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Sustainability is fast becoming the lens through which big business decisions are made. The world’s biggest companies have gone to great lengths to push for sustainability goals that will lead to decarbonisation, and as the global home of renewable energy, Australia has more interest than most in creating a more renewable future.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investors are stepping up the sustainability agenda by increasingly applying these non-financial factors in analyzing material risks and growth opportunities. This creates increasing market demand for sustainable assets and puts upward pressure on prices.
With the recent IPCC Special Report sounding a call to action for almost all countries to raise their sustainability ambitions, we examine five companies that are leading the way in the Australian market.
Accenture
Public cloud spending has increased since the start of Covid-19, rising 17 percent to $266 billion in 2020, as companies recognize the advantage of adaptability, innovation at scale, and the ability to manage disruption that cloud access to enterprise systems enables.
Accenture is an integral supporter of not only cloud technology in Australia, but also advising partners on how cloud computing can make a significant contribution to the decarbonisation of the Australian business sector. Accenture’s benchmark research shows that deploying a cloud powered by renewable energy has the potential to deliver carbon emissions savings of 59 million tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of 22 million cars.
The company is tapping into this potential and connecting the dots in the Australian enterprise market between cloud servers and renewable energy assets to bring “green cloud” to the enterprise sector. Ultimately, this represents a key opportunity for companies with the dual goals of business transformation and increased sustainability to achieve their aspirations.
WePower
Nikolaj Martyniuk and Kaspar Kaarlep are the innovators behind Australia’s first and only renewable energy retail and management SaaS, and are among Australia’s top 100 innovators – driving sustainability and growing Australia’s renewable energy sector with their technology.
WePower is the first in Australia to use public blockchain technology as an incorruptible, transparent and traceable digital ledger in the energy industry, simplifying the process of purchasing renewable energy. Using blockchain, the company is able to segment renewable energy purchases into smaller bids than ever before, dramatically lowering the cost threshold for direct renewable energy procurement and increasing the availability of renewable energy to the SME community.
WePower also enables businesses of all sizes to track any resource with a digital meter (energy, water, fuel, etc.) in real-time to benchmark sustainability. This innovative approach is the answer to any examination of a company’s sustainability efforts and provides accurate and transparent sustainability reporting – a problem plaguing the world’s largest net zero commitments.
Federation flux
Flux is a subsidiary of Meridian Energy, New Zealand’s largest renewable energy retailer. It currently supports over 600,000 connections across clients in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, including Powershop Australia.
Flux designs and deploys future-proof SaaS products for the changing energy ecosystem. Its solutions disrupt the traditional, linear generator-seller-consumer value chain and enable entirely new business models. Flux believes that smart software can accelerate fundamental change in the Australian energy industry by enabling retailers to accelerate the transition to sustainable options.
In Australia, Flux recently launched FlexiBill – a sophisticated end-to-end billing product that supports all meter categories and data types across all market segments, including commercial and industrial. The solution significantly supports sustainability by enabling retailers to market new energy technologies such as solar and home generation, battery storage, virtual power plants and future innovations such as vehicle-to-grid charging for EVs.
Energy companies play a key role in introducing new technologies, but they can only sell what they can bill for.
Doddle
Doddle is a global leader in digital fulfillment, helping businesses digitize and diversify their delivery and returns processes. Doddle is working with Australia Post to create Australia’s largest Pick Up/Drop Off (PUDO) network in Australia, reducing emissions in the ‘last mile’ of e-commerce delivery.
The Australia Post Collect & Return network offers consumers the option of convenient locations such as supermarkets, petrol stations and pharmacies to collect their package or drop off a returned package while they go out to do other errands or shopping. It allows Australia Post to deliver multiple e-commerce packages to one location, reducing the distance traveled per package. This means less CO2 emissions per package, less air pollution and less traffic congestion.
Increased investment in PUDO from retailers across Australia will prove critical to Australia Post achieving its target of reducing emissions by 15 per cent by June 2025, while helping consumers support Australia’s journey to a sustainable future.
Further reading: Meeting the growing demand for e-commerce with diversified fulfillment.
Labrys
Australian blockchain specialists are spearheading efforts to establish Queensland as the next global innovation hub for blockchain technology. As a technology that first emerged as a cryptocurrency digital ledger, Labrys have been integral in applying its benefits across the industry, establishing it as a technological innovation in its own right and mitigating long-standing issues in the industry.
A significant issue with the growing demand for cryptocurrencies is controlling their social impact. In response, Labrys partnered with businesses to promote sustainability through blockchain technology and designed innovations such as automatic sustainability donations through smart contracts. Incorporating this kind of sustainability into the push for decentralized processes is a significant step towards ensuring that it is a key part of how we live our future lives.
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