Options considering not only profit, but also an overall impact on people and planet are slowly becoming a new normal. While a lot has been said in the previous years about slow fashion, local produce, reducing plastic packages, nature preservation and social justice, there are also industries that don’t pop right into your mind when you hear about green and ethical choices.
Yet, they have recently been taking steps towards greener and more ethical future and don’t hesitate to implement innovations that result in a more people- – and nature- – friendly experience.
Electronics
Technology is a double-edged sword when it comes to the environment – it can be used to immensely help it with new solutions and innovations, but also to destroy it. Let’s take a look at electronics, a part of technology that we encounter on a daily basis. Is it getting greener?
It’s a common knowledge that it’s more eco-friendly to purchase electronics second-hand, but there’s something out there also for the fans of new things. The market is now increasingly focused on energy-efficient gadgets using recyclable or even organic parts. During the making process, using sustainable and eco-friendly techniques can lower the impact and earn the manufacturer bonus points.
A big question mark then also hangs above electromagnetic pollution, which is not visible, but can affect people in a negative way, with electronics we’re surrounded with being one of its sources.
Healthcare
Though certainly making the world a better place by helping people and saving lives every day, the healthcare industry is far from being friendly to the environment. Hospitals all around the world produce tons of waste which can’t be recycled, and powering such large facilities full of technology 24/7 is certainly demanding as well.
To change this is going to be difficult, but we can already see first steps being taken. For example, new electric ambulances were launched in the UK.
Another topic is a shift towards more people-friendly functioning of medical facilities. The approach is leaning towards a more respectful one. Hospitals enable new mothers to prepare a birth plan containing rules and wishes on how they want their baby to be delivered. Patients are spared lengthy hours in the waiting room and traveling by some doctors offering online appointments. Holistic doctors, who consider all aspects of the patient’s life when prescribing a treatment are also becoming increasingly popular.
Gambling and gaming
Gambling is an industry with bad reputation, and rightfully so. Gambling addiction is real and can destroy lives of those who don’t keep their appetite for play at bay. But lately it looks like even this niche is taking steps towards a healthier approach. For example, online casinos (while also being a more sustainable option than brick-and-mortar ones) are enabling the player an option of self-exclusion, which bans the addict from gambling. Let’s take a look at gaming. The flourishing industry might look innocent, but in fact consumes the amount of energy and produces the amount of emissions similar to that of the whole European country Slovenia. Luckily, game providers aren’t all that oblivious to the environment and are working on cleaning their carbon footprint by setting goals to lower it. Xbox released a tool for game developers that measures the amount of emissions of the game and helps them to make more environment-conscious decisions.
Machinery and equipment
Following the California ban of selling gas-powered lawnmowers and leaf-blowers by 2024, the manufacturers are transitioning to electric alternatives.
This electrification trend is also expanding into mining, construction, and agriculture, which is good news both for the environment and innovative suppliers offering new models of heavy machinery powered by lithium-ion batteries. The electric equipment is becoming more common than you’d expect and can now be found on construction sites in the U.S. and Europe, with some cities aiming towards zero emissions construction sites.
Transportation
Traffic significantly impacts the environment – it heavily contributes to global warming through carbon dioxide emissions, with transport being the largest contributor. While switching from diesel to electricity or reducing your miles by flying less often is an obvious answer when it comes to this issue, there’s even more that can and is being done.
Any green urbanist would confirm how beneficial for the well-being of people is environmentally sustainable city planning. How does that look like in practice? One of the points is replacing roads for cars with car-free pedestrian zones and cycling paths, ideally framed with an alley of trees cleaning the air even further. Many cities have rebuilt their parts to this ideal in recent years and we can only hope for this trend to grow.