SDG Challenge 2022

In partnership with Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo Hatch Program and Randwick City Council.

A 1-day challenge tackling three real-world sustainability challenges that affect our local community.

This challenge pushed UNSW students to use the UN Sustainable Development goals to solve three real problems – going from challenge to solution in one day.

We know we must radically transform how we live on this planet to prosper peacefully. Day to day, it’s a prospect that can seem remote. Only the actions of a motivated many can ensure we turn ambitions for sustainability - captured in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals - into a practical reality.

That’s your mission through any of the three challenges below.

Taronga Zoo Challenge

Plastic is not the enemy, it's our single use mindset that creates environmental issues. But think of the zip tie – what happens when plastic is the best design solution? With this example in mind, can we find a win-win solution for product function and the environment?

Sydney Opera House Challenge

Beyond statistics, how might we creatively urge people to take local action toward the Global Goals?

Randwick City Council Challenge

How might to look reduce, rethink or reuse Food Waste in a way that benefits community?

Discover the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
You can select one or several goals as a framework to solve a problem for our partners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_tie
https://www.essentracomponents.com/en-us/news/guides/a-guide-to-cable-ties (includes informative videos)
https://www.pricemark.com.au/blog/10-cool-facts-about-cable-ties/
https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/nylon-cable-ties-market-A05961
https://www.thelessen.com/eco-friendly-products/eco-friendly-cable-ties/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652621024513

Event speakers and mentors

Emma Bombonato (Speaker + Judge

Manager, Environmental Sustainability at Sydney Opera House
Anna Yanatchkova (Mentor + Judge)

Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, Sydney Opera House
Anil Gupta (Speaker + Judge)

Waste and Sustainability Education Officer at Randwick City Council
Belinda Fairbrother (Speaker)

Community Conservation and Engagement Manager at Taronga | Co-Founder HATCH: Taronga Accelerator Program
Danielle Fryday (Mentor + Judge)

Community Conservation and Engagement Officer at Taronga | Co-Founder HATCH: Taronga Accelerator Program
Anirban Ghose (Mentor)

Head of Microfactories at SMaRT Centre UNSW Sydney
Miles Portek (Mentor)

UNSW Foodhub Coordinator