Now, we will focus on three selected SDGs and show you how, through effective team management, you can support their realisation.

SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth.

Goal 8

Goal 8 aims to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all. Currently, the global economy faces multiple crises, slowing GDP growth and increasing informal employment. Although labor productivity has risen and unemployment has decreased, more progress is needed to improve job prospects, especially for youth, reduce informal employment, address the gender pay gap, ensure safe working conditions, and improve access to financial services.

Decent work means productive, well-paid employment in a secure environment with social protection and opportunities for personal development. Skills in workforce development, ethics, and strategic planning can help create jobs, promote fair labor practices, and foster sustainable economic growth.

Good practices related to SDG 8 should encompass the following four aspects:

  1. Sustainable human resource management, which includes policies and practices that promote employee health, well-being and development.
  2. Work flexibility, which involves the introduction of flexible working hours, remote work, and other forms that allow employees to better manage their time.
  3. Work-life balance, which involves implementing initiatives to support employees in maintaining a balance between professional and private responsibilities.
  4. Professional development, that should provide opportunities for training and professional development because it affects the motivation and satisfaction of employees.

The role of team leaders as well as team management itself is very important in ensuring decent working conditions.

In this aspect, it is additionally important for the team manager to create good working conditions that are not only friendly to the team member, but also to the environment, leading to efficient work and economic growth achieved through sustainable methods (green management skills). In fact, the idea is also to keep the environment and natural resources in mind when performing your core tasks.

Take a look at how you can support decent work through this economic growth:

WEEK 3 - Module 3 - SDGs_green practices_zoom - Slide 11a

What is role of Green Team Management in providing “SDG8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth”?

WEEK 3 - Module 3 - SDGs_green practices_more - Slide 11b

Please consider how you can implement the teaching of STEM students in your work environment; do you see opportunities for green team management applications?

SDG 12 - Responsible consumption and production

Goal 12

We are running out of resources, but the population is continuing to grow. To provide the natural resources to sustain current lifestyles, we need to change our consumption habits, shift and shift our energy supplies to more sustainable ones, and to reduce our consumption levels. This goal is about the use of clean energy and improvements in resource efficiency to sustain the livelihoods of current and future generations.

At the beginning, click the link and read more about the general activities, targets, and needs related to responsible consumption and production: Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Next, try to think about how team management can ensure a sustainable transition in your field and STEM expertise.

Here, you can see some activities where applying green team management to the SDG12 is realized. For example, planned team activities can be properly organized and managed by the leader in such a way as to use energy from renewable energy sources or minimise energy consumption, besides:

  • Efficient use of resources
  • Reduction of waste generation
  • Use of renewables
  • Team Management
  • Sustainable logistics
  • Reuse of materials
  • Application of the materials with low carbon footprint

SDG 13 – Climate action

Goal 13

Climate change is caused by human activities and threatens life on earth. With rising greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is occurring at rates much faster than anticipated. Its impacts can be devastating and include extreme and changing weather patterns and rising sea levels.

Climate action includes any kind of engagement focused on the transformation of energy, industry, transport, food, agriculture, and forestry systems to ensure that we can limit global temperature rise.

Read more about the activities and targets related to climate action: Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

As you can imagine, widely understood team management can play a significant role in the achievement of this SDG.

Do you see the action space for yourself and your STEM students in this field?

If you need some help, you can analyse some examples of the activities where applying green team management the SDG 13 is realized. When performing a task, you can organize or manage your team in an environmentally friendly way. One option is to minimize the impact when transporting people or goods by using public transport, collective transport of goods, electric vehicles, or bicycles.

But also:

  • Improving waste segregation
  • Eliminating printing materials
  • Storing electronic documentation
  • Buying/selling high-performance and efficient equipment
  • Using only electricity/heat from renewables
  • Applying saving energy solutions

These are important elements in the fight against climate change on a global scale.

References:

MOOCs about sustainability on this platform: