GTIN
In common parlance, many people know the GTIN as a barcode, but technically the GTIN is the number below the barcode symbol itself, and can therefore also be used for other technologies such as 2D barcodes and RFID tags.
In common parlance, many people know the GTIN as a barcode, but technically the GTIN is the number below the barcode symbol itself, and can therefore also be used for other technologies such as 2D barcodes and RFID tags.
Do you want to know how GS1 works with the SDGs? And how global standards are helping the work towards achieving the SDGs?
For example, standards and barcodes help ensure that the world's population gets the right medicine, and smart barcodes, such as QR codes from GS1, can help reduce food waste or increase global sustainable growth.
Get inspired on how you can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by using standards from GS1.
If you read the SDGs website, you will see that the UN SDGs are supposed to be the most ambitious global development agenda to date. The SDGs were created during a UN summit in New York in 2015. The purpose of the goals is to set a course towards sustainability for people and for our planet on 17 different points. These include eradicating hunger, providing clean water, reducing CO2 emissions or increasing global health and well-being.
You can see the 17 goals below, while you can tap into six of them. Namely the six that GS1 contributes to through global standards.
Working with GS1 standards can support a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Here we focus on five key and very different goals that show the role GS1 standards play in companies and organizations working with SDGs - from food waste to patient safety.
How does GS1 work with the SDGs in practice? Read about it here.
Worldwide, there are two major issues that GS1 is actively contributing to solving. These are counterfeit medicines and prescription errors. GS1 2D barcodes ensure through unique identification that the medicine in your hand is both genuine and correct for the individual patient's needs. In this way, GS1 directly contributes to increasing the health and well-being of the global population.
The SSCC standardis an important tool in, for example, inventory management in many large logistics companies around the world. One of the many uses of the standard is to ensure that trucks do not drive around half-full, thereby increasing efficiency and lowering CO2 emissions. This is achieved by the standards' ability to create transparency about which goods are coming in and which are going out first, among other things.
Aspart of the transition to a circular economy, we need to move away from old waste principles and instead talk about collection and recycling. This creates new challenges through circular supply chains, which increasingly call for the global GS1 standards. In Denmark, we have mastered deposit and return systems, and through the GTIN, GLN and GRAI standards, Dansk Retursystem has managed to get us all to stop thinking of beverage packaging as waste.
Smart barcodes can be part of the solution to halve food waste worldwide by 2030. From international cases, GS1 can demonstrate that the Danish grocery trade can reduce their food waste by 28%. This is due to the smart barcodes' ability to digitize batch/lot and expiration dates on food. This will boost the entire food industry's ability to prevent waste and increase food safety
Due to overfishing,there is an increased need to focus on documentation and transparency of the ocean supply chain. Today, this need can be solved through GS1's standards for 2D barcodes and EPCIS - something that GS1 Norway has embraced. Today, they support Norwegian fisheries through EPCIS and the adoption of 2D barcodes and GS1's new Digital Link standard.
Due to globalization and global supply chains,upcoming EU legislation is creating ripple effects around the world. Over the next few years, the transition to a circular economy will set new and stringent requirements for selected industries on traceability, transparency and recycling - starting with batteries for electric cars. GS1 standards are already part of the solution and, through 2D barcodes and GS1 Digital Link, form a common language developed in collaboration with the European Commission and others.
To learn more about how GS1 Denmark supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals, please contact our specialist.
Goal: Ensure healthy lives for all and promote well-being at all ages
Improving global health and well-being will be achieved by eradicating a range of dangerous diseases. These include AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, which still kill many people every day. These deaths must be prevented by supporting research, development and dissemination of vaccines, and by ensuring that the right medicines are easily accessible and affordable.
GS1 contributes:
GS1 standards (GTIN, GLN and GS1 DataMatrix) can be used to prevent the use and spread of counterfeit medicines. With GS1 standards, medicines and vaccines can be tracked and identified throughout the global supply chain. Tracking starts at the manufacturer, who applies a unique GS1 DataMatrix barcode to their products. The barcode ensures that information such as serial number, batch number and expiry date can be easily and quickly retrieved at any time. In this way, the entire supply chain can ensure that it is handling the right medicine. In this way, GS1 standards can increase patient safety globally by contributing to better, safer and more efficient handling of medicines, vaccines, medical devices, etc.
Goal: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
It must be possible for everyone to get a job, so that you do not end up as a number in the statistics of rising unemployment. The SDG seeks to promote global, sustained economic growth. This includes supporting entrepreneurship, boosting productivity and seeking more technological breakthroughs. The goal is full employment and decent work for all men and women by 2030.
GS1 contributes:
GS1 standards are present every time the world's goods change hands and therefore serve as a foundation for trade and growth worldwide. A GS1 standard is scanned over 6 billion times every day, making it a visible part of economic growth and sustaining productivity. In addition, GS1 standards also contribute to the collection of master data, enabling the measurement and communication of climate footprints to demonstrate sustainable growth.
Goal: Conserve and sustainably use the world's oceans and their resources
Overfishing is increasing by 30 percent, threatening the sustainable production of fish stocks. On top of this, there is a huge amount of plastic floating around in the oceans, taking up more and more space. In other words, we face some huge challenges when it comes to taking care of the world's oceans.
GS1 contributes:
In addition to leading to recycling, our Danish deposit system increases the likelihood of bottles and cans ending up in a deposit machine instead of in the ocean. In fact, 89% of the plastic floating in the world's oceans comes from single-use products - including plastic bottles. Every time you deposit a bottle or can, the GS1 standard GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) has a hand in it. The deposit machine reads the barcode on the bottle and tells the system which type of bottle/can has been returned. The Danish Return System uses this data to keep track of what and how much is returned. In the fishing and food sector, the GS1 standard EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services) can support increased documentation requirements for where and when a fish was caught and provide consumers with this information quickly and easily via 2D barcodes.
Goal: Ensure sustainable consumption and production
We must reduce our footprint in nature. This is done by changing the way we produce and consume. We need more efficient management of our natural resources and the way we dispose of toxic waste and pollutants. We need better production methods and supply chains to improve food security and push us towards a more resource-efficient economy.
GS1 contributes:
GS1 is working globally to make visible the benefits of using 2D barcodes (e.g. GS1 Datamatrix) rather than the familiar barcode (1D barcode). The benefits are many and all relate to the amount of data that the 2D barcode can contain and the fact that data can also be dynamic. This means that, via GS1 serialised GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers), products can be tracked down to the unit level much more securely and efficiently. This will significantly increase food safety in the many cases where food is recalled every year for health or life-threatening reasons. Furthermore, several pilot tests with 2D barcodes in grocery stores have shown that it is also a very effective weapon in the fight against food waste, because the barcode can contain information on the expiry date of the product. Linking the 2D barcode on a food product, for example, to the GS1 Digital Link - a standardised way of linking the familiar barcode data to the internet - makes it easy for consumers to use their own smartphones to find out about, for example, country of origin,
production conditions, climate impact, allergens, etc. All of this information is increasingly being used by consumers to make purchasing decisions - and can help to create more sustainable consumption.
Ensuring sustainable consumption and production
We must reduce our footprint on nature. This must be done by changing the way we produce and consume. We need to manage our natural resources and the way we dispose of toxic waste and pollutants more effectively. We need better production methods and supply chains to improve food security and push us towards a more resource-efficient economy.
GS1 contributes:
GS1 is working globally to make visible the benefits of using 2D barcodes (e.g. GS1 Datamatrix) rather than the familiar barcode (1D barcode). The benefits are many and all relate to the amount of data that the 2D barcode can contain and the fact that data can also be dynamic. This means that, via GS1 serialised GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers), products can be tracked down to the unit level much more securely and efficiently. This will significantly increase food safety in the many cases where food is recalled every year for health or life-threatening reasons. Furthermore, several pilot tests with 2D barcodes in grocery stores have shown that it is also a very effective weapon in the fight against food waste, because the barcode can contain information on the expiry date of the product. Linking the 2D barcode on a food product, for example, to the GS1 Digital Link - a standardised way of linking the familiar barcode data to the internet - makes it easy for consumers to use their own smartphones to find out about, for example, country of origin, production conditions, climate impact, allergens, etc. All of this information is increasingly being used by consumers to make purchasing decisions - and can help to create more sustainable consumption.
Goal: Strengthen the global partnership for sustainable development and increase the means to achieve the goals
The world today is more connected than ever before. Better access to technology and knowledge is an important way to share ideas and foster innovation. Promoting international trade and supporting increased exports from developing countries will help achieve a universal, rules-based and equitable trading system that is fair, open and beneficial to all.
GS1 contributes:
As a global standards organisation, GS1 stands on the shoulders of a unique partnership between some of the world's largest players in the grocery, food manufacturing and supply chain sectors, which led to the development of the GS1 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) standard over 50 years ago and GS1 as an organisation today. Since then, new partnerships in other industries and sectors have emerged, so that today GS1 globally has developed standards for a total of 25 different sectors. Common to all GS1 standards is the goal of contributing to sustainable growth and better lives by providing security and coherence in society as the world's goods change hands.
.png)
