According to an analysis released by the PwC Consulting in March this year, the private sector may become the bridge needed to achieve neutrality in greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the auditing assessment is clear: business leaders from different countries need to act immediately to meet the demands of science, governments, investors, and society at large.

Currently, around 50% of global GDP has already been committed to eliminating emissions by the year 2050. At the same time, large public companies are starting to face pressure to adopt green measures, and the trend is that, in the near future, smaller public companies and private enterprises will also be required to act sustainably. But these are still moving more slowly towards a green economy.

So far, according to PwC, only 8% of the 500 largest companies in the world have made commitments to zero their carbon emissions. However, among them, many have not yet specified the types of actions that will be taken to fight climate change.

Therefore, for businesses that choose to immediately adopt sustainable measures, there is a fertile scenario for innovation, leadership, and competitive advantages.

The path to sustainability

However, the transition will not be easy. To implement the path to sustainability, companies will need to realign their growth strategies to reach the target of zero emissions as well as adapt their operating models and supply chains, invest in innovation, finance projects linked to the green economy and prioritize transparency and engagement, according to PwC analysis.

Other options would be the electrical supply of commercial buildings from renewable energies, the implementation of vehicles based on clean fuels in the companies' vehicle fleets and investment in the correct waste disposal and in the use of water.

According to the World Economic Forum, 55% of the solutions to the climate crisis will come from better energy systems, and the remainder, 45%, will come from the application of circular economy mechanisms.

In this context, technology emerges as a useful means of establishing and accelerating sustainable changes. And the market acknowledged this movement: between 2013 and 2018, since venture capital investment in technologies linked to climate change grew 4,200%.

And yet, a lot still needs to be done. The longer businesses take to act on global warming, the more intense its effects will be, bringing significant economic, political, and social losses. The journey is long, but if we succeed, the reward will be great.