Of the 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) promulgated by the United Nations, some can only be achieved with the direct contribution of the geotechnical engineer. These are:

• Sustainable Cities and Communities (See Here and Here)

Geotechnical engineers are needed in the design and construction of: sustainable cities that are earthquake resistant, environment-friendly waste management systems, and disaster-proof cities and communities. To achieve this, geotechnical researchers design, build and test numerical and physical models of dams, levees and earthquake isolation systems to provide solutions for the sustainable cities of the future.

• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (Here and here)

Every infrastructure has a superstructure (above the surface) and/or substructure (below the surface). It is the job of the geotechnical engineer to design the substructures including the tunnels, dams, foundation of large factories and industrial complexes. Given the sensitive nature of industrial facilities, making factories and energy plants disaster-proof is even more important, as a hazard (such as an earthquake, tsunami, landslide or levee failure) could have far more reaching consequences. These could lead to the contamination of a water supply plant or a nuclear plant as occurred with the Fukushima disaster of 2011.  

• Clean Water and Sanitation (Here and Here)

Groundwater is arguably the most used source of freshwater for mankind and is a central topic of the geotechnical engineering discipline. Geotechnical engineers study the hydrogeology of a particular water source and design for wells and municipal facilities including water supply plants and management facilities. They also design surface water intake facilities for surface freshwater bodies such as rivers. The design of wastewater treatment plants and solid waste management facilities rests on the shoulders of geotechnical engineers as well.

• Affordable and Clean Energy (Here and here)

With the world looking for cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, many more innovative structures will be designed. This includes onshore and offshore wind turbines and wind farms which involve complex designs due to the dynamic nature of wind loads. Geotechnical engineers are tasked with designing dams which are used for, beside other purposes, the generation of hydroelectric power. This is one of the oldest sources of clean energy and is continually refined to achieve higher efficiency and sustainability. Geothermal power stations, which are a growing source of clean energy, also employ the knowledge of geotechnical engineering.

• Peace and Justice (Here)

With the continuous rise of terrorism, the importance of peace and security cannot be overemphasized. Along with these security concerns arises the question: how do we protect human life, property and infrastructure from man-made disasters and terrorist attacks? Geotechnical engineers contribute to this effort by designing blast-proof tunnels, dams and other substructures. These cutting edge innovative designs often involve the use of geosynthetics and profoundly mitigate the effects of bomb blasts and explosions. This way, the effects of a terrorist attack are significantly reduced and disasters are averted.

These reasons make geotechnical engineering important. A precise and accurate understanding and representation of the soil and conditions below the surface are crucial to the work of the geotechnical engineer, and the CPT is a practical, economic and environmentally friendly way to achieve this.