At this time of year, taking a look back can help move organizations forward. So, for this blog, we investigated recent global reports, predictions and recommendations. The findings crystallized into five resolutions for 2025: Reduce, protect, adapt, digitalize and simplify:
1. Explore ways to lower emissions. In their 2024 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction, the U.N. Environment Programme and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction reported that buildings were responsible for 37% of global operational energy and process-related CO2 emissions and 34% of worldwide energy demand (in 2022).
As 2024 was the planet’s hottest year on record, companies are well advised to investigate the possibilities of alternative energy such as solar, wind or geothermal power. A good time to do this may be the U.N. International Day of Clean Energy on January 26.
In addition to providing environmental benefits, switching to clean energy sources will boost the economy as new infrastructure projects are launched to meet demand. Global investment in clean technology manufacturing rose by 50% in 2023, states the International Energy Agency’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2024. The report also takes a deep dive into the materials and supply chains that support clean technology manufacturing.
2. Focus on employee health and safety. This involves raising awareness of risks caused by environmental factors. According to a 2024 International Labour Organization (ILO) report, 71% of the working population is exposed to excessive heat, resulting in 18,970 work-related deaths annually.
Workers most at risk include those in outdoor occupations, as well as in poorly ventilated indoor workplaces. The ILO’s report, Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate, also highlights the increased risk of exposure to vector-borne diseases and agrochemicals that result from global weather shifts.
Compliance with laws and standards ensures good working conditions and proper reporting of safety incidents. Instilling a safety culture among the workforce, including contract workers, goes beyond policy to bring an organization’s rules to life. The ERM 2024 Global Health and Safety Survey notes that leadership is the lever to a safer, healthier and more productive workforce.
3. Understand evolving risks. The December 2024 report Business on the Edge: Building Industry Resilience to Climate Hazards by the World Economic Forum points to extreme heat as the most potent climate hazard affecting fixed assets. Telecommunications, utilities, energy and software industries face the highest levels of risk, the authors note.
For industrial and retail enterprises, extreme weather also threatens the financial viability and the delivery reliability of suppliers. Comprehensive risk management and collaboration with partners throughout their value chain helps organizations stay ahead of disruption.
4. Use digital technology to automate and integrate processes. It’s no secret that labor-intensive tasks, including master data management and creating regulatory documents such as safety data sheets, become more efficient through digitalization. Forward-thinking companies align data structures across business systems to drive safety and sustainability throughout the organization.
Indeed, according to the OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2024 (Volume 2), “green” and “digital” transitions go hand in hand: “Digital technologies are major building blocks to help achieve the deep cuts in emissions needed for a net-zero emissions world.”
Key sectors that could become more sustainable through digitalization include buildings, communications infrastructures, transportation and heavy industries, says the report. The authors note that technologies such as digital twins enabled by artificial intelligence can improve efficiency, reduce costs and accelerate innovation across energy grids and product supply chains.
5. Get a grip on disclosure and reporting requirements. Prepare to comply with ESG and climate-related regulations and advance sustainability in the process. For large companies, ESG and GHG emissions reporting, including Scope 3 disclosures, move to the foreground in 2025, thanks primarily to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Also, at the product level, the EU Digital Product Passport introduced in 2024 or the revised edition of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), expected in 2025, can cause sleepless nights for product stewards.
Regulatory complexity can be overwhelming. But there’s no need to despair. Regulations, standards and ESG frameworks undergo regular review. With its “simplification revolution,” the European Commission plans to reduce reporting requirements by at least 25% in the first half of 2025.
Details of the Commission’s proposed “Omnibus simplification package” should be available in February. The package aims to cut redundant data collection and simplify disclosure requirements for the CSRD, the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
Finally, with its Breakthrough Agenda Report 2024, the International Energy Agency is working to increase comparability of standards and certification in key industries. The report offers recommendations for making the transition to clean technologies and sustainable solutions quicker, cheaper and easier for all.
With our round-up spanning emissions, energy, labor, the environment, digital tools, economic impacts and disclosure requirements, organizations have a good foundation for a safer, more productive and sustainable new year.
