Climate Change and the Business Organizations in the post COVID World
“The significance of the Climate Change concerns have increased owing to the disruption caused by the pandemic. The businesses will only become more environmentally conscious in their operations in the days to come”.
The three major concerns to a sustainable economy have been in talks for decades.
The climate crisis, the nature crisis, and the pollution and waste crisis have undoubtedly been significant concerns for decades. Caused by our unsustainable consumption and extensive energy practices, climate change has become the burning topic of the era.
Every business performs operations and deals with practices that often impact the environment; as it hampers the environment in one way or the other.
Hence, companies are becoming more conscious of performing activities in a way that safeguards the environment.
Of late, it has become imperative for organizations to remain environmentally committed and in line with the guidelines set by the environment ministries.
DJSI (Dow Jones Sustainability Index), a family of indices that evaluates the sustainability performance of thousands of companies trading publicly; has become more significant these days as orates the companies based on their environmentally committed operations.
DJSI indices are typically a score derived from the analyses of the data collected surrounding specific metrics related to intangible assets within an enterprise.
Organizations are becoming more aware of following business practices in an environmentally committed manner; and achieving better metrics in terms of environmental consciousness and business competence.
Climate Change, Carbon Neutrality & Environmental Concerns:
Climate Change is real, and there is no doubt about it.
The rise in temperatures every year, the abnormalities in the climate, and the unusual rains are evident to an environment that is progressing in more than one way these days.
Organizations are considering environmental-footprint strategies to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and waste across the overall value chain of their operations to strengthen environmental practices continually.
Complying with all applicable environmental laws and regulations becomes of utmost importance when a surge in demand for such investments.
Climate Change, Carbon Neutrality, and investing in concerned environmental practices are gaining more traction owing to rising instances of climate change and extensive ecological activities.
Climate change has become an essential element of redressal for businesses.
Organizations are making Climate Change, Carbon neutrality, and ESG investing its central pillars to achieve its objectives and goals by addressing environmental concerns and attaining higher business profits altogether.
Climate Change:
Climate Change is inevitable. It has been going for so long, and it will continue to prevail in the days to come.
Discarding the reality of climate change is a bogus notion. Instead of considering it as it is and taking essential steps to combat and mitigate its effects, it leads to a sustainable economy.
According to the 2020, Global Climate Report from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, each month of 2020 except December was in the top four warmest of the year.
Moreover, 2020 is the second-warmest year in the 141-year record for the combined land and ocean surface.
Carbon Neutrality:
Carbon neutrality is one of the effective practices that organizations are embedding in their business operations.
It is a set of practices that focus on a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions.
It gets achieved by balancing carbon dioxide emissions with either its removal or by eliminating emissions from society.
As defined earlier, neglecting climate change and its repercussions is not a way to mitigate it with calculated measures.
It is not practically possible for energy-intensive businesses to mitigate the emissions they cause, but they can compensate for those emissions by adopting other carbon-neutral business practices.
Carbon neutrality is achieved by calculating a carbon footprint and reducing it to zero through a combination of in-house efficiency measures and external emission reduction projects.
For instance:
A rice mill using high electricity and power in its operations substitutes its energy conservation by taking energy efficiency measures such as solar energy, PV installations, and energy-efficient bulbs and lightings.
Environmental Concerns:
As the pandemic emerged, digitalization prevailed all over.
Along with the challenges it brought, it also offered a plethora of opportunities in front of the organizations.
Harnessing the environment and the benefits that come along with the green practices result in combatting environment-related concerns.
Having green practices in place that cut GHG emissions makes organizations rate above the rest which doesn’t inculcate green practices.
Conclusion:
Climate change is inevitable. It’s there to stay, and with each passing year, it’s only going to increase in the days to come.
While discarding climate change is an undesirable notion, dealing with climate change itself is a long-term process.
Inculcating steps to combat climate change requires a set of practices and guidelines and robust participation from the stakeholders across the overall value chain of businesses.
