TranslateIn the past few years we’ve had a myriad of unusual circumstances and unusual problems with which to concern ourselves. When something as basic and foundational as our physical health, and the health of our loved ones, is under attack it’s hard to focus on anything else, however, the problems that we had prior to the COVID pandemic haven’t gone anywhere. In fact, if anything, the pandemic has only highlighted the issues and spurred us on to change at a faster pace than we previously held.
Of course, one of the main concerns that still remains and continues to grow is that of the environment. COVID may threaten our personal health, but our environment comes in a close second as we obviously need it in order to survive and thrive.
According to some reports, our global temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit annually for the past 4+ decades. We currently have more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere than at any other point in human history, and even if this were not an issue, we’re running out of carbon to burn for fuel.
Alternative fuel sources must be embraced regardless of our carbon’s impact on the environment. Extreme heat events are occurring much more frequently, and wildlife populations are dwindling at an alarming rate. It should be no secret by now that our planet is in trouble. Much of the trouble has been caused by humans, and humans are responsible for reversing the damage.
One of the ways in which we can help to heal the earth is by transferring as much as possible to the cloud. In fact, in the span of three years between 2021 and 2024, transferring to cloud computing is expected to save around 630 million metric tons of CO2 emissions from ever entering the atmosphere.
Naturally, so much of this transferring to the cloud rests on the shoulders of CEOs and other executives of large companies, but thankfully the vast majority of them are honing in on green solutions and are working hard toward sustainable companies at net zero emissions. Switching to the cloud plays a significant role in achieving those green goals.
For instance, cloud computing allows for a reduction of greenhouse gasses by creating a circular energy economy and preventing harmful byproducts from ever coming into play. It uses less energy, allows for virtual tools to replace physical machines, and reduces the use of natural resources.
One of the sectors in which transferring to the cloud could make a big impact is that of finance. The finance industry is responsible for a significant amount of CO2 emissions through billions of transactions per day, as well as everything else it takes for the finance industry to stay up and running; things like transfers, purchases, loans, and trade, all use resources and create more emissions every single day.
When it comes to banking options, (which are already shifting away from traditional banks and traditional loan companies in many ways as individuals seek for newer choices with less red tape) Americans are looking for banks and credit companies that are running a green, sustainable operation. In fact, more than 33% of consumers say they would be willing to pay a bit more to do business with sustainable companies, and over half of consumers are interested in purchasing sustainable services.
As nearly 100% of business executives agree that sustainability is absolutely vital to the future success of their businesses, it’s important for those in the financial industry to engage in this thinking as well if they are to remain relevant among the emerging non-traditional financial options.
In many ways, banks and credit companies are still operating on antiquated systems and are still using many more physical materials than is used in other business operations. Some systems haven’t even been updated since before the introduction of the internet, making them incompatible with many newer, energy saving operations. Considering the innumerable ways that finance is part of everyday life, all of this means that finance is a major contributor to environmental damages.
Financial companies and services that are going to stay relevant and stay in business are going to be those that update their operations and find ways to become sustainable and work toward a net zero status. All of this can begin with transferring to the cloud.
