Browsing by Author "Spies, Joubert"

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    The development of a framework to align the use of technologies in industries to the sustainable development goals
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Spies, Joubert; De Kock, Imke; Brent, Alan C.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is acknowledged that South Africa, and the rest of the world, faces sustainability challenges. Ideally, and in order to contribute towards sustainability, industries should continuously improve their activities through technological innovation and advancements. However, not all technological advancements contribute positively towards sustainability. Technology and technological innovation are seen by many as a major factor that can contribute towards sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is thus argued that sustainable development could be signi cantly in uenced by technological innovation, and it is evident in literature that society and technology co-evolve and exert in uence on one another. Therefore, one can infer that by aligning the objectives of industries with those of the technologies by means of SDGs, industries can positively in uence the SDGs, and therefore also sustainable development, with the help of technology. The present study investigates the role of technology (existing and emerging) in fostering sustainable development, and aims to highlight how sustainable development and SDGs are fostered within South Africa. The study further investigates how current frameworks guide industries towards choosing technologies within the context of sustainable development and to evaluate the applicability of such frameworks to the aim of aligning the objectives of industries with those of the technology by means of SDGs. Ultimately, the key objective of this study is to developed and e ective framework to decision makers within industries that will ultimately provide guidance in choosing between technologies; the aim being to select technologies that contributes towards SDGs. A systematic literature review is conducted to identify technologies that are used to support sustainable development within a South African context. Several technologies are identi ed, and emerging technologies, that holds potential to contribute towards sustainable developments, are identi ed and discussed. There are various bodies in existence exist within South Africa that aim to ensure that positive progress is being made regarding planning and implementation of sustainable development, and given the focus of this research, the processes, focus areas and actions relating to how sustainable development is fostered in South Africa is identi ed as well as the challenges associated with achieving sustainability. Challenges include, for example, a lack of progress reporting on SDGs within South Africa. Further, the current status of South Africa is discussed in terms of SDGs and the various technologies could improve and/or contribute to the SDGs are highlighted. Existing frameworks and their guidance towards choosing technologies are investigated, whereafter a short list of attributes are identi ed. These frameworks' applicability to the design requirement is determined and reveals that there is no existing framework that connects an industry and technology through the means of SDGs. Guided by the eight phases of Jabareen's Conceptual Framework Analysis, the framework is iteratively developed. The validation process is completed through a series of interviews with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and the application of a case study, where after the incorporation of the validation ndings are integrated into the re ned framework. The unique contribution that this study makes is the connection between industry and technologies through the means of SDGs. The framework guides the decision maker in choosing between technologies for implementation that foster similar SDGs to those of the industry. The validation results indicate a positive response; however, further studies on implementation, tracking the framework's performance through its implementation and the critical issues that arise from this are required.