Experts in the circular economy and other environmental movements, as well as those who work in the travel sector and finance, have revealed the effect that the coronavirus pandemic has had on their operations and how it has presented a chance to bring about real change.
OCBC Bank’s Mike Ng says that amid growing consumer desire for businesses to be sustainable – which has been heightened by their experience of lockdown – as well as the weaknesses in the economy exposed by Covid-19, investors will increasingly back companies with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials. He notes that these companies have outperformed others during the stock market crashes caused by the pandemic.
C40 Cities’ Jacqueline Lam says enforced working from home has made many businesses realise that the practice should become the norm post-lockdown, which will help to lower pollution due to fewer workers commuting, as well as free up space previously used for offices to be re-used in a sustainable way. For those who cannot work from home, she cites Paris’s location of residential and office buildings within 15 minutes of each other, and Melbourne’s plan to install 44km of cycle lanes, as examples of how the future of work travel can be more environmentally friendly.
LYS Energy Group’s Lionel Steinitz says the pandemic has made people more aware of humankind’s and the planet’s vulnerability, which can only be a good thing for sectors such as renewable energy as they are part of the solution to solving the climate crisis. Greenview’s Eric Ricaurte says more people are going to demand sustainable tourism. And The Circulate Initiative’s Susan Ruffo says the pandemic has presented a crossroads, with the choice being to continue the bad practices of the past or to embrace the opportunity to enable companies and countries to bring about a circular economy and less wasteful societies.
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Experts in the circular economy and other environmental movements, as well as those who work in the travel sector and finance, have revealed the effect that the coronavirus pandemic has had on their operations and how it has presented a chance to bring about real change.
OCBC Bank’s Mike Ng says that amid growing consumer desire for businesses to be sustainable – which has been heightened by their experience of lockdown – as well as the weaknesses in the economy exposed by Covid-19, investors will increasingly back companies with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials. He notes that these companies have outperformed others during the stock market crashes caused by the pandemic.
C40 Cities’ Jacqueline Lam says enforced working from home has made many businesses realise that the practice should become the norm post-lockdown, which will help to lower pollution due to fewer workers commuting, as well as free up space previously used for offices to be re-used in a sustainable way. For those who cannot work from home, she cites Paris’s location of residential and office buildings within 15 minutes of each other, and Melbourne’s plan to install 44km of cycle lanes, as examples of how the future of work travel can be more environmentally friendly.
LYS Energy Group’s Lionel Steinitz says the pandemic has made people more aware of humankind’s and the planet’s vulnerability, which can only be a good thing for sectors such as renewable energy as they are part of the solution to solving the climate crisis. Greenview’s Eric Ricaurte says more people are going to demand sustainable tourism. And The Circulate Initiative’s Susan Ruffo says the pandemic has presented a crossroads, with the choice being to continue the bad practices of the past or to embrace the opportunity to enable companies and countries to bring about a circular economy and less wasteful societies.