For decades, mounting pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions has elicited both minor and major adjustments in business practices. However, global warming and climate change are not the only environmental concerns companies face. Business activities cause direct environmental impact when carried out within host communities and indirect environmental impact through supply chains. Resource consumption and waste production can bring about excessive collateral damage on natural habitats. Some of these effects of industrial growth have already proven to be irreversible. The ability to identify these impacts even before the planning stage is critical in crafting timely and effective mitigation measures. Below are the Top 4 Environmental Concerns that require society’s urgent attention.
1. Loss of Biodiversity
Biodiversity ensures that the entire food chain gets its share of sustenance. The following food web illustrates the importance of biodiversity within ecological communities:
- The ocean’s copepods feed on microscopic phytoplankton to survive.
- Bigger fish (as well as other species) feed on copepods.
- Nearly half of the human population gets a substantial part of their protein intake from these bigger species (seafood).
Biodiversity loss is essentially removing links from the food chain. When this happens, organisms that are dependent on extinct species will feel that loss and strive to adapt or perish as well. This domino effect presents serious food security concerns.
Anthropogenic activities such as overfishing or land conversion (affecting terrestrial ecosystems) pose critical threats to biodiversity. Shortages in the food chain put all of society at risk – whether individuals, businesses, or host communities. Clamour for “net-zero” natural capital consumption has been the global response to this problem.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has spearheaded efforts to craft guidelines for businesses to manage biodiversity risks in key areas. An accredited observer to the United Nations (UN), the IUCN actively engages in meaningful discussions with the members of the UN General Assembly to push for environmental conservation.
As the biodiversity discourse gains stronger international participation, ESG standards will be an increasingly necessary foothold for businesses. Seeking expert guidance and utilizing environmental management tools that standardize and streamline their mitigation processes are the first steps for any business attempting to correct its impact on biodiversity.
2. Rising Sea Levels
Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to global warming, which in turn results in rising sea levels. To save the environment and avoid major financial losses, businesses must curb carbon dioxide emissions that trigger the following processes:
- Glacial melting
Warmer temperatures trigger glacial melting at a much faster rate than snow can replenish in the ice sheets. Every year, huge volumes of water are released into the ocean.
- Thermal expansion of water
Cold water is denser than warm water. As the global temperature continues to rise, the ocean is expanding. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, thermal expansion contributes half of the overall rate in sea-level rise.
Coastal regions have been slowly drowning from increasing global temperatures. Through the business lens, this goes beyond ruined reputation and potential risk to their social license to operate. More frequent and intense tidal flooding because of sea-level rise means complications in transportation infrastructure, higher maintenance and equipment costs, and decreased distribution to coastal regions.
In the U.S. alone, up to 60,000 miles of roadways are vulnerable to tidal flooding, and roughly 100 million vehicle hours are lost annually on the eastern coast. These numbers are expected to worsen in the coming years, as would their financial implications.
Climate change-related business disclosures may be a relatively new legal necessity, but industrial efforts to slow down global warming are long overdue. The consequences of climate change have moved past being pessimistic projections to being an active element of our new reality.
3. Waste Production and Pollution
Businesses produce huge volumes of waste–the subsequent treatment and processing of which may be difficult, costly, and harmful to the environment. The world is currently producing more waste (i.e., fertilizer residue, textiles, food wastes, hazardous chemicals, plastics, etc.) than it can manage.
Mismanaged waste pollutes and reduces the quality of our air, soil, and water. Pollution has already wreaked havoc on ecosystems and inflicted mild and serious health concerns on micro and macro-organisms (including humans). Businesses do not only rely solely on manmade infrastructure, but also on the substantial contributions of ecosystem services. Mismanaged waste leads to the destruction of ecosystems, which in turn disrupts supply chains. Attention to the amount and types of waste produced benefits both the environment and businesses. Switching to both more sustainable raw materials and processes significantly helps address the waste problem.
4. Water Scarcity
More than a billion people live in areas with extreme water scarcity. Climate change is bringing prolonged droughts, increasing water-scarce regions, and pushing water-stressed regions to the brink of freshwater depletion.
The United Nations, through SDG 6, highlights that “clean water and sanitation” are basic human rights and urges the private sector to make proactive strides to ensure water security. Many water-scarce locations are hubs for water-intensive commercial activities. Acknowledging this, investors are integrating water stress mitigation measures and initiating valuation discounts on shares of companies that put minimal effort into confronting threats to water security. Water scarcity is an urgent concern, and without serious interventions, more of the world will share the suffering that results from this crisis.
The rapid exhaustion of the world’s natural capital is partly attributable to business activities. Declining biodiversity, rising sea levels, excessive waste production, and depleting freshwater resources are all leading factors causing collateral damage to corporate progress. These ramifications must be addressed. Businesses depend on both manmade and natural systems to maintain efficient production. Environmental disruptions, therefore, are more than just logistical difficulties through the business lens. Damaged corporate reputation from mismanaging resources and negatively impacting the environment can also result in the loss of social license to operate and valuation discounts from investors. Businesses’ proactive management of their environmental footprint is of utmost importance to profitability. Consulting with experts and equipping your business with environmental management tools are the next step for any business endeavoring to embrace the changes today’s industry requires.
Author Bio
The SafetyStratus Research Advisory Group (RAG) brings together thought leaders from the global environmental, health, and safety community to promote best practices and provide key insights in the profession and the industries they serve. The Research Advisory Group also advocates, where practical, the intersection of and advances with the use of technology, such as the SafetyStratus enterprise EHS software platform. Group membership consists of representatives from across varied disciplines and market sectors as well as select members of the SafetyStratus team.
The primary objectives of the SafetyStratus RAG partnership are to:
- Build a strategic partnership between EHS practitioners and the SafetyStratus team.
- Provide engaging and practical content to the global EHS community.
- Provide discipline and market feedback specific to SafetyStratus products and services.
While the objectives of the RAG are varied, the primary public-facing outcome will be available through engaging and practical content found on the SafetyStratus resource pages. Various articles, papers, and other valuable resources will be produced and shared as part of an ongoing effort to cultivate a robust community. Ultimately, the SafetyStratus RAG will expand to have a broader reach and provide opportunities for more inclusion by all interested EHS professionals in a collaborative community environment.
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