Businesses and even households have become carbon emitters due to the enormous increase in production and carbon emissions over the past years. This necessitates an immediate transition to carbon neutrality by society.
Pollutants are getting into the air at an alarming rate. This is because technology is improving, people are buying new products immediately, and they are replacing older products. The problem worsens when old items end up in landfills without being recycled. Technology products are the main characters in this current situation.
The purchasers of these carbon products are households, while the producers are businesses. Each has a portion of the responsibility. So, people will have to limit how much carbon dioxide-making stuff they buy, and companies will have to devise ways to make products and eliminate waste that is good for the environment.
As a result, the need for carbon neutrality is increasing, with nearly the entire planet taking steps in this direction. For instance, the European Union takes environmental action with the Paris Agreement and the Green Deal by establishing key environmental goals until 2050.
The primary objective of carbon neutrality is climate neutrality, followed by climate positivity. However, there are still open questions about how we will achieve these goals and build a sustainable society and climate neutrality.
Is there still time for carbon neutrality?
Many people think that “carbon neutrality,” “net zero,” and “climate positivity” will never be reached because of the level of emissions we have now. This occurs because the environmental issue is already significant, and there is insufficient time to assume emissions-related responsibilities and implement suitable measures.
But this is not the case. There is still time if all companies to take responsibility and comprehend the meaning behind the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions.
Moreover, citizens should understand the significance of recycling and refrain from purchasing more products. In addition, 27 years remain until 2050, when the situation can be reversed.
What is carbon neutrality?
To be carbon neutral, all carbon emissions must be stopped, and all carbon sinks must absorb the same amount of carbon. Forests, seas, and soils are all potential carbon sinks because they take in more CO2 than they give (managing them more sustainably).
According to the European Union Commission, natural sinks take up approximately 9.5–11.0 Gt of carbon dioxide annually. Unfortunately, there are currently no artificial carbon sinks that can effectively remove carbon from the atmosphere to slow the rate at which the planet is warming.
A company can achieve carbon neutrality in one of three ways: either by reducing its carbon emissions to zero, offsetting its remaining emissions, buying carbon credits, or following a more eco-friendly trade waste approach.
What happens with sustainability and branding?
There are many ways to define sustainable development regarding “carbon neutrality.” Climate-neutral and climate positivity are all ways to describe this.
Numerous businesses, particularly startups, have positioned themselves as carbon-negative, emphasizing their eco-friendliness and accusing more giant corporations of employing carbon-positive production methods. These phrases are predominantly used in advertising because companies wish to sell their products as part of a new, more sustainable paradigm.
However, even the largest corporations use terms related to the environment to gain notoriety, build a stronger brand, and promote an eco-friendly approach to production, action, and waste, like smaller businesses.
Sustainability is a requirement, and an increasing number of consumers are opting for more ecological and environmentally friendly actions and purchases and making more conscientious choices regarding their assets and companies.
Even if a company’s goal is branding, these actions can serve as a beacon for the future and lead to carbon neutrality.
What is Climate Neutrality?
According to Charles Michel, European Council President, in July 2020, “Climate neutrality is no longer a question of choice. It is beyond doubt a necessity.”
The ultimate environmental goal of the European Union is climate neutrality. Net zero emissions is an alternative term for climate neutrality, which refers to balancing the number of greenhouse gases emitted and the quantity extracted from the environment.
This indicates that the European Union intends to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to the point where they no longer contribute to global warming. Therefore, activities that remove carbon neutralize any remaining emissions. This is where carbon neutrality becomes relevant to the Union‘s objective.
To achieve this objective, the EU has outlined several policy measures and initiatives, such as:
- Increasing the use of renewable energy
- Enhancing energy efficiency
- Finding additional ways to sweeten and make waste trading more environmentally friendly
- Investing in carbon capture and storage technology.
Climate positivity: The final goal
Climate positivity is the ultimate and final objective. The European Green Deal was announced by the European Commission to guarantee EU members’ compliance with the rules for achieving climate neutrality and, consequently, climate positivity. European Green Deal is the strategy for achieving climate neutrality in the EU.
To achieve climate positivity, businesses must reduce their carbon footprint by absorbing or storing more carbon dioxide than they release into the atmosphere.
Put another way, the company’s carbon footprint should be harmful, and its environmental effect should be positive. This can be achieved if the business is aware of the full scope of its carbon footprint, from the energy used to source materials to the emissions produced during manufacturing and disposal.
To make the transition to climate neutrality a reality, EU citizens and companies must play a role and have a say. The EU Green Deal includes a European Climate Pact for this reason. The pact intends to foster engagement and cooperation between individuals, communities, and organizations, encouraging individuals to take concrete steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Green Deal contains numerous norms and regulations, such as the Digital Product Passport, which we’ve already discussed. New regulations have been or will be implemented shortly.
A crucial aspect of the Green Deal is the need to develop more efficient and sustainable forms of cleaner transportation of wastes and materials.
How can companies find sustainable forms of transport and disposal of waste?
Xworks plays a significant role in carbon neutrality and will still play a decisive role in climate positivity. It offers eco-friendly ways of waste trading, letting companies be environmentally friendly in their disposal journey of waste.
Without Xworks, waste transparency is limited, and efficiency and sustainability are lacking. Furthermore, due to non-compliance, there is also the possibility of mismanagement and fraud, as well as numerous penalties and lawsuits.
Xworks mediates between businesses and traders, disposing of the latter’s waste in the most sustainable and environmentally friendly way possible.
Businesses can benefit from waste trade techniques because they help them manage and process waste in a sustainable manner that complies with environmental laws and regulations.
Also, companies can destroy their garbage while doing their part for the environment by using Xworks, which offers a carbon dioxide elimination method for waste reduction.
How is that possible? Xworks hires the most innovative and ecologically responsible professionals, there is no danger of corporate waste being dumped in a landfill or damaging the environment.
Xworks has the potential to become the European Union’s (EU) one of the most reliable partners for waste transportation and disposal and, consequently, carbon neutrality. Furthermore, climate positivity is funded by the European Union, whose environmental priorities include reaching carbon neutrality.
As a result, everyone is encouraged to lessen their ecological impact. In a nutshell, Xworks is the industry standard for businesses today regarding their waste.
Find out more about Xworks and sign up to gain 6-months of free access and achieve all the above benefits. Find Xworks on Linkedin.
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