Sustainability | TUDarmstadt

6 Clean Water and Sanitation

Everyone deserves clean water. And even though we in Germany have that privilege, many people all over the world do not. We hope to significantly improve water quality through the targeted degradation of PAHs. The engineered bacteria break down the toxins on their own and can even feed of them. Our invention is made for people affected by riverine pollution, in regions where people are dependent on the rivers to carry clean water.

14 Life Below Water

Our project entails to have a positive impact on riverine as well as marine environments. By reducing the levels of PAHs in rivers, we help to prevent these harmful pollutants from reaching the sea and threatening marine ecosystems. This not only protects marine biodiversity but also contributes to the broader efforts to preserve and sustainably manage marine resources.

3 Good Health and Well-being

With engineered bacteria to degrade toxins such as PAHs, we entail to significantly lower the exposure of humans to carcinogenic and mutagenic substances. We hope to contribute to improv public health outcomes all over the world, aligning with the objective of reducing deaths and illnesses from pollution.

15 Life on Land

By reducing PAH levels in freshwater systems, our project indirectly protects life on land. PAHs migrate from water bodies to land, contaminating soil and harming terrestrial ecosystems. Our bioremediation efforts help to prevent this transfer, protecting land ecosystems from the adverse effects of these toxic pollutants and contributing to the conservation of biodiversity.

12 Responsible consumption and production

When thinking about which material to choose for immobilisation of our bacteria, the sustainability and non-toxicity was important to us because we aim to protect the environment and not harm it on the way. We tested rice bran, a waste product of the rice industry, and SiO2 as one of the main compounds of earth’s crust, next to alginate and carboxy methyl cellulose.

17 Partnership for the goals

For our project we came in contact with scientist all over the world, helping us as much as they could. Being able to partner with experts all over the world is the key to successfully promoting sustainable development. We are lucky to be a part of the huge international community of iGEMers because this means we are connected with young scientists to start the future of worldwide partnership now.

4 Quality education

In Germany we luckily have free education, but there still is a big problem with misinformation. For example, GMOs are seen as evil and dangerous, because most people have a huge misconception about them. That’s why we used the largest folk festival in our city to fill this gap in the common knowledge and show people the synthetic biology is no enemy but can help us to tackle the biggest challenges of our time.

10 Reduce inequality

Environmental pollution most of the time shows inequality. It’s the companies of rich people from well developed countries, who treat the living space of poorer people carelessly and expose them to toxins. Pollution with PAHs is a huge problem for people living in the area of the Niger delta because of leaks from the extraction of crude oil. Europeans use the gasoline produced there and don’t even know it takes away people’s livelihood. That’s why we want to help those people with our invention.

Our affords in all detail

The iGEM competition stands at the forefront of scientific innovation, dedicated to addressing pressing global challenges and aligning research with the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), offering a comprehensive framework for achieving a more sustainable and equitable future.

Our project introduces an innovative biotechnological solution aimed at mitigating oil pollution in freshwater ecosystems. We have engineered a specialized bacterium capable of degrading hazardous PAHs through newly integrated enzymes. Our bacteria are designed to enhance biodegradation processes while minimizing the risk of biocontamination. The core of our strategy involves immobilizing these engineered bacteria within a deployable box, which allows water and indigenous bacteria to flow through while selectively capturing hydrophobic oil compounds. This approach ensures targeted treatment of polluted water bodies, significantly reducing PAH levels.
Our efforts notably propel SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation by significantly improving water quality through the targeted degradation of hazardous pollutants. In parallel, our project fortifies SDG 14: Life Below Water by protecting marine ecosystems from the pernicious effects of land-derived pollutants. Moreover, we contribute to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being by mitigating human exposure to toxic environmental contaminants. Our initiative also aligns with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure by driving forward sustainable industrial practices through innovative biotechnological solutions. Furthermore, by curbing the transfer of pollutants from aquatic to terrestrial environments, our project reinforces SDG 15: Life on Land, thereby safeguarding biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem resilience. Additionally, our commitment to resource efficiency and sustainable lab practices underpins SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, highlighting our dedication to reducing waste and promoting sustainable use of materials.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 6 aims to "ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" by 2030. The importance of this goal is underscored by the fact that 2.2 billion people currently lack access to safely managed drinking water, and 3.5 billion people do not have access to safely managed sanitation facilities [3].

UN Target 6.3: "By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping, and minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally." [3]

Our Contribution: Our project will hopefully have a significant impact on ensuring clean water for everyone. Our advanced bioremediation system is designed to degrade PAHs in rivers and thereby clean water up that was polluted by oil or other substances containing PAHs. While we in Germany have the privilege of being able to access clean water at any time, many people all over the world don’t have that. By genetically engineering Pseudomonas vancouverensis to effectively break down a variety of PAHs, we aim to enhance water quality and diminish the concentration of these hazardous chemicals in rivers. Our invention is meant to help people who depend on rivers for their water. These people are badly affected by riverine pollution because it means that the water the drink and wash themselves with, contains carcinogenic substances. Everyone deserves clean water and we hope our small step helps in reaching that goal one day.

SDG 14: Life Below Water

Introduction: SDG 14 emphasizes the need to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development." Freshwater pollution inevitably impacts marine ecosystems, as rivers carry pollutants into seas and oceans, threatening marine biodiversity and ecosystem health [4].

UN Target 14.1: "By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, particularly from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution." [5]

Our Contribution: Our project has a significant impact on riverine as well as marine environments, thus supporting SDG 14. By reducing the levels of PAHs in freshwater sources, we help to prevent these harmful pollutants from entering marine ecosystems. This not only protects marine biodiversity but also contributes to the broader efforts to preserve and sustainably manage marine resources, aligning with the targets of SDG 14. We hope to relive marine life of some of the stress we humans put it through, by at least reducing some of the toxins fish, marine mammals and corals face continuously. All life below water not only beautiful but essential for life on earth to exist and nowhere else is the loss of biodiversity so visible. In just a few years, under water landscapes change from being colourful and full of live, to bleached, dead reefs where only some fish still live but the corals, crabs, squids and seastars are all gone. There are so many amazing organisms in our oceans and so much life in the deep sea still to be discovered. The thought that every day organisms die, which were the last of their species, some never known to mankind, is incredibly sad. We have to take action to preserve this wonderful world and that’s the reason we decided to work on achieving that goal.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

Introduction: SDG 3 is dedicated to “ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages” [6]. Environmental pollutants, including PAHs, present substantial risks to human health, contributing to a spectrum of serious conditions, from respiratory issues to various forms of cancer.

UN Target 3.9: "By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination."

Our Contribution: By engineering bacteria to degrade these toxic compounds, we significantly lower the exposure of human populations to carcinogenic and mutagenic substances. Professor Victor de Lorenzo’s guidance aids in achieving SDG 3 by enhancing the safety and efficacy of our bioremediation approach and in ensuring that our engineered bacteria effectively degrade PAHs, thereby reducing the health risks associated with these hazardous chemicals. By minimizing human exposure to carcinogenic and mutagenic substances through advanced biotechnological solutions, our project directly contributes to improving public health outcomes, aligning with SDG 3’s objective of reducing deaths and illnesses from pollution and contamination.

SDG 15: Life on Land

Introduction: SDG 15 focuses on the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, and curbing biodiversity loss [1].

Our Contribution: By reducing PAH levels in freshwater systems, our project indirectly supports SDG 15. PAHs, if not addressed, can migrate from water bodies to land, contaminating soil and harming terrestrial ecosystems. They can be ingested by wildlife and cause cancer in them like in humans. The fertility of wildlife and their ability to give birth the healthy babies can be compromised as well, resulting in reducing the population of already endangered species even more. Our bioremediation efforts help to prevent the PAHs from spreading everywhere and thereby protect land ecosystems from the adverse effects of these toxic pollutants. Hopefully we can make a good contribution to the conservation of biodiversity, so our descendants can experience life on land as the beauty it currently is.

SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Introduction: SDG 12 aims to establish sustainable consumption and production patterns, a vital endeavour for safeguarding the well-being of both present and future generations. This goal emphasizes the need to "maximize outputs while minimizing inputs," promoting resource efficiency and waste reduction. As the global population continues to rise, the increasing demand on our planet's finite resources necessitates a fundamental shift in our production and consumption paradigms.

Our contribution: Our project was developed with the thought of cleaning and protecting the environment and so we work with the same intentions in the lab. We work mindful of our environmental impact, trying to be less wasteful wherever we can. We organised to get chemicals and other resources, which are only needed in small quantities but can only be bought in larger amounts, from the remaining stock of universities working groups. This is not only sustainable, less wasteful and saved us money, but built a connection between the working groups of our university and our team. This takes all aspects that go into sustainability into account; ecological, economic and social aspects.

When thinking about which material to choose for immobilisation, we valued the sustainability as a criterium. One of the most sustainable materials we could find was rice bran, a waste product originating in the production of white rice. As an organic waste product, it is not only cheap, but it doesn’t harm the environment. Regarding sustainability there is just one downside: rice bran is very nutritious. Humans can be fed better diets when the outer layer isn’t milled off, therefore with an afford to feed the whole world there should be no production of rice bran. And even if humans don’t change their desire for the rice to be white, rice bran can continue to be fed to animals like horses, cattle and domestic birds. Therefore, we weren’t disappointed when the material turned out to be useless for our application. The other sustainable material we chose is SiO₂. Silica as a common material in the earth's crust, so there will not be a shortage. As a natural chemical compound, it already is part of riverbeds. It is also very durable and not toxic to any organism. Therefore, it’s a great sustainable material to work with.

To not waste energy, we did not resort to air conditioning in the hot summer months, instead we used the natural cool air in the mornings and evenings to cool the rooms and lowered the blinds during the sunny daytime. In addition to that every piece of equipment not in use is being switched off immediately like the incubation chamber, the thermocyclers, the fume hood and other smaller appliances (scales, etc.). We are proud to say not only our team but the entire university of Darmstadt is turning towards more sustainable methods in regards to energy usage and CO₂ emissions. In the last 4 years they lowered their emissions by 25%, they started to install solar panels and replaced old wasteful bulbs with efficient LED lights [7].

SDG 17: Partnership for the goals

Introduction: SDG 17 underscores the paramount importance of fortifying global partnerships and alliances to propel sustainable development forward. This goal recognizes that the complex, multifaceted challenges confronting our world—including poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation—are interconnected and demand concerted efforts across nations, sectors, and disciplines to achieve lasting solutions [1].

Our contribution: The key for scientific development towards a more sustainable future are successful collaborations. We were lucky to be able to work with scientist all over the world for our project. When trying to find experts on lesser-known topics, like our non-model organism Pseudomonas vancouverensis, the scientific community is extremely important. Being able to partner with people from different places brings new perspectives to projects aiming to make the world more sustainable. Therefore, we are proud to be a part of the huge international community of iGEMers. This means we are connected with young scientists to shape the world of tomorrow today. We can for sure say that this won't be our last project supporting the sustainable development goals and we are looking forward to forming more partnerships through iGEM.

SDG 4: Quality education

Introduction: SDG 4 ensures inclusive and equitable access to learning opportunities for all, fostering lifelong educational engagement. This goal recognizes education as a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of sustainable development, encompassing not only cognitive skills but also social and emotional skills. By emphasizing the importance of scientific literacy, critical thinking, and cultural awareness, SDG 4 aims to empower individuals to combat misinformation, actively contribute to creating a more sustainable and equitable world and promote global citizenship [1].

Our contribution: When thinking about sustainability, many people only see environmental or climate sustainability. These are of course vital to the progress of our society, but social sustainability cannot be overlooked and is in many ways the basis for a successful implementation of other aspects of sustainability. In order for a society to succeed, a high level of education needs to be ensured, which is why educating ourselves as well as others on sustainable practices is very important to us. On the way to successful sustainability there must be a high level of acceptance for changes in policy and the implementation of scientific and technological advancements. If people have the feeling that they are being left behind in the decision-making process for the future of society, the society itself will always struggle to bring everyone together. On the topic of GMOs we have had a large problem with misinformation in Germany for years, which led to the majority of people being scared of anything that is genetically engineered. This fear has led to major projects which would make our lives more sustainable being shut down. That’s why it is so important to tackle the fear and create a curious society based on scientific principles and ways of thinking. To contribute to such a society, we made sure to get up close with diverse groups of people and teach about our project, the problem of oil pollution and the science behind GMOs. We always made sure that the audience that we were addressing could follow our explanations and go home feeling inspired and hopeful for the sustainable future ahead of us. We engaged with high school students as well as university students, published an article in the Biospektrum journal and reached a large and diverse audience with our presentation at the Heinerfest (the biggest folk festival in our city). This way we could reach a large spectrum of society, always adapting our way of explaining our scientific solution with GMOs and the importance of sustainability.

SDG 10: Reduce inequality

IIntroduction: SDG 10, "Reduced Inequalities," aims to alleviate disparities within and among nations by addressing the multifaceted nature of inequality, which includes economic, social, and environmental dimensions. This goal promotes the inclusive participation of all individuals in societal, economic, and political spheres, transcending barriers of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic status [1].

Our contribution: When it comes to environmental pollution, most of the time there is an underlying issue of social inequality. It’s the companies of rich people from well developed countries, who treat the living space of poorer people carelessly and expose them to toxins. In our case, pollution with PAHs is a huge problem for people living in the area of the Niger delta because of leaks from the extraction of crude oil. Europeans use the gasoline produced there without being aware of the detrimental effects this has on the local communities. That’s why we want to spread awareness for their struggles, here in our country, where the consumers of these products live. By that and with our invention we hope to help those people who suffer there, while hardly anyone here in Europe notices it. We hope to get at least a little step closer to a world where everyone is seen as equal human beings whose lives matter and whose needs are more important than financial profit.

References

[1] UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, THE 17 GOALS. [Online]. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals (accessed: Sep. 30 2024).
[2] A. T. Lawal, "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A review," Cogent Environmental Science, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 1339841, 2017, doi: 10.1080/23311843.2017.1339841#d1e147.
[3] UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. [Online]. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6 (accessed: Sep. 30 2024).
[4] UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. [Online]. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal14 (accessed: Sep. 30 2024).
[5] Our World in Data team, Ensure access to water and sanitation for all. [Online]. Available: https://ourworldindata.org/sdgs/clean-water-sanitation (accessed: Sep. 30 2024).
[6] UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. [Online]. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3 (accessed: Sep. 30 2024).
[7] TU-Darmstadt, Saving energy. [Online]. Available: https://www.intern.tu-darmstadt.de/informationsportal/themenwelten/news_details_de_en_385088.en.jsp (accessed: Sep. 30 2024).