Powering Net Zero Commitments

Here’s how climate change can benefit business

Share this article on your social networks.

Climate change is not all doom and gloom. It offers unique economic opportunities for businesses to develop new products and services and exploit & affects their green actions and policies to attract and retain top talent.

The coincides with a world that has woken up and it’s demanding that business changes its ways.

The stakes are even higher now that companies have to take measures to recover from the consequences of the pandemic. It is tempting for executives to focus on restoring immediate operational and financial strength, but they must not lose sight of the fact that their enterprises stand to earn trillions of dollars if they make use of low-carbon opportunities. COVID-19 has not changed that fact.

Green operations are leaner generating profits

Research by Oliver Wyman, a leading international management consulting firm, has shown that European and American corporations are saving vast sums in operational costs by investing in greenhouse gas emission reductions.

The research shows that investments in renewables and energy efficiency could earn European companies $45 billion over the lifetime of the investments. In the United States, the same is happening.

Corporations that run green operations can leverage the current prevalence of green lending and sustainability-linked lending and reduce their capital costs. Banks are now offering affordable financing for initiatives that reduce carbon emission or use renewable energy sources.

Leverage remote working

The pandemic has caused people to change their behaviour – hundreds of thousands of employees have started working online and no longer commute to work. This change in behaviour means a smaller carbon footprint for businesses. Businesses can move to smaller premises and save on electricity bills to keep computers running and office buildings illuminated.

Leverage changes in attitudes

Attitudes about climate change are changing on a big scale and it is influencing the demands of consumers. People across the world recognize climate change is as big a problem as COVID-19 and they want businesses to address these two factors in their planning for the future. 

Smart companies can leverage these changes in attitudes by demonstrating their sustainability practices and commitment to the environment. Research by New York University’s Stern Center for Sustainable Business has found that sustainable brands have increased their share of the U.S. market during the pandemic, demonstrating this trend.

The research found that from 2013 to 2018 50% of consumer packaged goods growth came from products that were marketed as sustainable. 

These changing attitudes also apply to employees. Green corporations are highly rated by incumbent employees as well as top talent looking for new opportunities.

New products and services

The demand for low carbon businesses is creating a golden opportunity for businesses to come up with innovative products and services. The demand for sustainable products and service is worth trillions of dollars across all business categories, from transport, and manufacture to food production and cosmetics. 

For instance, the production and sales of plant-based foods, which leaves a lower carbon footprint than animal-based foods, has really taken off. Research shows that the sales of plant-based foods products have grown 29% in the past two years and is now worth $5 billion.

COVID-19 has not diminished these opportunities, nor has it erased the necessity for sustainable business practices to mitigate climate change. While many companies will be focused on strategies to recover after the pandemic, it’s crucial that they don’t lose sight of the golden opportunities that low carbon practices offer. There is no turning around from a commitment to sustainability, it can only pay off for businesses in the long run.

Related Posts

BreakingBoundaries
The most important scientific discovery of our time: NetFlix
Netflix states that the film, just released, centres around David Attenborough and Swedish Professor Johan Rockström's research and records “the
Read More
climaterulings
4 Massive Climate Rulings Prove that Big Oil, Gas & Coal Are Running Out Of Hiding Places
3 global fossil fuel giants have been on the end of embarrassing rebukes over their inaction or inadequate action on
Read More
net_zero_carbon
New IEA report gives meaning to Net Zero – five key insights
The IEA has released its long-awaited roadmap highlighting how the globe’s energy sector could slash its planet-heating emissions to net
Read More
Methane emissions
Lowering Methane Emissions Is The Fastest Way To Slow Global Heating- UN Report
The new UN report discovered that methane emissions can be halved by 2030 with existing technology and at a reasonable
Read More
netzero
Increasing Climate Change Promises are Moving the Needle
Recent and increasing promises concerning climate change made by major countries could bring the earth a fraction closer to the
Read More
yosemite
Shocking results for nature’s climate change resilience – Retracing a century old wild life survey
When Berkely researchers following in the steps of Joseph Grinnell, a biologist who over a century ago developed a pioneering
Read More
ironmanvsclimatechange
Tech billionaires’ Ironman approach to climate change vs. planting trees
3 of the 5 richest individuals in the world, are all aiming to create new technologies which can lower the
Read More
climateaction 100plus
World First Net Zero Company Benchmark of the World’s Largest Corporate Emitters
Climate Action 100+, a $54 trillion investor coalition, released a report that evaluated several companies' climate change performance.
Read More
why do we need to conserve resources
74% of Economists Says Net Zero Actions are Economically Desirable
The majority of the international climate economists polled in February stated they had become increasingly concerned about climate change over
Read More