How we work with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals
The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals are the most ambitious global development agenda to date, with a focus on sustainability and transformation. The goals were adopted at the UN Summit in New York on September 25, 2015. Here, the world’s heads of state and government adopted 17 goals and 169 targets for sustainable development to help address the climate challenges of the future.
The goals commit all 193 UN member states to creating a more sustainable world by eradicating poverty and hunger, reducing inequality, ensuring quality education and better health for all, decent jobs, and more sustainable economic growth. It is likely the most important plan of our time.
Together, we can make a difference
There is no doubt that creating development and achieving tangible results requires effort from everyone. Many companies, dedicated individuals, and organisations in Denmark are already well underway in setting sustainable development in motion based on the goals—this also applies at Delfi Technologies, but we are far from able to deliver the goals on our own.
However, when we set clear objectives and prioritise our resources accordingly, it is possible to achieve results. This requires large-scale efforts from governments, multinational companies, and global NGOs—but also efforts at the local level from municipal councils, smaller businesses, and committed volunteers.
At Delfi Technologies, we have chosen to focus on a selection of the 17 goals where we believe we can make a particular difference. Our efforts currently cover the following goals:
Goal 2: Zero hunger
Case: FødevareBanken – from food waste to meals
Through our collaboration with FødevareBanken on developing a barcode solution for electronic product registration, we support the UN’s global goals aimed at eradicating poverty, ending hunger, reducing inequality, ensuring responsible consumption and production, and taking climate action. It is a strong solution because it connects the entire logistics chain and helps ensure product traceability. The project stands out by creating a high level of food safety in the supply chain, contributing to less food waste in Denmark.
In 2019 alone, more than 1,350 tonnes of food were collected and distributed to socially vulnerable people in Denmark. This amounted to more than 3,375,000 meals and resulted in a reduction in CO2 emissions of 1,806 tonnes. (Source: https://foedevarebanken.dk/).
A collaboration with a number of food companies ensures the donation of surplus food, which is registered electronically using a barcode solution. The solution itself can easily be scaled to collaborate with more companies—both nationally in Denmark and abroad. The barcodes on the food help ensure traceability.
With the barcode solution, FødevareBanken can always trace exactly where a specific batch of food was collected and where it was distributed. What is unique about the solution is that it makes it possible to ensure item traceability throughout the entire process and respond quickly if there is a need to recall a batch of food. At the same time, a “First in First Out” principle is used, so the food with the shortest shelf life is distributed first, continuously minimising the risk of waste. The solution was developed by Delfi Technologies in collaboration with FødevareBanken.
Goal 3: Good health and well-being
Case: Improved patient safety in Denmark
We are innovative in our work with hardware and software solutions for the healthcare sector. Through collaboration with the Danish regions, we create barcode solutions that help strengthen patient safety and ease work at the regions’ hospitals.
The software solution,
In 2020, the Coronavirus outbreak escalated significantly. In this connection, a number of test centres were established across Denmark. Here, the test person’s health insurance card is registered using handheld scanners, which Delfi Technologies supplies, among others, to Region Zealand and the Capital Region of Denmark.
The scanners are a special antibacterial model, particularly suited to the healthcare sector, and can withstand specific conditions such as extra cleaning and disinfection.
Goal 5: Gender equality
– Although the IT and tech industry has historically been heavily male-dominated, we are seeing a trend at Delfi Technologies where more women are joining today—both internally in the company and in the network around us. In every employment relationship, we of course also ensure gender equality, so men and women have the same rights and opportunities , says Caroline Hagen, CMO at Delfi Technologies A/S.
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
– In our work to ensure our customers have access to the latest technology, we also contribute solutions that create higher productivity. We increasingly see our customers wanting to carry out a technological upgrade as a means of creating economic growth,” says Palle Svendsen, CEO at Delfi Technologies A/S.
Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
– At Delfi Technologies, we place great emphasis on innovation and consider it a crucial driver of technological development. Our most important task is to stay ahead of developments and create innovative solutions that strengthen our customers’ business and competitiveness,” says Palle Svendsen.
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Case: Digital tool helps MENY in the fight against food waste
A central element of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals is combating food waste. Target 12.3 states that by 2030, global food waste at the retail and consumer levels per capita must be halved, and food losses in production and supply chains must be reduced.
Today, food waste is a prioritised focus area for many supermarket chains. Together with Dagrofa’s flagship chain, MENY, we use a digital tool to eliminate the risk of food waste being generated at all. At MENY, it is not only about donating surplus food for social purposes, but to an even greater extent about changing routines among store staff.
Whywaste hedder det nye værktøj, der har fundet vej til landets MENY-butikker, som et seriøst initiativ i kampen mod madspild og datovarer. As part of the Whywaste project, Delfi Technologies has been selected as the IT supplier of handheld terminals and mobile label printers for Dagrofa.
Goal 13: Climate action
Case: Jensen Seeds – increased traceability in the supply chain
Through our collaboration with Jensen Seeds, we ensure a positive impact on goals 12 and 13.
The Danish seed company Jensen Seeds delivers more than 10,000 tons of seeds to its customers every year. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial that no errors occur in the production and sorting of the seeds. This created a need for an RFID solution to track, locate, and identify the process from the grower to fully automated cleaning, sorting, and packaging.
Ongoing investment in innovation and infrastructure is a crucial driving force for economic growth and development. Here, technological development is the key to finding solutions to both economic and environmental challenges.
In its work with quality assurance, Jensen Seeds was the first seed supplier in the world to adopt wireless RFID technology. Today, Jensen Seeds is owned by DLF, a global seed company that supplies seeds for forage grasses as well as private and professional lawn grass in more than 80 countries worldwide. Here too, Jensen Seeds is a first mover, and many other producers therefore look in this direction for inspiration when it comes to process optimization, better control, and increased traceability.
