Combating climate change has prompted many large companies to take action and adopt green initiatives to reduce their environmental impact and contribute to a more sustainable future. These initiatives range from setting net zero targets, reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, implementing green building standards, and investing in renewable energy and electric vehicles. In this article, we are going to take a look at how companies are trying to fulfill their sustainability goals and what are the best ways Parkl can help achieve yours.
Showcasing your positive impact
According to the Science Based Targets Initiative, companies representing more than a third of the global economy (34%) by market capitalization, had set net zero targets by the end of 2022.Based on their report, 60% of companies setting targets came from the service, manufacturing and infrastructure industries. Some examples of companies that have pledged to achieve net zero emissions - in some cases even being carbon negative - by 2050 or sooner are giants like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Unilever, Nestlé, and BP.
A great way to measure the overall impact of companies is through the ever more prevalent ESG reporting, which means the disclosure of information on how corporations manage their Environmental, Social and Governance risks and opportunities. Through reporting on these factors corporations can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, attract investors and customers, improve their reputation and performance, and comply with regulations. Although all three pillars of the system are essential for development, the one we are going to delve more into this article is the Environmental aspect.
Improving your sustainability
ESG reporting is becoming a mandatory requirement in the European Union, where the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD in short) obliges large companies to report on a set of core sustainability indicators, such as total carbon footprint, energy consumption, water and waste management and biodiversity. The reporting mandate will be in effect from January 2024, and it will compel an estimated 50,000+ companies to comply with its reporting rules. ESG scores are becoming such an important part of business and decision making, that in a survey conducted by KPMG found that 66% of respondents have walked away from a deal due to ESG-related issues at least once already.
A corporation can reinforce its environmental protection efforts through a variety of solutions. One can introduce elaborate proptech solutions for water efficiency, like reducing consumption through in-house recycling and automatic leak detection. There are also ways to improve waste management, such as comprehensive recycling programs, replacing disposable items with reusable alternatives or even encouraging composting efforts for organic waste generated in the office. The largest factors in reducing carbon footprint however must be energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy efficiency in a smart way
Energy efficiency is a crucial aspect of a corporation’s environmental impact. Through smart proptech solutions, today’s office buildings can automatically optimize energy consumption for building operation functions – such as lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning – enhanced even further by occupancy data gathered by sensors.
Installing energy storage systems can also improve a company’s ESG rating. While alleviating the pressure on the local energy grid during peak hours, additional energy storage can even reduce utility bills by storing and using off-peak electricity during work hours. Combined with dynamic load management systems monitoring and optimizing usage, a smart energy infrastructure can open the way for providing enough power for the game changing introduction of electric cars.
The rEVolution is upon us
Electric vehicles are a key technology that can help companies decarbonize their operation in a big way. Electric vehicles (EVs for short) can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from transportation. According to the data from Statista, cars and vans accounted for almost 10% of global CO₂ emissions in 2021. This means that out of the estimated 33.4 billion metric tons of CO₂ emitted globally in 2021, about 3.5 billion metric tons came from cars and vans (for non-commercial use). Considering these numbers, it’s a huge relief for our planet that an electric vehicle contributes 70-90% less overall emission during its lifespan compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.
Switching to EV based transportation for a company usually involves the installation of smart chargers for the office building’s car park – promoting e-mobility for its employees – or changing the entire corporate fleet to electric vehicles. Some researchers suggest that the switch to EVs in the corporate world is going to be so significant, that three quarters of corporate fleets will be fully electric by 2030. For instance, some of the largest companies in the world have committed to switching to fully electric fleets, such as Unilever, Grundfos or Deloitte among many others.
Based on all the aspects, one can easily see the potential impact of switching to EVs on a corporation’s ESG score. It directly ties into greenhouse gas emission reduction points of ESG assessments in multiple ways – reducing the impact of business related travel, employee commuting, usage of fossil fuels, etc. – and shows serious commitment to environmental sustainability.
Reach your sustainability goals with Parkl
In conclusion, large companies are not only talking about their sustainability goals and plans anymore, but they are also taking action. These actions are not only driven by moral, strategic and financial considerations, but by mandatory requirements as well.
Parkl can help your company reach its ESG goals by providing solutions for your e-mobility and parking digitalization needs in one integrated, hardware enabled system. Parkl Office makes the most of your car park through optimization and parking management, while also providing end-to-end EV charging installation and management. Using intelligent dynamic load management and integration capability with energy storage systems are all making Parkl Office a great choice for boosting your ESG scores, while also making the lives of your employees that much easier. Learn more about Parkl’s solutions by clicking on the link below!
Business Development Manager
Parkl Digital Technologies
References:
https://www.forbes.com/lists/net-zero-leaders/?sh=301dbac555de
https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/files/SBTiMonitoringReport2022.pdf
https://www.investeurope.eu/invest-europe-esg-reporting-guidelines/esg-reporting-template/
https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2022/11/ema-esg-due-diligence-report.pdf
ps://www.statista.com/statistics/1388092/carbon-dioxide-emissions-cars-vans-transport/
https://uk.mer.eco/news/ev-vs-ice-are-electric-cars-worth-it/#:~:text=Whilst%20there%20is%20still%20an,than%20those%20of%20ICE%20cars.
