Tribology and Sustainable Development Goals

Tribology, which deals with all problems related to friction, wear and lubrication, is intrinsically connected to sustainability. In this work, after a very brief historical overview of Tribology and Sustainable Development Goals, the main tribological research fields are described. A possible organization in six tribological branches is proposed: Fundamental Tribology, Tribology of materials and lubricants, Micro and Nanotribology, Industrial Tribology, Biotribology and Ecotribology. Several aspects of all branches are related to sustainability and can be included in another specific recent discipline termed Green Tribology. Different tribological aspects that contribute to reduce energy losses, and therefore CO2 emissions, and material waste by reducing friction and wear, are reported in the paper. Tribology affects many targets of the Goals. Goal 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, is probably the most affected by tribological findings, but also Goals 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14 and 15 are directly influenced. The remaining Goals are indirectly affected in different ways.