World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development, celebrated each year on 4 March, is a global UNESCO-recognized initiative that highlights the vital role engineers play in building a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive world. It serves as a platform to showcase how engineering innovations—from clean energy solutions to climate‑resilient infrastructure—drive progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The day also encourages collaboration across disciplines, inspires the next generation of engineers, and raises awareness of how thoughtful, responsible engineering can help address humanity’s most pressing environmental and societal challenges. PHOSTECH a practical hand-held phosphor thermometry instrument, conceived by NPL Principal Scientist Gavin Sutton and developed by NPL Engineers is the culmination of over 11 years R&D in phosphor thermometry funded by the European Partnership on Metrology projects EMPRESS 1 & 2 and THERMOSI. The article that follows celebrates this important day.

The project (23IND11 ThermoSI) has received funding from the European Partnership on Metrology, co-financed from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme and by the Participating States.”