Sustained activity, both in words and actions, backed by strong leadership is the need of the hour to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050
Climate change is a grim reality faced not just by mankind but everyone who inhabits the Earth. The rising global temperatures are affecting seasons, so winters have become shorter and spring is early to arrive. These shifting seasons impact many life cycle events which in turn have a major impact on agriculture and global food production. What is challenging is that the changes are happening too fast and many species may not be able to adapt to these unprecedented fluctuations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported a global warming of 1.5 °C, which is enough to put 20-30 per cent of species at the risk of extinction. Sadly, many of us are not even aware of it, let alone work towards mitigating them. And this goes for individuals, societies and businesses. Of the three, businesses all around the world are the biggest contributors to global warming since they are responsible for at least 70 per cent of all carbon emissions. So, on humanitarian grounds, there should be an extreme urgency by businesses to slow down and reverse climate change. Sustained activity, both in words and actions, backed by strong leadership is the need of the hour to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. This can only be done by being a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem. And this is how some companies are doing it:
Investments in renewable energy sources: Several big firms are investing in renewable energy sources to reduce their greenhouse gas targets. McDonald’s is leading the way with the large-scale purchase of virtual power that will support wind and solar energy. This renewable energy generation can be equated to taking 140,000 cars off the road for one year. In the furniture industry, IKEA has invested $2 billion into renewable energy projects and is planning to build 416 wind turbines. It has already installed around 750,000 solar panels on its stores. One of the most powerful corporations in the world and Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc, has also been named as one of the most eco-friendly firms. All offices and company buildings, including Google headquarters in Silicon Valley, are powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, which removes an estimated five million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. By purchasing a 1.6-gigawatt renewable energy package, Google has made its clean energy portfolio large enough to power a country of the size of Uruguay. Similarly, Microsoft boosted its renewable energy portfolio to more than 1,900 MW, which is enough to power 1.5 million homes. Swiss fragrance and flavour manufacturer Firmenich is one of the most sustainable companies in the world, operating on 78 per cent renewable energy and working with other CEOs and politicians to help limit global warming to above pre-industrial levels. Apart from Firmenich, L’Oréal was the only other firm to receive an ‘A’ (the highest score) across all three areas of the CDP’s (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) rankings — climate change, deforestation and water security. It is committed to zero deforestation by this year-end and has revamped more than one-fifth of its entire product range to reduce dependence on petrochemicals and encourages the use of plant-based, renewable resources. Johnson & Johnson has taken several steps to ensure that all packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Its operations are currently powered by 31 per cent renewable energy and it plans to increase this to 100 per cent by 2050.
Collaborating for saving the environment: Earth cannot be saved without proper collaboration among different actors in society. One of the major efforts towards this is found in the collaboration between Walmart, several environmental groups and over 1,000 suppliers, known as project Gigaton, to overhaul the company’s supply chain worldwide by reducing greenhouse gas pollution by about a billion tonnes by 2030. Nearly 94 million metric tonnes of emissions have already been reduced since its launch. Another global corporate leader and a champion for environmental sustainability is Unilever that is collaborating with farmers worldwide to reduce harm to the environment. It is aiming to procure its agricultural materials from sustainable sources by the end of this year and eliminating single-use plastic packaging in the UK by 2025. It also plans to become carbon positive by 2030 by reducing or totally eliminating the use of fossil fuels and generating more renewable energy than it consumes. Several food companies have also collaborated with sustainable management consultants to assess the deforestation risk developed due to their operations and take steps to create a sustainable food system. Nestle, the largest food company on Earth, uses satellite technology to ensure that no deforestation is taking place in its supply chain. It has also committed to using 100 per cent responsibly-sourced palm oil by 2020. It has been severely criticised in the past for using palm oil that led to deforestation. Danone, a company producing yogurts, water and plant-based food and drinks, is working in collaboration with farmers to reduce soil degradation and water usage, in the process reducing the company’s carbon footprint by 25 per cent.
Say “no” to plastics: In India, the Philippines and Indonesia, Unilever has found itself under pressure over plastic packaging. Earlier this year, the company was named by the “Break Free From Plastic” campaign as one of the firms most responsible for plastic pollution in these countries. On its part, to help the environment, IKEA plans to ban single-use plastic products from its shops and restaurants by 2020. The company wants to purchase 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020 and use only renewable and recycled materials in its products by the same year. It plans to make its deliveries emission-free by 2025.
Innovation to save the environment: As it is rightly said, “Necessity is the mother of all invention.” Stopping and reversing climate change is the necessity to save our planet now. However, organisations lack awareness on specific technologies that can help them reduce emissions and boost sustainability. Several entrepreneurs globally are trying to bridge this gap and start-ups are being funded to help companies solve sustainability challenges and make progress toward the 2025 climate goals. Danish shipping company Maersk is using biofuels to help it achieve a carbon-neutral status by 2050. It pilot-tested biofuel made from cooking oil to run its cargo ship from Rotterdam to Shanghai and in the process reduce an estimated 1.5 million kg of carbon emissions. Tesla, the electric-car maker, has a holistic environment protection policy where they make sure that the suppliers work without harming the environment, responsibly manage all waste and efficiently use water and energy resources. Microsoft, on the other hand, is using new age technology like artificial intelligence for several sustainability initiatives, forecasting wildfires and risks related to them, minimising the environmental costs of farming, planting trees and protecting endangered species. The Nike Air range of trainers uses at least 50 per cent recycled materials and diverts more than 95 per cent of waste from landfills. Plus the company is soon to release a range of trainers coloured with plant-based dyes, which reduces pollution of waterways.
Accepting climate change at the policy level: Voluntary efforts are good but not enough to tackle the real threat of climate change. Businesses should be open to developing climate policies and governments should support companies in implementing the same. This trend had started now with CEOs of several companies like Dow Chemical, BASF and Lafarge Holcim stressing on bringing about new regulations that check and penalise higher carbon emissions and incentivise lower carbon footprints.
This brings us to the question whether trying to protect the planet is also economically viable? Data suggests so. Companies in 35 countries, including the US, have experienced growth in the last 15 years while reducing their emissions.
According to the New Climate Economy report, the decision to reduce emissions will be good for the job market as it will create 65 million new low carbon emission jobs while generating enterprise value worth $26 trillion till 2030. By reducing emissions, companies will witness two-pronged benefits — a higher economic value and a boost to reputation value, from the point of view of the entire stakeholder group, including employees, investors, suppliers and customers. It is a win-win for all.
(The writer is Associate Professor, Amity University, Noida)
