Digital discovery: CODES Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age

How can digital technologies help with the sustainable transition? Why do we need collective action to enable this transition, and, most importantly, how?

We invite you to explore the answers to these questions during the Digital Discovery session of November: CODES Action Plan for a Sustainable Planet in the Digital Age.

The session was hosted by the Co-Champions of the CODES, where they will cover the framework of the CODES Action Plan and how and why you should engage.

In the second half of the session, we heard from two CODES leaders - GPAI RAISE and Future Earth, on the tangible initiatives that are undertaken to progress digital sustainability.

Learn more about the contents of the Action Plan and ways in which you can engage in the implementation process to catalyze a sustainability-driven digital revolution.

Speaker bios:

Shivam Kishore is UNEP's Senior Digital Transformation Advisor and Co-champion of CODES

Raja Chatila is Professor Emeritus of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and IT Ethics at Sorbonne University in Paris. He is a former director of the SMART Laboratory of Excellence on Human-Machine Interactions and of the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics. He is co-chair of the Responsible AI Working group of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), and co-lead of the Responsible AI Strategy for the Environment Project. He is chair of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems and a member of the French National Pilot Committee on Digital Ethics (CNPEN). He is IEEE Fellow and recipient of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Pioneer Award.

Nilushi Kumarasinghe works as a Research Project Coordinator at Sustainability in the Digital Age as well as a Science Officer at Future Earth. She holds experience in research, knowledge dissemination, and project coordination. She has worked in climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable development, and conservation, both in the Global North and South. She holds a MSc in Environment and Resource Management from VU  University Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Southampton (United Kingdom). Nilushi has predominantly worked in the INGO sector with organizations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Wetlands International and different entities within the United Nations system. Prior to this, Nilushi worked as a Sustainability Strategy Consultant developing tools to help strengthen the role of the private sector in sustainable development.

Eliane Ubalijoro, PhD, is the Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and the Global Hub Director in Canada for Future Earth. Her decades of experience span academia, science-policy and the non-profit and international development sectors. She is a Professor of Practice for Public-Private Sector Partnerships at McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development. Eliane is a member of the Impact Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet. She is a member of Rwanda’s National Science and Technology Council and has been a member of the Presidential Advisory Council for Rwandan President Paul Kagame since its inception in September 2007. She is a member of the Expert Consultation Group on the Post COVID-19 Implications on Collaborative Governance of Genomics Research, Innovation, and Genetic Diversity. Éliane is a member of the African Development Bank’s Expert Global Community of Practice on COVID-19 Response Strategies in Africa. She is a member of the Capitals Coalition Supervisory Board. Eliane is a member of the Advisory Board of the Earth Leadership Program. She is a member of the Advisory Boards of ShEquity and Orango Investment Corporation. Eliane is on the boards of Genome Canada and the Crop Trust.

The session is moderated by Polina Koroleva, UNEP's Digital Community of Practice Coordinator