COVID-19 accidentally gave planet earth a much-needed break. With half of the world’s population in lockdown by April, global carbon output plummeted by 17%, highlighting the dramatic environmental impact of humanity’s short stint at home. The planet is closer than ever to the 7.6% decrease in carbon output per annum that scientists agree is fundamental to slowing global warming at the rate needed in the next 10 years.

The world is gearing up for re-opening and economic healing. In this new vanguard of building back better, businesses must ensure that their financial recovery is balanced with green goals. There are three key areas that businesses need to address now to improve performance and reduce future carbon output:

  1. embrace virtual working
  2. reassess supply chains
  3. pursue green innovations

If you want your business, no matter the industry, to sustainably #msh post-pandemic, you need to make strides in incorporating these into your plans…

Change past habits: embrace new ways of working

Lockdowns forced businesses across the globe to relocate their workforce online. Widespread use of technologies such as Zoom have bred a new attitude about the necessity of spending five days a week at the office. They have also highlighted that an international flight is not always essential for effective business development. At Elixirr, we have successfully hosted executive immersions and workshops online, and virtually onboarded new hires; we even managed to IPO entirely remotely during lockdown.

Just under half of the decline in CO2 emissions seen by April can be attributed to a reduction in travel; millions of people started working from home, and began to travel more by foot and bike. If businesses adopt flexible working post-COVID-19, they can curtail their carbon footprints through the reduction in employee commuting. In terms of pre-COVID-19 international travel, business travellers accounted for 12% of passengers on planes. Reducing this figure, even marginally, will contribute to tremendous reductions in a corporation’s carbon output. There are also enormous financial incentives to limiting business travel; The Climate Group report that businesses could save more than $500bn per annum by simply decreasing routine business travel.

Flexible working is key to hiring and retaining top talent. There won’t be an option for businesses to opt out of remote working for their people anymore…

As the world reopens, corporations should learn from the adaptability demonstrated over the last nine months, instead of sliding back into old habits; a more considered approach to the necessity of travel is key to incremental carbon reduction. It’s also key to hiring and retaining top talent. There won’t be an option for businesses to opt out of remote working for their people anymore. Equally, they shouldn’t want to. It’s always been a key pillar of the way we work as a firm and our people appreciate having the option; it’s one of the ways we can attract and keep our A team.

Address your business practices now: assess your supply chain

The operational disruption caused by the pandemic has forced companies to scrutinise their global supply chains, often home to a businesses’ largest CO2 emitters. Historically, businesses prioritised the most economical supply option, resulting in high geographical diversity. The pandemic has highlighted the vulnerabilities of this model, with travel restrictions and lockdowns encouraging businesses to relocate their operations closer to home, reaping a reduction in the carbon footprint of goods’ transportation.

A €24bn investment in low-carbon technologies generated a net reduction in operational costs of €41bn for European companies…

As enterprises rebuild their supply chains for the ‘new normal’, they must seek visibility beyond their tier 1 suppliers, investigating where their suppliers are located, where they source from, in addition to their carbon risk exposure. According to the World Economic Forum, sustainable supply chain practices can result in cost reductions of between 9-16%, demonstrating how a positive change for the environment can also bring beneficial results for a business’s bottom line.

This particularly applies to e-commerce platforms, who have experienced a surge in use during the current crisis. In particular, the digitalisation of supply chains enables operations teams to understand their processes with greater transparency, encouraging carbon efficiency. One excellent example is the ORION platform used by UPS. It employs artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the efficiency, speed, and carbon usage of deliveries. This has saved UPS roughly 100 million miles and 10 million gallons of fuel per annum.

Digitising supply chains also makes them more accessible to customers. Increasingly customers are looking at companies with much more scrutiny when it comes to their carbon footprint. Millennial and Gen Z consumers in particular are willing to spend more on less environmentally damaging companies. If you want your business to bounce back post-COVID-19 you need to learn from this demographic and apply meaningful change to supply chains.

Look to the future: invest in green innovations

The key to a green future is investment in technological innovation. New, disruptive solutions are pushing the parameters of traditional business and can help reshape the strategies of the world’s largest corporate polluters post-pandemic.

Adidas recently developed a 100% recyclable running shoe; Unilever also recently partnered with biotech firm Ginkgo Bioworks to eradicate diesel from their laundry detergents. On a mission to make fast food sustainable, Pizza Hut teamed up with Zume to roll out a 100% plant-based, compostable pizza box, delivering significant environmental, operational and customer benefits. Such innovations and partnerships are only going to become more essential to commercial survival moving forward. A 2019 survey found that 47% of internet users had abandoned a product or service because the provider violated their personal ethics, with environmental factors as their most important consideration. A further study found that products marketed as environmentally-sustainable grew 5.6 times faster than those that were not. Coupled with lockdown’s evidence of the swift and tangible impact human activity can have on the planet, this trend is only going to accelerate.

From the other end of the financial spectrum, research has shown that a €24bn investment in low-carbon technologies generated a net reduction in operational costs of €41bn for European companies. Analysis suggests that investment in renewable energy generates five more jobs per million dollars than money spent on fossil fuels. The opportunities for scientific investment are substantial; in September 2020, scientists announced that compact nuclear fusion reactors, which mimic the sun’s energy-production processes, should work. Those businesses with the capacity to invest in green research and development must do so to reap the financial benefits.

Embrace innovation, through partnerships, new products or R&D investment, to carve a green path moving forward and futureproof success.

Businesses are increasingly going to be faced with a consumer and client base that demands environmental policies. Significantly, such policies have the potential to facilitate economic growth. Embrace innovation, through partnerships, new products or R&D investment, to carve a green path moving forward and futureproof success.

The time is now

The environment poses a swathe of problems to humanity that force us to question the status quo. The message is already loud and clear: if we continue to abuse our planet’s health, the damage will become irreversible. So, as businesses economically recover post-COVID-19, shifting strategies and business models should be done with sustainability in mind. There is a window of opportunity that must be seized by businesses for decisive climate action – building back better and greener.