November 2022, we will commemorate the twentieth worldwide celebration of World Science Day for Peace and Development. As part of the UN’s Week of Science and Peace, today we draw our attention to the monumental importance that science plays in societies across the planet. Created and managed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the day aims to encourage the public to engage in debates on scientific issues as well as to understand how science helps us to learn more about our planet. By placing scientific development in the spotlight, the hope is that it will lead to a greater understanding of how to make our planet more sustainable.
By engaging the public and encouraging collaboration both nationally and internationally on the grounds of scientific debate, the day exists to bring peace. This is a core goal of the day’s creator, UNESCO, which exists to ‘build peace through international cooperation’. The day reaffirms yearly goals made in UNESCO’s Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge. The Declaration recognises that, ‘We all live on the same planet and are part of the biosphere. We have come to recognize that we are in a situation of increasing interdependence, and that our future is intrinsically linked to the preservation of the global life-support systems and to the survival of all forms of life’. By acknowledging that we share a planet, peace becomes a necessity to work together to tackle the challenges that our planet faces. Sustainability can become more and more of a reality when we work together to innovate. Peace, cooperation, and the sharing of ideas will lead to a more sustainable future.
In the spirit of scientific cooperation to promote peace and sustainability, we turn to the cooperation between Singapore and the UK. In December 2021, Singapore and the UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding to ‘strengthen cooperation and co-invention and joint research and development’. The agreement is designed to encourage partnerships to innovate in different technologies, ranging from manufacturing to health and life sciences, to cybersecurity. Over the last two years, there has been a huge growth in partnerships between the UK and Singapore to innovate and research together. One such project is the development of technology that uses water as an alternative to noble gasses in spacecraft applications. Through scientific innovation and partnership, sustainable solutions emerge that can make our world better.
Another element of Singapore’s pioneering attitude towards sustainability is their Green Plan, yet another way that science is used to bring about a more sustainable future. The Green Plan covers lots of areas, but one of these is Energy Reset, which is concerned with trying to find better, more renewable sources of energy in relation to transport and buildings. By 2030, Singapore plans to have 80% of new developments as Super Low Energy buildings. This actively engages with the UN’s ninth Sustainable Development Goal, to make infrastructure and cities more sustainable, and seventh goal, to make energy clean and affordable. Not only this, but as the plans are in the public domain, it enables people to see how science can be used to make positive change and the impact it has on nearly every aspect of life in the true spirit of this day for peace and development.
At WWG, we believe in the power of working together and have just embarked upon a partnership with the Singapore Stock Exchange and are incredibly excited about where this collaboration will lead. When partnerships are made, then can real change be created. We also know that change happens when being open to development. We are constantly working on our platform because we believe in continual innovation and development in order to provide the best solution to sustainability data reporting that we can.
Not only this, but we value transparency and trust. Our platform exists to make sustainability data transparent and available to everyone. In the same way, World Science Day for Peace and Development is founded on the notion that peace and development is achieved when the importance of science is made more transparent. Sustainability can become even more of a reality when we work together towards a common goal, with shared knowledge and understanding, which is what this day is all about.