3 innovative green businesses that are changing the world
One of my biggest ambitions in life is to have my own business. I’m a huge fan of history and the idea that a single invention can change the course of history and the world forever fascinates me.
I’m also very into the idea that we need to revamp and rethink the way we create businesses nowadays. I think it is time we start to think out of the box and start to look for ways of turning, let’s say, our waste into something useful.
At the same time, I’m also very worried about our environment and, although I want to be successful and make a lot of money, I’m 100% confident that I can do that while following green policies and working on my own green project.
Because this is such an important topic for me, today we are going to be taking a look into some cool and innovative green businesses that are changing the world.
But, before we do that, I think it’s important for us to understand two concepts: what is the Green Economy and what is the Circular Economy.
Green Economy + Circular Economy
The Green Economy is, basically, the idea that businesses work with low carbon emissions, are resource-efficient, and socially inclusive. It’s an idea that our economy becomes more environment-friendly and is still able to be successful.
How do countries achieve this? According to the UN Environment Programme, countries can achieve that through both funding green business and ideas, and also creating laws that favor those businesses that have a low impact on carbon emissions and pollution.
Through funding these initiatives, governments are not only incentivizing new and old businesses to be greener but they also allow the already green businesses to grow in employment and income!
One thing that comes hand-in-hand with the Green Economy is the Circular Economy.
What is the Circular Economy? Well, the Circular Economy is an economy that promotes the elimination of waste by the continued safe use of natural resources.
Basically, it means that instead of continuously having a ‘’take-make-dispose’’ approach to production and consumption, we start to find ways to reuse and revamp the already existing products.
This could have a huge impact on our waste production and even on our resource use! That’s why the Green Economy and the Circular Economy walk hand-in-hand.
They both have huge impacts on our environment — especially on carbon emissions — and they both bring forward a solution that could actually benefit the world economy up to trillions of dollars.
To help you understand better these concepts, let’s take a look at these 3 very innovative green businesses and understand what they do!
1º Lanzatech: Sky-high profit
What does Lanzatech do? They are all about reducing the greenhouse effect while still making something profitable with it! Sounds cool right?
How do they do it? Well, they recycle carbon!
I know, you are thinking that it is impossible, but it isn’t. Lanzatech uses microbes that capture and reuse waste gases from a variety of sources — like industrial plants and landfills — and they turn them into low carbon products we use every day!
According to their website, by doing this, they have helped to reduce the release, to the atmosphere, of harmful nitrous and sulfur oxides by over 85%.
2. Patagonia: ‘Worn again, and again’
Patagonia is a swimwear/surfwear brand that believes that the ‘’take-make-dispose’’ approach to their products should not be an option!
If you go through their website, they offer an incredible option that most ‘’clothing’’ websites don’t include. You can ask for a repair for your ‘’old’’ Patagonia clothing. Have a hole in your jacket? No problem, they fix it and it looks just as good as new!
And now, they took it a step further! They created a line called Worn Wear. Worn Wear has really helped the company dig into the Circular Economy movement.
Basically, they collect your old Patagonia clothing, and then they decide if the clothing is good to be resold or if it can be used to fix other products. This way, no piece of clothing is wasted and, instead of disposing of an old unused item, we are revamping it.
This has a huge impact on waste production, and is also a great way for you to find discount pieces of clothing that have some sort of history to them! It’s a win-win situation for your wallet and the planet.
3. Peerby: Peer-2-peer sharing
Peerby is another approach to how beneficial the Circular Economy can be!
Peerby is a Dutch app that enables people to rent and borrow the things they need from others in their local area. Need a bike? Maybe one of your neighbors has one to borrow you!
This innovative idea helps us reduce our need to buy new things that we would only use once. It’s great for those who believe in minimalism and it’s great for the environment as well!
Sharing is also a great way to reduce waste production and resource use because if there’s smaller demand then there’s smaller production, therefore we need to use fewer resources.
Now that we took a look into these 3 really cool businesses, there’s still one thing that we haven’t talked about. That thing is:
The importance of green businesses for the SDGs
Well, it doesn’t matter how many times I stress this idea because it is never enough, but everything we do has an impact on the SDGs. And, consequently, the SDGs have a huge impact on the world.
These new ideas and ways of production have a huge impact on SDG 13- Climate Action.
According to a report on this SDG, GreenHouse gas emissions keep on growing! If we don’t take serious action towards reducing these emissions, by 2030, the world’s temperature might go up from 1.5º C to 2ºC. THIS IS VERY CONCERNING!
The rise in the world’s temperature can cause a loss of sea ice, accelerated sea-level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.
But it’s not just about SDG 13. It’s about all of the SDGs!
The moment we start to impact one of them, we impact all of them! It’s like a domino effect and we need to be aware of this.
I don’t know what the future of the planet is. But I do know that we are the future businessmen and women. It’s our responsibility to do better and to do something about it.
