In the past two years, we’ve struggled against the most basic aspects of our existence in our battle against COVID. The pandemic threatened our lives and the lives of those we love in a very year way; causing us to face our own fragility to a degree many of us had not previously understood. It has been frightening and stressful to say the least.
In 2022, as we entered the third year of the pandemic, we’ve seen relief for the most part. On a large scale, life has returned to “normal” as quarantines happen only occasionally on an individual basis, and mask mandates have been lifted in almost every location. Nevertheless, even as the pandemic comes to a close, there are still serious threats to human survival that aren’t going away.
Long before we ever thought about the possibility of a global pandemic overtaking us, climate change was on the minds of every country, every politician, and most individuals in the US. The need for sustainability and reduction of CO2 emissions has been a long standing one, and now that the COVID pandemic is on its way out, it’s time we turn our focus again, to this existential threat.
In the past five years, 85% of consumers have made changes to their purchasing habits in an effort to reduce their individual carbon footprint. Consumers are wanting to do business with companies that operate sustainability and create sustainable products. In fact, 60% of consumers are more likely to purchase sustainable services and the 1 in 3 would be willing to pay a little more for sustainable goods and services.
Due to these consumer trends, as well as simple responsibility for the environment, 99% of CEO’s of large organizations believe that sustainability is vital to their continued success.
Every industry must take responsibility for their environmental impact; particularly those who are creating the most pollution. The top five polluting industries are energy, transportation, agriculture, fashion, and food retail. Each of these industries must take stock of their operations and make significant changes to reduce emissions.
However, one industry which is often overlooked is that of finance. The finance industry itself may not be the greatest contributor to pollution and environmental damage, however it is the backbone on which all other industries operate. In this way, the finance industry bears a heavy responsibility.
For instance, across the globe, there are close to 400 billion purchases and over one billion credit card transactions every single day. Each of these transactions potentially comes with some quantity of carbon emissions.
One way that the finance industry can take responsible action is by transferring operations to the cloud. Finance operations, which are often antiquated and less effective and secure anyway, are also high contributors to CO2 emissions.
By transferring to the cloud, these outdated processes and programs can be brought up to date, which will not only help the environment, but will also ensure continued success in the industry by meeting consumer demands for both sustainability and modernized function.
