Technology can contribute to global sustainability efforts

Photo: Pixabay/Vic_B

The fight to save the planet and reverse the effects of climate change is at the forefront of many people’s minds, especially with increasing media coverage. Every small change we do can help towards the collective effort to go greener matters, but widespread action is needed to truly make a dent in the problem.

Using technology rather than relying on people alone offers great solutions as sustainable technologies support efforts to green businesses and with almost everyone on the planet relying on businesses of various kinds to live their lives, it’s a key area to target.

It can also help people make their home life more eco-friendly, which is important as many of us move towards a hybrid or home-working model. Greener supply chains, for instance, can lead to drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as there are 5.6 million businesses in the United Kingdom alone.

While the scale of changes will be determined by the size of a company and therefore its budget for sustainability-related investments, even making small changes will be beneficial. Getting this green ethos into the company values early on means that it’s more likely to remain as the business grows.

For bigger companies, making changes to the way that their supply chain is monitored is key to the success of sustainability efforts. Having a clear idea of exactly what is happening at each stage of the process is vital when it comes to making eco-friendly sourcing decisions.

Sustainable technology can help identify areas for improvement, including where businesses can cut down on unnecessary waste.

In tandem with greener supply chains, greening cities, too, can result in numerous positive changes. The planet’s ever-increasing population and relentless urbanization worldwide mean that our cities are becoming ever more congested with increasing demand for resources.

Carbon emissions are on the rise and air quality is getting poorer as a result. Not only is air pollution harmful to the environment, but it’s also damaging to human health, causing respiratory and cardiovascular problems, among other chronic ailments.

Here, too, sustainable technologies can come to the rescue. The Smog Free Project, for instance, aims to clean the air, thus making cities a greener and healthier place to live and work. This award-winning tower can clean the air at 30,000 m3 per hour and at only 7m high it doesn’t take up too much space.

If these towers were installed in cities across the world, they could make a significant difference, its proponents stress.

Simultanously, making the most of limited natural resources can likewise go a long way towards a more sustainable world. Demand for traditional energy sources such as coal and oil has remained undiminished, yet these sources are running out and burning them is damaging our planet’s atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

Sustainable technology such as solar panels and wind turbines can help us harness the natural resources around us to power our infrastructure instead.

While the capacity for these green technologies is not the same across the world due to different geographies, economic wealth and weather conditions, there’s still a huge amount of untapped potential and room for further innovation.

With many governments turning to focus on net-zero targets, renewables will become ever more widespread in coming years and decades, radically remaking the energy industry.