This is the green hour

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Studies show that more than 60% of 20-35-year-olds have incorporated new practices into their daily lives in the wake of the pandemic that can be considered sustainable, and more than 80% take the values and positioning of brands into account when choosing their products or services.

When it comes to businesses, they increasingly consider these same criteria when choosing their partners and suppliers.

We are not just talking about sustainability, we are talking about impact and making it measurable. Corporate social responsibility goes further: it paves the way for social and sustainable investment strategies, and companies are increasingly integrating these types of markers in their core business, in alignment with it.

The challenge is major: making an environmental and human impact, being seen as a contributor to the cause without falling into greenwashing.

We must measure, and measure well. Indicators of carbon emissions, of investment in social causes to promote equal opportunities, health impact indicators, etc. are at the same level as other more traditional business KPIs and are already part of management boards and executive meetings.

This involves a revamp of current business and a travel companion: data. Time ago we talked about data as “the petrol of the future”.

The future is now. Data governance is company-wide and part of every process. A new paradigm, businesses and suppliers are obliged to share this information with users and consumers.

We are no longer judged just by what we do, but also by how we do it. Business intelligence, dashboards and applied artificial intelligence become communication and leverage tools for new opportunities.

A new industry appears: The green industry, and the role technology plays is crucial. According to Greenpeace, data processing currently consumes 21% of the total used in the IT sector.

Virtualisation and cloud computing processes are helping to optimise resources and reduce the carbon footprint by 30% to 90%. Companies like Google say they have cut their energy consumption by 50%.

With a forecasted increase of 500% in processing over the next decade, the figure of the green datacenters is appearing. This represents a major shift in the industry.

With an investment of 36 billion US dollars in 2021, it is using new technologies and creative solutions to optimise the use of resources with much more energy-efficient machines.

Recently, Apple has positioned its range of processors as another more efficient alternative with higher performance, doubling the previous generation in sales.

The circular economy and adjacent industries (recycling, repairing, sustainable manufacturing, products with a new life) represent an opportunity amounting to 4.5 trillion US dollars.

After the publication of recent European directives, they have become a must.

This impact is also evident in investment to create new businesses: 23% of successful start-ups in Europe have a lot to do with sustainability.

Europe leads this ranking with an investment of 39 billion US dollars, and this is nothing more than the consequence of the greater awareness of developed countries.

In this new scenario, in addition to new businesses, new job opportunities appear: the green jobs.

Leaving the pandemic aside, remote working has opened up yet another window to globalisation in the quest for talent, and new career opportunities are emerging linked to this new movement.

Specifically, it is estimated that more than 18 million jobs have been created in this decade in Europe.

Green-collar workers will be responsible for drafting strategies, for controlling recycling, for reviewing how sustainable a company is, for measuring the impact on user health, for reviewing software to ensure it is more efficient, for designing eco-friendly products, for managing citizen’s movements in the metaverse, they will take responsibility in water pollution issues...

Newly created positions will require new competencies that we do not yet know about today and which we have to start preparing for.