By: Azmi Shams, Head of Corporate Communication GCC at Henkel
Sustainability is a topic that remain at the top of the global agenda of companies, let’s look at what upcoming trends could be in this space.
We see many predictions on upcoming trends around the world. However, there are some topics that keep coming to the top of the agenda and remain at the top, one such topic is sustainability. The reason for this to stay at the top is because it is that big of a concern, not only to any individual alone, but to the different communities around the world. There are many “must do’s” to help preserve our environment for future generations, in-order to slow down the negative effects caused by us all.
The actions we take as communities must go much further than to encourage people to recycle plastic bottles or have a beach cleanup organized by a local NGO. Large organizations with their sustainability ambitions do play an important role in slowing down the negative impacts. Some big players have even promised to be climate positive very soon. The way I see it, is that multinationals/big players having operations across the world should get together and collaborate for the same cause, which is to preserve our environment and look at the long-term gains than the short-term gains.
Collaborative efforts could be one of the most important if not the only feasible solution. With a collective approach by industry players, there could be a significant impact to help the world from multiple environmental problems. I am listing down a few trends which I personally think would be “hot trends” if they are not already one, in the space of sustainability and responsible operations of multinational organizations:
- Government regulations will force companies to be even more transparent about their climate risks to the public.
As more investors are aware and informed about the negative effects that large organizations may cause to the environment, recent trends show that investors are looking more into how companies are taking the ownership of potential negative environmental impacts caused by their industry. This will cause changes to companies in their share prices, financing options, willingness of the investors to invest, and would promote more scrutiny by shareholders in this topic. In recent times, shareholders are not only looking into the short-term profits but are more concerned, favoring climate and the environment. This will cause companies to show how well they are managing risks and contributing to the environment and social well-being.
- Consumers will start to prefer more sustainable products/options
With awareness spreading with regards to sustainability, more and more consumers are seeking to buy and be part of more sustainable products, which have less negative impact towards the environment or are doing something about the climate crisis. The overall approach to the climate crisis will be addressed in several fronts. Be it when traveling, buying Fast Moving Consumer Goods, talents choosing to work in a company that is more environment friendly, and even favoring the political party who have climate in their agenda. The mainstream acceptance will have a significant shift as evidence of the negative impacts caused to the environment are seen more often by consumers and the general public. Be it the rise in sea levels, increased number of forest fires, drought and more.
- Packaging and supply chain
Sustainable packaging could make significant changes in the way we consume products. Packaging companies would invest more into 100% sustainable packaging, where it could be from recycled materials. A great initiative which came to my attention was a new company, who produces bottles which are 100% recycled. Being curious about this business model, I did a quick research and noticed that there are less than 5 companies who are taking up this challenge of having 100% recycled and recyclable bottles in the world!
Changes in supply chain is taking place with more efficient modes of transports opted for transporting goods. Something as simple as companies making sure that the trucks that they use for transporting their goods are energy efficient or even electric trucks/vans. Governments such as the UAE are taking big steps to build a railway network to transport goods, helping the reduction of carbon footprint cause by the transporting on roads and help in reducing traffic and increasing road safety in highways between the different Emirates.
- Electric cars will become a mainstream purchase
The idea is to reduce the carbon footprint as much as possible. I believe in the coming decade, more than 40% of new cars in developed countries would be electric. This trend has been on going for quiet some time now, and would get stronger as new technologies are introduced in terms of battery capacity, motor, range etc. We may even see electric powered or even alternative powered space crafts within this decade.
Though I have only gone very briefly through some trends which I see, there maybe many more, and these are just trends the way I see them. I hope we as individuals who are major parts of the environment make responsible and effective actions to have a collective and collaborative effort into solving these real-world problems.
Azmi Shams
“With his in-depth knowledge and experience in the field of Public Relations and Corporate Communications, Azmi Shams currently heads the regional communication strategy for the German multinational, Henkel since 2014 with strong focus on strategic communication as well as crisis communication management. Being in the field of communication, Shams has had opportunities to lead and support many strategic brand communications for various FMCG brands in the region, together with promoting the corporate brand identity of Henkel.”
