How Can Marketplace Finance Make Life More Sustainable for Mankind?
With a growing population and strained resources in a planet that is fast heating up, sustainable living is critical for humanity’s future. We should thrive today while preserving the planet for tomorrow. Here’s how the financial sector can work in the marketplace to make life more sustainable:
- Develop innovative, affordable and responsive financial products for solar, wind, and mini/micro hydropower to replace biomass energy like firewood and charcoal among the low income. Financiers should invest in the entire value chain of clean energy, from equipment manufacture to power consumption.
- Bias financing towards transforming agri-food systems, with preference for financing low-emissions and efficient resource use technologies in agribusiness. If we finance regenerative farming which restores soil and we reduce meat production on industrial scale, for instance, we can slash carbon footprints by up to 50%.
- Provide lower-priced financing for industries in the circular economy which replace “make-use-dispose” tradition with “make-use-reuse-repair-recycle-repurpose” approach to reduce dumping of plastics and other non-biodegradables. Cities like Amsterdam aim to be fully circular by 2050, and the rest of the world should follow.
- Finance low emission transportation, like electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable-powered automobiles. Alongside smart urban planning that promotes cycling and walking, cities can follow the example of Copenhagen which aims to be carbon-neutral by 2025.
- Finance technologies for resource conservation – preserving water, energy, biodiversity and other natural resources while using them optimally.
- Finance production and service delivery systems that harness digital technology, especially AI, to optimize energy and reduce emissions from supply chains. Finance production of biodegradable materials and mechanisms for carbon capture to fight pollution.
- Support responsible corporate and institutional cultures in CSR. Information and education can inspire sustainability-focused choices like buying ethically, advocating for change, or planting trees.
The Path Ahead
Sustainability demands action from banks, businesses, and governments. The tools exist; we need the will. By embracing these sustainable financing, we shall ensure a resilient, thriving future for all.
Dr. Keren Obara
Digital Marketing Associate