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Embrace sustainability by transitioning to renewable energy sources to meet global electricity demands. Learn about the environmental impacts and solutions for a sustainable future. Explore challenges and opportunities presented by the energy transition towards cleaner practices. Discover how sustainable businesses and individuals can contribute to a more resilient and eco-friendly world.
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Sustainability • Meeting humanity’s needs without harming future generations. • The sustainable firm pursues three types of interests: • Economic Interests Firm’s economic impact on the localities where it does business, such as creating jobs, paying decent wages, and initiating public works. • Social Interests Performance in terms of social justice, such as avoiding child labor and sweatshops, and providing decent employee benefits. 3. Environmental Interests Impact on the natural environment. a 1-2
World Population Growth a Source: Statista (www.statista.com) using United Nations data 3 1-3
More People are Accessing Electricity • As of 2019, more than 90% of the world's population can access electricity. • Fewer than one billion people lack access to electricity; they reside mainly in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. • Electricity demand is growing rapidly in emerging markets, where power is needed to drive development. • Rapid electricity growth poses opportunities for business and also challenges for sustainable energy production and consumption. a 1-4
Proportion of Population with Access to Electricity, 2000 and 2017 Source: United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019, www.un.org a 1-6
Gaining Access to Electricity, cont’d • Access to electricity facilitates innovation, rising productivity, and better living standards. • Electricity is needed for lighting, heating and cooling, refrigeration, telecommunications, transportation, machinery and appliances. • A well-established energy system supports all sectors: agriculture, business, education, infrastructure, communications, technology. • Rising electricity usage creates enormous business opportunities as consumers demand all variety of energy-reliant products and services. • But the production of most forms of electricity harms the environment and accelerates climate change. a 1-7
Electricity: Sources and Consequences • Oil, coal, and natural gas are fossil fuels, and account for over 80% of energy consumption worldwide. They are combusted to heat water to drive generators that produce electricity. • Solar, wind, hydro, and other renewable sources account for about 11% of energy consumption worldwide. Nuclear accounts for the rest. • Burning fossil fuels produces much greenhouse gas that cause climate change and harm human well-being and the environment. • About half of renewables are ‘traditional biomass’ – coal, wood, crop waste, and other organic materials burned for heating and cooking. • Burning traditional biomass emits pollutants that cause disease and about 4 million deaths annually; women and girls are most affected. a Source: United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019, www.un.org 1-8
Global Energy Consumption by Source, in Terawatt-Hours, 2017 Source: Based on BP Energy Economics, BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019, 68th ed. (2019), https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2019-full-report.pdf Note: ‘Traditional Biomass’ refers to wood, crop waste, and similar organic matter a
Proportion of population with access to clean cooking fuels and technologies (2017, percentage) Source: United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019, www.un.org a
Air Pollution in Selected Cities (particulate matter concentration in micrograms per cubic meter) Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2018, Washington DC: World Bank. a
The Dilemma of Electricity • People need electricity to achieve decent living standards. • Almost 1 billion people (out of nearly 8 billion worldwide) lack access to electricity, with about 50% of them in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. • Burning traditional biomass causes serious air pollution. Gaining access to electricity reduces the use of traditional biomass. • Problem: Conventional electricity production and usage are the main contributor to environmental harm and climate change, accounting for about 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. • Solution: Clean energy from renewables (other than traditional biomass) is optimal for achieving sustainability goals and resilience to environmental harm, including climate change. a Source: United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019, www.un.org 1-12
Transitioning to Affordable, Sustainable Energy • Countries can: -- Invest in renewable energy resources -- Prioritize energy efficient practices -- Adopt clean energy technologies and infrastructure -- Encourage citizens to cook and heat with electricity, especially from clean renewable sources, instead of traditional biomass • Businesses can: -- Invest to protect the environment and ecosystems -- Develop hydropower and renewable sources of electricity -- Commit to sourcing operational electricity needs from renewable sources a 1-13
Transitioning to Affordable, Sustainable Energy, cont’d • Employers can: -- Reduce internal demand for transport by prioritizing telecommunications and other digital solutions -- Incentivize using less energy-intensive modes such as trains over auto and air, for travel, and -- Institute programs to reduce energy usage • Investors can: -- Invest more in sustainable energy projects, and -- Bring new technologies to the market quickly. a Source: United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019, www.un.org 1-14
Embracing Sustainability: Firms • Develop closer relations with foreign stakeholders to understand their needs and jointly develop solutions • Build capabilities to enhance the firm’s contribution to the local community and global environment • Ensure diverse voices by creating organizations that employ managers and workers from around the world • Develop global goals and standards. Communicate and implement them throughout the firm worldwide • Train managers in global CSR principles and integrate these into managerial responsibilities a