Going green may not be so green after all

THE benefits of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are well-known. As governments and companies race to fulfil their climate obligations, it is expected that these cleaner sources of energy would be increasingly included in a country’s or company’s energy mix. Yet, the not-so-green side to energy transition is not something often talked about.

While renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, do not emit carbon dioxide while they are being used to generate energy, their manufacturing processes, transportation and disposals once they have reached the end of their life cycles do have negative effects on the environment.

Industry practitioners use a method called the life cycle analysis to find out the extent of environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a product, process or service.