Every day, we hear about the rise in the average temperature of our planet, desertification, rising sea levels, extreme weather phenomena… Global organisations and initiatives on climate change have been explaining for years how climate warming is attributable to the increased concentration of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by human activities. The most recent one is the 2021 IPCC report that directly blames human activity for global warming.
The anthropogenic factor has the greatest impact on climate change. For a company, whether it is a production or service company, changing habits and wrong behaviour, both personal and industrial, often unintentional or due to a lack of correct information, is a fundamental step to make a contribution to the fight against climate change.
Equally relevant is the problem of the scarcity of natural resources. Here a few surprisingly simple axioms may suffice. Fossil fuels pollute and are bound to run out; whereas renewable sources do not pollute and are inexhaustible.
Within our own companies, we can implement strategies to reduce environmental impact, limit costs and improve the quality of work and life in our offices.
Reducing the environmental impact of a company’s production and professional activities through the correct and responsible use of available resources is not an easy objective, but an extremely important one.
It is necessary to plan a real strategy to rationalise production processes and reduce energy consumption to promote a framework of environmental sustainability. Strive can help your company to reduce your footprint with renewable energy solutions, such as Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs).
Where do I start?
Much depends on the activity of the individual company. Apart from improvements in office behaviour (avoiding leaving PCs on standby, adopting efficient lighting systems, controlling energy and water consumption, making heating and cooling systems more efficient), which are common to all production and service activities, what goes further is necessarily linked to the individual nature of your business.
Shall we give some examples?
- Hotels and tourist facilities: Working on heating, cooling, and cooking services, which are the areas where consumption is concentrated, often oversized or poorly regulated, immediately leads to a reduction in environmental impact, as well as in energy expenditure.
- Transport and logistics: Whenever possible, electrification is good for the environment, and in the long term also for company accounts, both because of lower energy costs and the drastic reduction in maintenance. Optimising the geographical layout of your logistics facilities (warehouses) is another key to reducing costs and emissions.
Filtering CO2 from the environment
Some technologies make it possible to filter CO2 from the ambient air. This activity can be particularly interesting when the production process itself needs CO2 (e.g. the beverage industry). In this case, you can aim for a carbon-free production process from the start.
Energy-efficient buildings. The building envelope has a major impact on the energy consumption of the building. In civil construction, the use of wood, a renewable and climate neutral raw material, requires much less energy and produces fewer CO2 emissions than other materials. Moreover, CO2 is absorbed by the wood.
Companies that are virtuous towards themselves and their customers. A company can set itself the goal of reducing its own emissions, but also those generated by its employees or customers. Motivating employees and customers to a more virtuous use of environmental resources generates awareness and motivation and is a good branding investment.
In the fight against climate change, companies that succeed in reducing their emissions, whether by investing in technology or in behaviour and habits, will be victorious and more competitive, regardless of the sector in which they operate.
On the other hand, those companies that are too slow to adapt to low-carbon business models will lose opportunities and put their business at risk. As regulations become stricter and consumer tastes change in favour of more climate-friendly products, these companies will be like the ones who kept selling horses after the railway was built.
Talk to our Renewable Energy Solutions team here.