Sustainability is neither a buzzword nor jargon. Our daily lives are fundamentally driven by it. Changes in the social, environmental, and financial landscapes have made the adverse effects of climate change more prominent, influencing all of us. Sustainability in the business sector is now a “must do,” not just a “good to have.” We face severe damages if we don’t sustain ourselves as a globe.
While we consider the interdependence of nations, civilizations, and global economies, the attempts to achieve environmentally-sustainable economic development will mostly have to start at the local level. Individual nations will need to create strategies for resolving sustainability issues specific to their particular rates of economic development, cultures, faiths, and political systems. These strategies will need to be developed in collaboration with local industrial stakeholders. We need to accelerate our efforts to reverse the loss of biodiversity on the planet, use renewable energy sources, reforest, modernize our factories, conserve water, reduce pollution, and other aspects of protecting our natural resources, among many others. Sustainability, in its simplest form, is the ability to satisfy our needs without compromising the capacity of future generations to satisfy theirs. Usually, or permanently, we think about the environment when we talk about sustainability. We must begin to consider social factors as well. Technology will play a significant role in all of these as a unifying element.
All corporate sustainability projects should have measurable objectives with follow-up milestones, be independent of specific team members, and use commercially accessible digital tools. If you want, call it MAD: Digital-led, Attrition-proof, and Measurement-based. The manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and construction industries govern where we live, work, play, and eat and how goods and services are carried out. However, they have a significant negative influence on the ecosystem. Understanding the issue in-depth and in its entirety is crucial for reducing this adverse effect. Since quantifying the impact cannot be made in a straight line, it is crucial to establish the baselines accurately.
Technology would help with the problematic, multi-variable-dependent answer. Technology can measure and boost productivity, give efficiency and cost savings, reduce product waste, chemicals, and resources, and analyze and track progress to minimize the harmful effects on the environment. For instance, modern farms can use less water and chemicals thanks to precision application equipment, and cutting-edge technologies like robotics, drones, and various sensors can make agriculture enterprises more ecologically friendly. Technology in agriculture has a positive impact on the environment since it has less of an impact on natural ecosystems and less chemical runoff into rivers.
It will take more work to remedy industrialization’s adverse environmental effects. Digital technology and environmental sustainability appear unrelated and mutually exclusive in the conventional business model. One is fueled by the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s profound technical advancements. These can revolutionize labour, industrial processes, and global production. It’s all about efficiencies, to put it simply. The other is caused by geopolitical instability, environmental degradation, and climate change, all of which call for a new strategy that prioritizes resource management and environmental stewardship.
Businesses are becoming increasingly aware that more than merely increasing output and consumption would be required to satisfy consumers’ growing demand for goods and services. With fundamental business model innovation and the conscious adoption of newer and better ways of living, we will be able to address the ecological and social issues of the day. Simply changing the ownership of brown assets won’t make these fossil fuel-based sectors more sustainable or address their problems immediately. The answer is to continue to invest in these brown assets to speed up their conversion to green. With digital technology, businesses would find it easier to control waste or reduce their environmental impact at the current crossroads.
The success of an enterprise depends on its sustainability goals and related actions! The most influential corporate boards should monitor every achievement in business sustainability and outcomes.
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