Today, sustainable living and development remain formidable challenges. Daily, we face environmental hazards like resource depletion, pollution, deforestation, e-waste generation, and deteriorating air and water quality, among others.
Without intervention, it’s estimated that CO2 emissions from the United States alone could hit 4,807 million metric tons by 2050, raising concerns for business owners and industry leaders.
It’s evident that urgent action is necessary. To address climate change, businesses and individuals are increasingly turning to sustainable technology as a solution. In this article, we will check out a few examples of sustainable technology that you should also use.
So, let’s begin.
Sustainable or Green Technology – An Introduction
Green technologies, also known as clean or eco-friendly technologies, comprise a range of products, methods, and strategies designed to provide sustainable solutions while mitigating negative impacts on the environment.
These advancements often involve environmentally friendly manufacturing or distribution processes and may utilize renewable energy sources like solar or wind power.
Besides, they involve the adoption of fuels that pose fewer environmental risks than conventional alternatives. The overarching objective of green technology is to protect the planet and mitigate damage to the natural world.
Top 7 Sustainable Energy Innovations
1: Solar Desalination
Solar desalination stands out as a prime instance of technology shaped by solar power, affirming its position among the top 10 environmentally advantageous advancements.
This method harnesses solar energy to desalinate seawater, presenting a hopeful remedy for challenges like water scarcity, desertification, and food insecurity.
Solar power emerges as a highly promising and widely adopted eco-friendly technology. The energy arises as a promising and extensively embraced environmentally friendly technology. It uses solar panels to transform sunlight into electricity, lessening dependence on fossil fuels and markedly reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Solar power systems are useful in residential and commercial environments, showcasing their flexibility and sustainability as an energy option.
2: Rainwater Harvesting
The expense of supplying water to businesses is largely due to the energy needed to transport water from its source to processing plants and then to homes.
Typically, fossil fuels power the processing and distribution processes, making reliance on the main water source less environmentally friendly.
A practical solution for companies is to collect rainwater. It can be directed into a storage tank using a catchment area and a network of pipes. Rainwater is naturally clean and often requires minimal purification. Installing filters in offices ensures safe drinking water.
Rainwater serves various purposes, including use in petroleum refineries, chemical production, food processing, and paper manufacturing.
BPCL Mumbai Refinery is a notable example of rainwater harvesting implementation, especially crucial for a refinery that demands significant water resources.
3: Digital Project Management Tools
Companies have another opportunity to adopt environmentally friendly practices by minimizing their use of paper. Many eco-conscious businesses are actively reducing paper consumption by shifting communication with employees, clients, and customers to email. Digital channels are increasingly utilized for bill payments, and internal paperwork is being phased out.
Various apps enable businesses to schedule tasks, coordinate projects, and share documents and media with employees electronically, eliminating the need for paper. Digital project management tools like ClickUp, for instance, can significantly reduce paperwork.
Research suggests that the overall cost of using paper is approximately 30 times higher than the initial purchasing cost. Therefore, the encouragement is to embrace paperless practices.
4: Eco-Friendly Construction Machinery
The real estate industry plays a crucial role in a country’s economy by building new housing units and public infrastructure.
However, construction companies have historically been major contributors to carbon emissions due to their heavy machinery usage for extended periods, resulting in high energy consumption.
However, there is a shift occurring.
The adoption of smart green technology tools such as intelligent asphalt and compactors allows construction crews to operate more efficiently.
This results in considerable reductions in electricity and fuel consumption, thus mitigating the environmental impact.
5: Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles (EVs) are on the brink of transforming the automotive sector and are key to Tesla’s impressive achievements.
Cars currently contribute more than 30% of overall carbon emissions, mainly because they heavily rely on fossil fuels. As a result, many leading car manufacturers are transitioning towards electric vehicles or hybrids.
While the current price of electric vehicles may be too steep for many consumers, it is expected to substantially decrease soon. This transition from fossil fuels to electricity holds promising environmental advantages.
6: Cashless Payment Modules
Numerous companies are shifting their operations online, particularly in response to the pandemic. Transitioning to online sales offers a straightforward approach.
By moving online, companies can minimize the environmental footprint associated with using concrete, electricity, water, and gas at physical establishments.
Furthermore, online businesses decrease the need for people to commute to and from offices. While not all businesses can fully embrace digitalization, small businesses can benefit.
E-commerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba serve as prime examples of successful online enterprises.
7: Energy-Efficient Data Center
While computers themselves don’t emit toxic fumes during operation, they consume substantial amounts of electricity, much of which comes from power sources reliant on fossil fuels.
Data centers housing large servers contribute significantly to pollution through their energy consumption, amounting to millions of tons.
Hence, many businesses are shifting towards energy-efficient data centers equipped with advanced servers that consume less energy, thereby reducing the carbon footprint.
Additionally, cloud computing presents another technology that diminishes energy consumption and emissions by eliminating the need for physical infrastructure to function.
Suryateja Pericherla, at present is a Research Scholar (full-time Ph.D.) in the Dept. of Computer Science & Systems Engineering at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. Previously worked as an Associate Professor in the Dept. of CSE at Vishnu Institute of Technology, India.
He has 11+ years of teaching experience and is an individual researcher whose research interests are Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Computer Security, Network Security and Blockchain.
He is a member of professional societies like IEEE, ACM, CSI and ISCA. He published several research papers which are indexed by SCIE, WoS, Scopus, Springer and others.
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