It’s ironic that industrialization, which we enjoy its benefits today, is the reason behind greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and the global catastrophe that the world is headed for.
Experts have said the world is in “danger mode” and that emissions need to be cut down five times faster now than in past decades.
According to the latest IPCC report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, climate change is affecting the world rapidly, way faster than scientists had predicted, and countries have failed to mitigate carbon emissions as they have continued to rise. The projected global warming under current global emissions will leave many of the world’s human and natural systems at very high risk and will put some beyond adaptation.
This means individuals, governments, and businesses need to curb their emissions to prevent runaway global warming. Taking action on emissions and rapid decarbonization to limit warming is critical and must urgently be enacted.
For the world to speed up action, it only makes sense to turn to the same industrialization that created the problem in the first place, to companies that have so benefitted from industrialization at the detriment of the ecosystem.
To be fair to them, companies have assumed a sense of urgency since the global catastrophes intensified and started affecting their businesses. They have developed and are developing new products and services that have sustainability etched in their design and production materials.
This climate and sustainability-inspired transformation in these industries indicate that there isn’t only awareness among business leaders but that some of these business leaders have gone beyond knowing to taking action. These businesses are sure to forge ahead in this era of climate-conscious consumerism.
From innovation to policy to ensuring customer loyalty, companies are going all out to ensure that they fit into the status quo and at the same time, combat the crisis. But how can they accelerate things?
Firstly, they must create new business models that incorporate sustainability. Unlocking new sustainable business models must be at the forefront of their priorities.
Secondly, they must embrace partnership. Businesses must understand that climate change and its impact on them are so vast that they can’t possibly solve it on their own.
Partnering with customers and investors will accelerate their business model transformation and ensure that these business models are sustained.
This is already happening among nations, governments, and businesses, as they partner because of climate change.
Finally, businesses must leverage technology as it has a greater potential to help them change the way they operate and by extension, enable this transformation.
Through technology-enabled smarter and more efficient ways of working as well as the combination of renewable energy sources and electrified mobility, businesses will be better positioned for the new market.
Also, since data is an important factor in sustainability transformation, technology will help them make more informed, impactful decisions by allowing them better visibility into their data.
Digital technology will enable businesses to analyze more complex systems, and see impacts as they happen, in system-wide views. It will also allow for far greater measurement of environments, processes, and remediation.
