SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Many people may not aware that Australia burns a staggering amount of fossil fuel on grass cutting every year. Each lawn mower emits the same amount of greenhouse gases of 40 cars. We all love our lawns, but it is about time for us to consider clean energy lawn mowers. While solar panels are becoming more assessable and AI robotics technologies are maturing. I pledge to apply my engineering and business knowledge to develop a solar powered autonomous grass cutting robot, along with my student-run robotics team. Supporting sustainability through innovation.

Every single product produced and consumed in this world has an impact on the environment and every individual who uses this product is responsible for this impact as they are the consumers of it. Hence, it is very important to be aware of the carbon footprint each one of us leaves in this world whenever we switch on a light bulb or turn the ignition of our car on. Awareness of the environmental impact of such small human activities will help create a better world where we are grateful for the natural resources we have and start using them more efficiently. I have decided to undertake the following steps to reduce my carbon footprint in this world: 1. I will stop using plastic bags and instead use re-usable bags. 2. I will use public transport to travel within city limits instead of a car. 3. I will use recycled paper for writing and reduce the amount of print-outs i take. 4. I will use energy efficient CFL lamps / bulbs. 5. I will use water responsibly 6. I will try to find a sustainable solution to the problem of plastic pollution which is affecting the natural world. 7. I will try to develop renewable energy sources so that the dependence on fossil-fuel and hence, the pollution is reduced.

I have decided to reduce my carbon footprint by going vegan. With enough people changing their deit to vegan, this will drastically reduce land usage, chemical run off, carbon and methane production, while increasing people's health and well-being. Veganism is a more sustainable use of resources and is the future if we want to achieve Sustainability. I have pledged to eat vegan as I cannot be a sustainable designer or human if I support the world's largest environmental issue. I hope by the end of the semester I can be fully vegan as at the moment my diet is roughly 90% vegan - I also hope to encourage at least 2 friends or family members to also go vegan.

I'd want to help people working in green stuff out however way I can to make sure we can make the world beautiful again

I wanted the most eco friendly bags to use for shopping, as the green supermarket bags are still a type of plastic. Cotton, and even organic cotton, still use a lot of resources ( water and chemcials for nonorganic) to produce. Jute however requires much less water, grows quickly and requires minimal to no fertiliser. Although I was aware of the carbon miles the bags would travel, I chose to buy some made by a Bangladeshi Womens Co-op and the bags are fantastic. Best still, I can home compost them when they are no longer useable:)

I am a huge coffee lover. Every time i buy a coffee, i am contributing to general waste in the form of the coffee mug. This also affects the number of trees that have to be cut in making those cups. In order to preserve nature and make our planet more sustainable, i pledge to get my own coffee mug whenever i go to fetch my coffee. This way, i believe that i can reduce the amount of general waste that i contribute to in addition to preserving the trees from being cut.

Soft plastics (e.g. packaging material) cannot be recycled under the kerbside services provided by our local councils. I will divert the soft plastics that form part of my family's household waste away from landfill by collecting it and then dropping it off at a REDcycle collection point. This organisation gives soft plastics a second life by using them to build roads and school playground equipment. To find your nearest collection point to drop off your own soft plastics, visit: http://www.redcycle.net.au/where-to-redcycle/

I already try to limit my single use plastic to a minimum and live quite a sustainable life, but there is always one more step to take! This year I have pledged to buy only second hand clothes or borrow clothes from friends and not contribute to the waste produced by the fast fashion industry.

I have already taken steps towards sustainability in my personal life and now I think it's time for me to start taking steps towards sustainability in my professional life. The Department of Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice teaches paramedic students how to perform emergency procedures that could be life-saving, but practicing these skills means that there will be a huge amount of waste produced to let the students practice. I plan to lobby the department to fund a recycling program that will include; nitrile gloves, soft plastic packaging and PVC waste that is produced when students are practicing medical procedures. The image below is how much disposable waste is produced just to practice one IV, now imagine if every student in the department practices just one IV every time they go to class.

Set up beauty products recycling unit at my workplace.