Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
It is so hot. That’s what I stuttered as I struggled to get the last drops of water out of my canteen at the annual Awesense summer picnic. What should have been a cool summer evening turned into a scorching summer heatwave. And yet, as I sat drenched in my own sweat, I thought not of my parched throat, but of the fact that I live far enough North that I never would have expected this. Anywhere South of us was likely feeling this blaze in an accentuated fashion, and my children one day will face a world with a heated climate much greater than even we have yet to experience.
Earlier this year Awesense published our Corporate Sustainability Report. This report outlined a few of the core goals we are working on as supporters of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These goals aim to address the many areas of development that humanity is working on optimizing. Working together on these goals will help make our world a more egalitarian and sustainable place to be.
One of these goals is to take action to address the impacts of climate change to combat any further damage. As outlined in our report, we are committed to supporting this initiative, and we encourage everyone to support these initiatives as well.
Why is this a focus for Awesense and the United Nations?
Paragraph 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development states that climate change is “one of the greatest challenges of our time”. As climate change progresses, there will be limited availability of basic necessities including freshwater, food security, and energy. Figures outlined by the United Nations show that the atmospheric CO2 concentration is 146% greater than pre-industrial levels yet investment in fossil fuels continues to be higher than investments in renewable energy initiatives.
Are our efforts making a difference?
Unfortunately, the world is currently not on track to limit warming to 1.5°C, as was laid out as a global objective in the Paris Agreement of 2015. In order to avoid the extreme impacts of climate change, massive transformation in how the world produces and consumes energy as well as new investments to deploy new technologies to store and remove GHG emissions from the atmosphere is needed.
What have we been doing to address this Sustainable Development Goal?
Awesense is the fundamental layer to enable the next step in the integration of renewable energy and the energy transition as a whole. The first step to decarbonization is digitalization – allowing parties to take action in optimizing how they consume and produce energy. Our focus is on utilities and industrial energy users in assisting them with their climate goals and integrating renewables into their energy systems.
These initiatives speed up efforts to decarbonize society and move towards the goal set by many states and countries of zero emissions. We have enacted sustainable choices in every step of our business model with the purchase of our energy from the BC Hydro grid, powered by 95% green energy.
All members of our organization have integrated environmentally conscious solutions into their lifestyles including the use of electric vehicles which has resulted in significant reductions in carbon emissions. Further workplace initiatives towards mitigating climate change are in place, including measuring and reporting on our waste and sourcing climate-friendly consumer products for office supplies.
We hope to continue being vocal about our environmental stance and constantly search for ways that we can help build a decarbonized future. We are confident Awesense plays a crucial role in addressing climate-related impacts and supporting the energy transition.
What can I do to help advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals?
The number one thing any of us can do to help advance the SDGs outlined by the UN is by educating both ourselves and the people around us. It is only with knowledge of the deficits existent in our current system, that we can form new knowledge to address the gaps.
If you can’t afford or don’t have the ability to install renewable energy to power your household or business, encouraging your utility or energy provider to use more renewably sourced energy is a great way to have an impact. Interested in connecting with us to make a difference together? Reach out to us at marketing@awesense.com, we’re always happy to hear from you!
