Digitalization to Decarbonization What Steps are Private & Public Entities to Erase Carbon Footprints?

According to the World Meteorological Organization, there has been a considerable increase in temperature even in 2021 – the global mean temperature for this year was approximately 1.09°C more than the 1850-1900 average, indicating urgency for a solution.

Climate Change and Importance of Decarbonization

Climate change has been a persistent problem since several years now. Excessive deforestation, improper waste management, and oceanic neglect are among the many reasons that have led to fluctuating climatic cycles, bringing about shrinking glaciers, heavy precipitation, rising maximum and minimum temperatures, and higher ocean temperatures. Carbon emissions are at an all-time high, brought about majorly by built environment.

According to the Urban Land Institute, built environment, i.e., man-made infrastructure is responsible for almost 40% carbon emissions worldwide. Think tank Chatham House propagates a similar line of thought, claiming that cement is responsible of around 8% of global carbon emissions.

In a scenario as grave as this, decarbonization has become more significant than ever before. Decarbonizing man-made structures with carbon-negative construction technologies is just one of the many ways to lower emissions and create a healthier environment. Energy-efficient buildings characteristic of enhanced HVAC systems, smart energy management systems, light upgrades, and better insulation are more than likely to have reduced carbon footprints, increasing energy efficiency by 20%, to say the least. As per energy.gov, U.S. consumers are said to have saved around USD 14.7 billion in energy costs merely by making the switch to LED lighting.

Decarbonization goes well beyond constructing carbon-negative buildings though. Creating a decarbonized economy involves a host of strategies such as energy management with analytics solutions, alternative fuel usage in vehicles (or better still, to go full steam with electric vehicles), using renewables more often than not, and adopting