Aside from the fact that COVID-19 will decrease global energy consumption, energy conservation is one of the most pressing global trends among many companies. Electrified trucks are being utilized in cargo handling, LEED accreditation is becoming more popular for many structures, and LED lighting has become the new standard. In cities such as New York and Amherst, Texas, local governments enact legislation requiring office properties larger than a specific size to switch from CFL and incandescent lighting to LED bulbs, which are cheaper than traditional lighting options but significantly more eco friendly. One of the first steps towards this goal is to get an environmental management system certification. Learn some of the trends that companies have been considering in their efforts to become more sustainable.
Rising Emphasis on Renewable Energy
A popular sustainability trend, mainly because renewables are anticipated to make a return after the pandemic, is reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Renewables currently account for 11% of total energy consumption in the United States, demonstrating that investments and advancements in the renewables sector have affected. A dramatic rise in segments and sub of energy in houses is promising for vast solar and wind farms and sizable solar and wind farms. Aside from that, renewable energy is becoming cheaper, making it possible for companies and people to partake in sustainable power without difficulty.
More Emphasis on Water Conservation
One of the biggest dangers to civilization within the next decade is water problems. By 2030, the globe may have a 40% deficit in water supplies. Because of this, we may anticipate seeing an increase in the number of businesses interested in water conservation. A growing number of companies are using a three-step process to measure the water footprint of their operations and productions: classifying water use, furthering their understanding of how water is utilized in manufacturing, and tracking bills.
Rising Demands for Plant-based Food
Sustainability is on the rise with plant-based diets. According to GrubHub, demand for plant-based and vegan cuisine has reached an all-time surge, like veggies, tofu, and tempeh are now more common in supermarkets. As a result, worry about the meat business has arisen among consumers, not just with animal suffering but also with the effect on the environment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture and forestry were responsible for 9% of Emissions of greenhouse gases in 2017.
Meanwhile, one-third of the world’s land is utilized to grow crops to feed animals. As with renewable energy, the cost of the vegan diet is decreasing, contributing to its growth in popularity. Additionally, be on the watch for the emergence of lab-grown meat since this food is now under development. Lab-grown meat results in muscle cells with improved texture, color, form, enhanced taste, and flavor and maybe generated near distribution hubs.
Focus on Sustainability by Big Tech
A new kind of sustainability trend is the increase of new and innovative technologies. This includes both physical technologies (such as wind turbines, photovoltaics, electric cars, battery storage, and virtual technologies like artificial intelligence and big data). These emerging technologies have the potential to alter the energy and environmental industries fundamentally.
Incorporating renewable and other intelligent grid resources will lead to better management and risks. Companies that use virtual technology facilitate more access to high-quality information and enable the making of smarter decisions.
Uprising Against Capitalism
Many individuals have accused capitalism of being ineffective financially, sociological, and ecological in recent years. A document titled “A Stakeholder Capitalism Agenda for the World Economic Forum” was released at the Forum’s January meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and focused on stakeholder capitalism. The document requests that corporations pay their due taxes, demonstrate a zero-tolerance policy for corrupt practices, enforce civil rights across their global value chains, and actively support a level playing field.
By redefining notions of development and progress, many nations are working to envision a better world and community. In 2020, people, countries, and companies argued that international systems of consumption and production (foods, clothes, and other commodity consumption and production, regardless of profit) are harming the environment and must have different benefits than financial gain.
Many experts now believe that we’re approaching a decade in which global uncertainty will significantly increase, especially as the window of chance to expand a sustainable society that provides a decent standard of living for everyone on a healthy planet shrinks. There are many promising developments and advancements to look forward to, such as the UN Secretary-statement General’s that the next decade would be recognized as the Decade of Action.
The incredible possibilities and groundbreaking technical advancements available to us promise that many possible futures are available, and a global economic restructuring has already started.
