Sustainability trends: 5 issues to watch in 2024

In 2024, sustainability is taking middle stage.

Efforts to trace and scale back emissions, environmental impression and contributions to local weather change are now not uncommon or optionally available; as a substitute, they’ve turn into the norm. Companies, governments and people now see sustainability as a world crucial. Superior applied sciences, extra stringent reporting requirements and stronger assist from stakeholders are constructing momentum for eco-friendly initiatives and the incentives that encourage them. Right here’s what to look at:

Internet zero: The race strikes ahead

The worldwide give attention to attaining net-zero emissions—the purpose which human-caused greenhouse gasoline emissions are balanced by an equal quantity faraway from the ambiance—has intensified lately. Many international locations have dedicated to reaching internet zero by 2050, aligning with the Paris Settlement’s objective to restrict world warming to nicely beneath 2 levels Celsius. And companies throughout varied sectors are setting rigorous sustainability objectives, investing in renewable power sources and growing revolutionary options to cut back their carbon footprint. These efforts are sometimes pushed by stakeholder expectations, regulatory necessities and the popularity that sustainable enterprise practices can enhance the underside line. They usually may drive financial features: Analysis exhibits markets for carbon-neutral items and companies could also be price $10.3 trillion to the worldwide economic system by 2050.¹

In pursuit of internet zero, organizations will focus their sustainability efforts on two paths in 2024:

• Clear power: The transition from fossil fuels to renewable power sources is central to sustainability methods and internet zero initiatives, and was a central situation final 12 months on the United Nations’ COP28 local weather summit. As a part of their power transition plans, many international locations are growing their use of unpolluted power—that’s, energy generated from recyclable and regenerating sources, akin to photo voltaic, wind, geothermal and extra—to cut back their carbon footprint. Corporations are investing in renewable power initiatives and implementing energy-efficient applied sciences and practices. These efforts usually go hand in hand with broader company sustainability initiatives and may result in vital value financial savings and improved environmental efficiency.
• Sustainable provide chains: Pushed by growing shopper demand for sustainable merchandise and heightened consciousness of the environmental impression of manufacturing and transport items, extra companies wish to make their provide chain operations extra sustainable. This may increasingly embody utilizing extra eco-friendly packaging or manufacturing supplies and lowering waste, in addition to human-centered efforts akin to guaranteeing honest labor practices and secure work environments. These modifications usually require rethinking organizational practices and growing new partnerships. Companies are more and more conscious that their impression goes past their very own operations; in consequence, they’re taking steps to deal with Scope 3 carbon emissions, or these emitted by different operators of their worth chain.

Sustainability reporting: Accountability on the report

This can be the largest 12 months but in sustainability reporting. The European Union’s Company Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires corporations in Europe and past to make annual reviews on the environmental and social impression of their enterprise actions, got here into impact in January. Along with CSRD, California has new obligatory reporting guidelines coming into play in 2024, whereas international locations around the globe are on the verge of implementing their very own non-financial disclosure and documentation necessities.

Traders, regulators and stakeholders are more and more demanding that corporations disclose their publicity to climate-related dangers , akin to dependence on fossil fuels or vulnerability to climate occasions. By each obligatory reporting and voluntary disclosures, corporations can establish and handle climate-related dangers, and supply beneficial info to traders and different stakeholders for larger transparency.

Reporting can be changing into important to company social duty initiatives. As extra corporations set broad environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives, discovering a approach to observe and precisely doc progress is more and more essential. The transparency offered by common and thorough reporting is a technique to assist keep away from greenwashing, or deceptive claims about sustainability and environmental impression. With regulated documentation, customers, governments and different stakeholders could make higher choices primarily based on reliable info.

However compliance with the broad array of obligatory reporting guidelines across the globe will be complicated and sophisticated. One survey discovered that 81% of corporations had been creating new roles and tasks to accommodate the rising variety of disclosure necessities, whereas 99% of corporations mentioned they had been considerably or very more likely to spend money on extra applied sciences and instruments associated to ESG reporting.² For instance, some are turning to software program options that may extra simply seize, handle and report ESG information.

Round economic system: When waste is a useful resource

Waste not, need not: the round economic system mannequin, which goals to attenuate pointless waste and take advantage of sources, is booming. As a substitute of seeing issues as disposable, it encourages the reuse and recycling of merchandise. Analysis expects that transitioning to a round economic system may generate USD 4.5 trillion in financial advantages by 2030.³

Companies play an important position in selling the round economic system by redesigning merchandise to be extra sturdy, reusable or recyclable, slicing down useful resource consumption and lowering waste all through the product life cycle. Retailers, significantly within the vogue trade, are more and more embracing round enterprise fashions: rental and resale packages supply alternatives for development, whereas restore companies supply an alternative choice to landfill disposal. Different companies are getting concerned by offering avenues for extending product life or plans for recycling or refurbishment.

Biodiversity: Embracing nature-positive

Biodiversity loss, one of many impacts of local weather change and ecosystem disruption, poses a major risk to Earth’s future. The World Financial Discussion board’s International Dangers Report ranks biodiversity loss among the many high 5 threats to humanity within the subsequent decade, with over half of the world’s GDP being reasonably or extremely depending on nature.⁴

Efforts to protect biodiversity and pure sources gained momentum in December 2022, when international locations signed a world biodiversity framework on the United Nations’ COP15 summit. Governments, companies, and non-profit organizations globally are implementing initiatives akin to establishing protected areas, restoring degraded ecosystems and selling sustainable agriculture and forestry practices.

They’re additionally turning to a brand new perspective: “nature optimistic.” Much like “carbon impartial” within the context of emissions, nature optimistic refers to stopping, avoiding and reversing environmental destruction. This may be quantified by measuring metrics like tree cowl, habitat integrity and variety of species, and is guided by sustainable improvement ideas. The objective is for there to be extra nature by 2030 than there’s at the moment—which implies taking actionable steps in 2024.

 Sustainable expertise: New methods to do extra

With a growth in synthetic intelligence (AI), machine studying (ML) and a bunch of different superior applied sciences, 2024 is poised to the be the 12 months for tech-driven sustainability. As corporations think about their local weather impression within the coming 12 months, a number of instruments and capabilities might help information key sustainability objectives:

• Synthetic intelligence: AI might help optimize power consumption, scale back emissions and assist decision-making processes in sustainability technique improvement. Some organizations are leveraging AI’s capabilities to pursue their very own sustainability—for instance, to supply extra correct local weather predictions, optimize power use in buildings or establish areas of waste or inefficiency within the provide chain.
• Business 4.0: Producers are integrating new applied sciences, together with Web of Issues (IoT), cloud computing and AI and machine studying, into their manufacturing services and all through their operations. The sensible factories that make up Business 4.0 have capabilities that result in elevated automation, predictive upkeep, self-optimization of course of enhancements and efficiencies that scale back each emissions and general prices.
• Software program options: As talked about, software program options might help corporations navigate the more and more complicated net of obligatory ESG reporting necessities. The IBM Envizi ESG Suite, for instance, can gather a whole lot of information varieties effectively, analyze information throughout silos and ship audit-ready reviews simply—a course of that will in any other case be labor and value intensive.  Setting, well being and security (EHS) software program can streamline information assortment and incident reporting, observe security inspections and certifications, and information danger evaluation and mitigation, whereas environmental intelligence software program can monitor climate for potential disruptions and inform decision-making.

Sustainability traits for 2024: The 12 months forward

As we transfer by way of 2024, these sustainability traits will form world responses to the urgent challenges of local weather motion and environmental impression. By understanding these key sustainability traits, your group can higher navigate the trail to a extra sustainable future.

Be a part of the IBM Sustainability Group

1 Inexperienced transition creates $10.3T alternative for the worldwide economic system by 2050, a brand new report finds (Hyperlink resides exterior ibm.com), January 2023

2 Sustainability Motion Report (hyperlink resides exterior ibm.com), Deloitte, December 2022

3 The Round Financial system May Unlock $4.5 trillion of Financial Development (Hyperlink resides exterior ibm.com), Accenture, September 2015

4 The International Dangers Report 2020 (Hyperlink resides exterior ibm.com), World Financial Discussion board, January 2020