The efforts for reducing carbon footprint can be seen extensively in all economies with various organizations striving hard to achieve and maintain greener policies.
This green approach for creating a resource-efficiency economy may well be the precursor to the next major industrial revolution and in the long term may also churn out financial benefits in addition to the obvious environmental benefits.
There is no stopping the transformation and inclination towards green technologies, so the only recourse available to organizations is to rework their strategies and come up with contingent measures to ensure that they maintain compatibility with the changing trends. Even statistics have gone ahead to reveal the rapid growth of investors in green technology with with the investments surging to 243 billion USD as reported by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This is staggering 30% increase from the previous year and almost 5 times more than the figures calculated for 2004.
Despite these investments, there is a significant gap which exists between the required capital to fund the widespread implementation of green technologies and the available financial capabilities for meeting the requirements that are crucial for sustaining the transition being made towards low carbon economies.
If current figures and data are to be considered, the energy demand would grow by approximately 36% over the period 2019 – 2035. The majority of the demands (estimated at 93%) is expected to emanate from the emerging markets.
If predictions by the International Energy Agency (IEA) were to be considered, then the period 201 to 2035 would experience the increase in renewable resource based power generation by 300%. Nuclear power and natural gas are major components of the “future energy mix” which is expected to gain prominence in the coming years in place of fossil fuel that would lose its market share gradually.
While renewable energy is still available at high costs in most places, the prices would see a decrease as soon as solar and wind energy projects achieve successful completion. More than mere provision of green sources, it is the awareness of its implications which holds greater significance as people would be required to adapt to the changing technologies. As of now, the use of natural gas appears to be transition aiding component that is bridging the gap between the use of traditional fuels and the use of renewable energy sources.
If the business aspect of the implications of renewable energy were to be considered, then resorting to green methods would not only enhance the usage of resources but it would also bring visible cost benefits in the long run.
The raw materials required in the production of a large number of products are not available in unlimited quantity and with the stringent rejection of raw materials owing to non-compliance with quality standards, the need for going green seems to be the only recourse in the current economic scenario. Such concerns revolving around resource utilization are expected to bring about an increased demand for organizations to prove their business’s adherence to sustainable practices.
Sustainability reporting as of now is only voluntary and is mainly used to encourage organizations and businesses to declare their socio-environmental impact. However, the tides may turn pretty soon in light of the various developments being made due to which sustainability reporting may no longer be a choice, it would become a mandatory component of public declarations for all businesses.
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