Abstract
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been proposed to give a possible future to humankind. Due to the multidimensional characteristic of sustainability, SDGs need research activities with a multidisciplinary approach. This work aims to provide a critical review of the results concerning sustainable materials obtained by Italian researchers affiliated to the National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM) and their contribution to reaching specific indicators of the 17 SDGs. Data were exposed by using the Web of Science (WoS) database. In the investigated period (from 2016 to 2020), 333 works about sustainable materials are found and grouped in one of the following categories: chemicals (33%), composites (11%), novel materials for pollutants sequestration (8%), bio-based and food-based materials (10%), materials for green building (8%), and materials for energy (29%). This review contributes to increasing the awareness of several of the issues concerning sustainable materials but also to encouraging the researchers to focus on SDGs’ interconnections. Indeed, the mapping of the achievements can be relevant to the decision-makers to identify the opportunities that materials can offer to achieve the final goals. In this frame, a “Sustainable Materials Partnership for SDGs” is envisaged for more suitable resource management in the future.
Highlights
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with their targets are at the heart of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [1] and were adopted by the 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly, in 2015
This work aims to provide a critical review of the results concerning sustainable materials obtained by Italian researchers affiliated to the National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM) and their contribution to reaching specific indicators of the 17 SDGs
Some researchers have investigated recycling automotive shredder residues and using the non-metallic fraction mixed with concrete, a lightweight aggregate with good mechanical properties is obtained [65]. Another material that is increasing in Europe is glass reinforced plastic (GRP), and research has shown that the performances of fired clay bricks can be improved by replacing the clay volume at 10% with glass reinforced plastic dust (GRPd)
Summary
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with their targets are at the heart of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [1] and were adopted by the 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly, in 2015. SDGs are derived from the three pillars of sustainable development: the economic, social, and environmental pilasters, to achieve the sustainability of humankind on Earth. The SDGs are generally presented and discussed as separate goals, but several of them are interrelated, with complex and not always evident correlations that may generate positive [2] or negative connections [3]. The SDGs’ objectives are strictly connected with all the research disciplines (humans, engineering, medical, statistics, economic, and so on), and must be the focus for the science and technology of the future. The complexity and multiple dimensions of the SDGs’ targets very often need the contributions of different disciplines and a multi-trans-disciplinary approach
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