How big is the market opportunity for sustainability?
It’s challenging to put a single figure to the immense growth opportunity that sustainability poses, particularly given the complexity of valuing the proper stewardship of our world’s resources. It’s an opportunity that touches almost every aspect of our lives. There are a number of useful proxies that can help us begin to understand just how large an opportunity it is. Four interesting data points include:
- Global sustainable investment hit $35 trillion at the end of the last decade. That accounts for almost 40% of all total global assets under management, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.
- By some estimates, we’ll require $9 trillion per year of investment globally to meet the demand for sustainable infrastructure, such as low carbon transport and green buildings.
- Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture has been growing rapidly and could reach $20 billion in just a few years.
- The sales of consumer goods products that include a sustainability claim broke the $150 billion mark in 2021.
What technologies are shaping the future of sustainability?
Growth in renewable and clean energy will continue to be a dominant force. Big Tech will expand its energy use exponentially. Of course, we have AI, but we also have huge growth in blockchain, 5G technology, quantum computing and data center expansion. And these technologies are becoming more and more globally accessible, further compounding growth. Powering this stratospheric growth is fuel, and that will need to come from new and growing sources.
Beyond energy, advances in both circular economy technologies and carbon capture will be critical. This includes advanced recycling tech, waste to energy, and an ever-expanding portfolio of new materials through material science. It’s now common wisdom that our energy consumption will only grow. While clean energy continues to progress, capturing carbon from conventional energy generation will become super critical if we are to come close to our climate goals. Carbon capture and advances in new materials will help us shape the future of sustainability and propel us into a regenerative economy. For example, Climeworks is building a 36,000 ton direct carbon capture facility now.
Materials science is blossoming in every industry as well. Startups like Searo, Kelpi are PulPac are using seaweed and plant-based fibers to replace plastics, whilst LanzaTech is using captured carbon as key ingredients in a new wors of cosmetics. Materials science will also be our likely solution for the recycling and extended use of electric batteries.
How do you think sustainability efforts and initiatives will evolve in the next decade?
It’s becoming clear that we’ll need innovation that can tackle multiple challenges at once. Take the notion of waste to value. Biochar is a great example of this. In the production of biochar, not only are you helping eliminate a waste product (known as wood or plant residuals), but you also enable the long-term sequestration of carbon, reduced water AND fertilizer needs when used on farmland, and increased soil health. Combine that with efficiency enhancements that are in play with companies like AvengerCDR, and you have a potent combination.
Plastic alternatives are another great example. Every plastic component reduced or avoided helps redeploy fossil fuel into critical needs like water desalination and cooling as the globe heats up. Today, 10% of fossil fuels are used to create plastic. Alternatives may also help mitigate the growing concerns over the health implications of plastic, such as from toxic PFAS chemicals. Sweden-based PulPac is using plant fibers in a process known as Dry Molded Fiber to produce packaging and product components. Searo, Sway and Kelpi all aim to harness the power of seaweed to replace conventional plastic films and flexibles.
Finally, carbon offsets will be a major player on the global stage. Even thought it was viewed with skepticism early on, they will be a valuable bridge as we deploy clean energy technology. Establishing global standards and proof of provenance on these credits will be critical but are solvable in the near term. Microsoft has just signed a deal to purchase 8 million carbon removal credits. This will continue in “hard to abate” industries like technology.