11 Jun Sustainable Trends
According to wwf.org.za here are some of the trends that businesses need to focus on for 2021
- Global leadership: UN’s Climate Conference / COP26 (November 2021) one of the critical platforms and agreements that will continue to drive international discussions with world leaders – in the public and private sector – about the environment, climate change and sustainable development.
- Youth voices, transparency and trust: Focus on human rights and environmental sensitivity in supply chains is a rapidly growing trend. Customers will be expecting more transparency from brands and businesses, and we can expect to see youth activism on the rise as a knock-on effect from youngsters like Greta Thunberg.
- Disruptive technology: New technologies, specifically in the way we communicate, as well as the way we work, is bound to bring an upgrade to old and outdated systems and processes. With the Covid-19 pandemic still lurking, the trend towards using remote-working tools like Zoom and other online applications has shown us that it CAN be done, and even perhaps it should continue to be an option for employees. A positive take on the pandemic is the fact we can reduce our combined carbon footprint, provided the IT sector in your company can manage and support their energy usage responsibly.
- Energy and climate: As always, this is a trend we see time and time again. With renewable energy now being the cheapest form of energy generation – this paves a CLEAR way for us to move away from burning fossil fuels towards an approach far more sustainable. We all know we are running out of time as our window to deal with climate change gets shorter every year. It is important to note that investors are applying the pressure to only invest in countries that have significantly reduced their carbon footprint.
- The circular economy: reducing our dependence on single-use plastics with its environmental consequences, along with legislative shifts in South Africa around extended producer responsibility, will push more companies to develop new models to ensure sustainability.
- Water smart: Water scarcity and even the quality of our water in South AFrica is a growing concern (in fact it is a global concern). This will continue well into the future. Businesses will need to prioritise awareness around water scarcity and water security in their operations.
- Global food and biodiversity crisis: more sustainably, shift our diets and reduce food waste, which is the driving force in deforestation and land-use change. We need to highlight food security issues in South Africa and around the world.
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