Collective efforts key in driving environmental sustainability outcomes

The clock is ticking for everyone to come together to address the impacts of climate change.

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Asia Pacific region has experienced persistent and unpredictable climate-related disasters that affected more than 57 million people in 2021. The unprecedented levels of rain that have been occurring in Singapore and Malaysia in recent years have also resulted in a higher frequency of flash floods, with January 2022's floods in Malaysia causing nearly US$ 1.5 billion in losses, serving stern warnings to our region that this global issue cannot be viewed lightly.

Many governments have since stepped up on their commitments to help tackle the issue of climate change. In its recent Budget 2022 announcement, the Singapore government committed to move more decisively to achieve its new net-zero ambition - for emissions to dwindle to net-zero by 2050. This includes taking measures such as increasing the carbon tax rate and rolling out initiatives such as building more electric vehicle (EV) charging points to accelerate EV adoption to reduce emission levels.

The private sector is also pulling their weight in this race against time as more organisations around the globe are making sustainability a business imperative. In fact, a recent report by Citi found that 54 per cent of companies in Asia Pacific (Apac) already have environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies integrated into their organisations' corporate strategies. In fact, ESG policies are now considered as hygiene factors by which organisations' actions are being measured against.

While there is a great sense of urgency on rolling out sustainability efforts to address the impacts of climate change, it is a mammoth mission that cannot be shouldered by only a handful of companies. It is also worth noting that no firms nor experts have the all the answers or solutions to the ongoing issues and challenges. Not forgetting, smaller firms like small and medium businesses (SMEs) may need time, resources and expertise to rollout out sustainability-focused strategies and measures.

Which is why it is important for companies to look at ways to improve awareness and measures that help reduce carbon emissions within their organisations, as well as exploring opportunities to collaborate with other firms so that we can drive more impactful results for the ongoing environmental conservation efforts.

Improve employees' awareness of the company's current carbon footprint

There's a saying that goes 'healthy habits start at home', which is highly relevant to companies looking to reduce carbon emissions. For organisations' sustainability initiatives to yield positive outcomes, business leaders need to first mobilise employees to collectively work towards achieving the companies' net-zero aspirations, adopting good habits and best practices that will eventually help the company reduce its overall carbon emissions.

Business leaders can first communicate the company's current state of carbon emissions as a way to improve employees' awareness on how the company is performing currently against the overall sustainability goals. Leaders can also use the opportunity to improve their understanding on how the decisions they make in their respective job scopes have direct and indirect impacts to these goals.

This can then be followed by internal initiatives to co-create measures and best practices that everyone in the company can abide to, while constantly communicating how the little steps they are taking is helping the company reduce carbon emissions.

Reducing energy consumption across the entire operation

Firms can explore the use of renewable energy sources such as solar to generate electricity in their facilities, which would greatly contribute to the reduction of Carbon dioxide emissions. However, the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy is easier said than done, with factors that could be too challenging for many firms, especially SMEs.

The standard photovoltaic power generation systems, which have become the common means of generating solar power in-house, require a wide installation area to supply all the electricity needed for business activities. This would require capital and operational expenditures that many smaller firms would struggle to commit from the get-go. Also considering that the power generation using photovoltaic power generation systems could be unstable due to their susceptibility to weather.

To address these challenges, Panasonic is current testing an in-house power generation system built within a large facility that combines pure hydrogen fuel cell generators and photovoltaic generators, as well as lithium-ion storage batteries, for storing surplus power. This offers a more viable option for many companies looking to adopt renewable energy, and we are looking to partner with other businesses to test and rollout this solution, so that more companies can work towards achieving their respective sustainability goals.

Manufacturing companies can also strive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions within their operations to achieve carbon neutrality. The advent in technology has led to the invention of devices and solutions such as automated assembly line that replaces conventional manual and visual inspections with a dual-arm robot and an image inspection system, with lesser carbon dioxide emissions.

Collective Efforts within the Supply Chain to Reduce Emissions

Companies that are committed to take action against climate change should also go beyond reducing emissions associated only with their business operations, but to consider the environmental impacts of the entire supply chain and customers as well. Simply because collective action by the entire value chain can help accelerate the journey towards meeting net-zero targets.

Firms can collaborate with business partners within the supply chain to implement environmental sustainability measures such as joint efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, resource recycling, proper chemical substance management, and rollout biodiversity efforts and conversation.

The environmental sustainability ethos can also be manifested in the products, services and solutions companies rollout to the market. With growing awareness and appetite amongst consumers for more environmentally friendly products, companies should strive to develop more energy-efficient offerings and solutions that will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from customer consumption, which is extremely significant.

With more than 1 billion people worldwide using Panasonic products, we recognise that our solutions produce approximately 86 million tons of carbon dioxide. We have since introduced various technologies that make our products more eco-friendly and can be used for longer, thereby further advancing our contributions to the achievement of a circular society.

Achieving net-zero emission is no easy feat - it requires collaboration and contribution for various parties. The former is especially important as companies from different sectors can tap into each other's strengths, capabilities and resources for collective efforts that will bring significant change to the global fight against climate change.

The writer is managing director at Panasonic Asia Pacific.