Human induced activities contribute to anthropogenic climate change and associated risks
Climate change is one the mega-challenges engulfing the globe today. In the present context, climate change is mainly caused by anthropogenic reasons involving human intervention because of overt dependency on Earth’s natural assets for our day-to-day activities. The human induced climate change is directly attributed to the release of greenhouse gases through fossil fuel combustions, natural resource exploitation and through energy-intensive manufacturing processes by different businesses.
The anthropogenic factors can bring forward unprecedented challenges for societies and for the business community. The scope of climate risks is interlinked and can bring forward major ramifications on the global economy, the financial system, and most importantly to societies at large. For instance, recent events concerning Cyclone Gabrielle led to huge implications for businesses as well as different communities at large. The physical impact of climate change is one such risk that led to discontinuity in day-to-day business operations, tepid supply chains as well as large scale socio-economic challenges. In a bid to avoid such risks, it is imperative for businesses to play a proactive role in transitioning to net zero and become carbon neutral. As the global economy aims to become net zero, natural assets can be preserved through systemic linkages and collaborations between communities, businesses and the financial system. The cohesion between the stakeholders is pivotal to ensure sustainable and inclusive development as a large proportion of the population still relies on natural resources and is vulnerable to its depletion.
What can your business do?
In order to tackle such climate related catastrophes and to achieve sustainable development, businesses have a critical role to play in measuring and managing their greenhouse gas inventories and hedge exposures related to climate change from their day-to-day operations. It is well known that ‘What gets measured, gets managed’, the same principle can be applied to quantify and act on reducing emissions generated by your business.
Today businesses have realised the importance of reducing carbon emissions and have laid out sustainability initiatives and strategies to achieve the net zero. In line with this, there is a paradigm shift in business models from a linear economy to a circular economy. The former is based on the ‘Take-Make-Dispose’ model where raw material is transformed into a final product and is later disposed of by the consumer without any consideration for the ecological footprint. On the contrary, the circular economy approach is based on principles of sustainability through which resources are not squandered but are rather reused for multiple cycles. The main emphasis is to achieve a closed-loop system and eliminate anthropogenic causes to climate change. From a business perspective, circular economy model eliminates waste and retains value in the product for a longer time. This cycle propagates innovation ranging from product design to building long term relationship with the communities and helps businesses reap benefits by improving brand perception and positioning and reduce climate related exposures in day-to-day operations.
The following principles of circular economy assist businesses to become sustainable
a) Circular inputs - Strategic procurement of biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable materials. A business may also explore using in-house renewable energy sources instead of conventional power.
b) Rethinking business models - Through the introduction of the ‘Product as a service’ approach. Businesses may provide products to the maximum number of people instead of selling the maximum number of products. For instance, carpooling instead of individual taxi rides puts fewer vehicles on road and will reduce the environmental impact.
c) Promoting sustainable consumption – Involves proper handling of the product to eliminate waste at every level of value creation from product design to end use. This creates a win-win for businesses as they reduce costs and improve their brand positioning in the market, and at the same time bring about changes in an individual’s lifestyle to reduce carbon footprint.
The above factors are some of the means to reduce a carbon footprint of a business enterprise. These are instrumental for sustainable business operations and bring forward a spectrum of benefits such as long-term cost savings, product innovation, reducing waste, and mitigating climate risks. Businesses have a strategic need to measure and manage greenhouse gas emissions through carbon accounting and take active measures to reduce the same via the above principles.
What can we offer you?
At MyImprint, we are passionate about helping businesses reduce their impact on the environment by providing consulting on measuring, managing, and reducing your business carbon footprint. Our team is committed to work with you to understand, track greenhouse gas emissions, and demystify the emissions process. After designing your greenhouse gas inventory, we also develop recommendations and provide actionable insights to lower your imprint on the environment. Some of the services that are enlisted below:
Organizational GHG Emissions – Understand the carbon footprint of your business by measuring GHG emissions through GHG Protocol Corporate Standards and ISO 14064-1.
Farm GHG Assessments in line with 'He Waka Eke Noa'
Carbon Accounting Software integration "MyCarbon"– Technology integration for managing greenhouse inventory. Helps businesses automate data collection, track live emissions through interactive dashboards, and get expert support and recommendations on offsetting.
Lifecycle Assessments for projects, products and services using ISO 14064 -2 Standards and GHG Protocol and reduction recommendations.
Energy certificates – MyImprint is an official partner of the New Zealand Energy Certificate Scheme and a retailer of energy certificates. We can help your business reduce your Scope 2 emissions and assist you to transition to renewable energy.
New Zealand government has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 and through a unanimous contribution between your business and MyImprint, we can make the world a better place and bring inclusive development. We look forward to working with you soon!
‘Ko ahau te taiao, ko te taiao, ko ahau’ – I am the environment, and the environment is me.