Sustainability Articles

In an exclusive interview with Business Insider India, Bhumi Pednekar spoke about her struggles with eco-anxiety during her early years, her efforts to strike a balance between her professional career and environmental responsibilities, her advice for a younger audience, and her take on the climate action across the globe. In a world where the spotlight often blinds stars to the sufferings of the planet and its people, Bhumi reminds us that every person on this planet needs to keep that spark for eco-consciousness alive.

Life cycle assessment of plastic reveals that petroleum-based plastics can be recycled three to four times — with product quality deteriorating with each cycle — finally finding its way to landfills. In 2016, the World Economic Forum had estimated that plastic production could triple by 2050, if the businesses continue as usual.

In the journey towards a greener and more sustainable future, women are not just stakeholders, but essential architects of change. Despite a global acknowledgement of this crucial fact, the ongoing socio-environmental shifts risk leaving women behind, worsening historical injustice. Therefore, on this International Women’s Day (IWD), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has urged governments, policymakers and employers to actualise the 2024 UN IWD theme, ‘Invest in women: accelerate progress’.

For millions of women, the simple act of leaving their homes to navigate work or errands is fraught with numerous challenges. Can we design women-friendly urban mobility systems as a part of the solution? Equitable mobility opens up earning opportunities for women — with positive correlations with their household savings, children’s education and personal autonomy. But if ignored, it has the opposite effect.

The ‘2022 ESG Global Study’ by Oracle, which involved over 11,000 participants from 15 countries, shows that 89% of business leaders believe that companies using tech for sustainability are more likely to succeed. A whopping 93% of these leaders acknowledge technology's crucial role in enhancing corporate sustainability and 94% advocate the use of technology in ensuring data accuracy, automating data collection across sectors, planning and revising sustainability targets based on performance, and automating report generation.

Sprawling with lush trees and a constant freshening breeze, Bengaluru certainly lived up to its title as the 'Garden City of India' at one point. But with a rampant boom in urbanisation, conditions gradually began to take a turn for the sour some 2-3 decades ago. Fortunately, the action plan seeking to reduce GHG emissions to 56% by 2050, could help.

As the battle to protect the environment heats up globally, the drone, despite being majorly touted as a military weapon in the news, continues to prove its versatility in sustainability strategies. Policymakers and big corporations across the globe are recognising the use of specialised civilian drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for environment protection.

In addition to the government and companies, there is increased interest from banks, NBFCs, venture capitalists and PE funds in green finance opportunities!

Olectra Greentech, partnered with Reliance, unveiled their Hydrogen Bus last Thursday due to be released next year – and things look extremely promising, at least on paper. Initial reports have already indicated that these Hydrogen buses might even pack a bigger punch than the current electric buses. Let's see how the two compare.

After the initial set-up, the company claims that daily captured sunlight will be enough to cook enough for a family of four during the day and night. In addition, it can even be plugged into the electric grid when cloudy days hinder effective charging.

Most of these places are severely threatened by rising ocean levels that stand to erase large swaths of land from the map. At the same time, widespread habitat destruction erodes other places of their magnificent centrepieces.

Here are some of the species endemic to our country that India stands to lose to climate change and severe weather, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. They have all been listed as 'Critically Endangered'. Failing to save them would directly set us back on the 15th SDG, which seeks to protect the planet’s biodiversity.

Just a few months back, Ethereum made a ground-shaking move called 'The Merge', which fundamentally changed how block rewards were handed out. This change from a 'Proof-of-work' system to a 'Proof-of-stake' system eliminated the incentives of having warehouses of computers to make you crypto-richer by simply making the process non-competitive.

Honeywell, an Indian company, has managed to invent an ethanol-to-jet fuel processing technology that converts corn-based, cellulosic, or sugar-based ethanol into SAFs. The company claims this fuel will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%, and its modular property can enable rapid installation to speed up the transition process even more.

Low-income and developing countries bear the brunt of climate change even though they are the least responsible for it. Therefore, in 2009, industrialised countries pledged $100billion a year by 2020 to Least Developed Countries and developing countries. However, with a majority of the funding directed to LDCs, countries like India need to generate their own funding to meet climate goals.

Corporate philanthropic approaches, such as Patagonia and IKEA's, can help companies and their foundations meet their social impact goals and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. In addition, they seek to address the root causes of inequality and poverty and provide flexible and long-term funding that can also unlock other forms of financing, such as impact investment capital.

Ever since we entered the COVID-19 pandemic era, one crisis after another has hampered our progress towards SDGs that include no poverty, zero hunger, climate action, gender equality, and good health. It's 2022, and there are barely seven years left to meet the 17 2030 UN SDGs. And our report card does not look good!

Experts opine that monitoring of air quality in Bengaluru is not being done appropriately. In the last five years, 25,000 to 30,000 trees have been cut in Bengaluru. Hence, the greenery which would remove the hazardous elements is lost. In addition, the growth of the IT industry has added 60,000 to 70,000 pickup and drop vehicles in Bengaluru.

The prime objective of the government is to make the lives of farmers associated with sericulture better so that this dream fabric manufactured indigenously in J&K reaches every nook and corner of the world. Efforts are being put to preserve the uniqueness, beauty, and genuineness of the fabric as the quality and craftsmanship are the hallmarks of J&K's crafts.

The 22.24 sq.km area encompassing Bhairabkunda forest in Udalguri district, located at the tri-junction where Assam meets Arunachal Pradesh and the neighbouring country of Bhutan, has a fascinating tale of rebirth to tell, though it was ripped apart by rampant deforestation, deadly floods and ethnic clashes between 1979 and 1989.

As we near the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (aka COP 27), scheduled for November 2022, feelings of anxious anticipation, dread, and hope prevail worldwide.

A report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) demonstrates that biodiversity and climate are deeply connected. The recent IPCC AR6 report also highlights that protecting and restoring nature is a critical strategy for addressing climate impacts, surging extremes, and biodiversity collapse.

From efficient ESG management to net-zero carbon emissions, Indian tech companies are gradually raising the bar for corporate sustainability. With numerous emerging green technologies, they are aiding sustainability transitions for other sectors as well. Technology has benefited all businesses in their efforts to innovate, compete, and gain customers as they work toward a better tomorrow.

The global automotive industry is undergoing a paradigm shift as it tries to switch to alternative, less energy-intensive options. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021 (COP26), India vowed to work toward the aspirational goal of having at least 30% of private vehicles be electric by 2030. The Business Insider India's virtual panel, "Shifting Gears: Evaluating the road to sustainability", initiated a discussion on the EV road to sustainability.

The statistics show that the transition is no longer gradual, but is happening at an exponential pace. The share of EVs in the global automobile market doubled in just one year, from 2020 to 2021. With more than three lakh units sold in 2021, India is catching up fast. Some environmentalists even say that buying a fossil fuel-intensive vehicle in the 21st century is a crime against humanity.