Sustainability
Reducing impact
There are both threats and opportunities as the world economy decarbonizes and more businesses become active in achieving a neutral or even positive environmental footprint , and commitment at the top needs to be mirrored with getting closer to your customers to understand future market changes at the earliest possible opportunity .
New technologies and products driven by decarbonization require new components , and the demand for different raw materials is changing , sometimes dramatically . The surge in demand for the chemical components of Lithium-Ion batteries from the ramping up on electric car production is a current such example , as are chemical-free production processes , waste water treatment , and 3D bioprinting . Those companies investing time in reducing their environmental impact while building relationships and intelligence to understand future raw material needs as the economy greens will be best
positioned to benefit from the dramatic changes the world will go through over the coming years and decades . ■
For a list of the sources used in this article , please contact the editor .
Birgit Breitschuh www . oliverwight-eame . com
Birgit Breitschuh is a partner at consultants Oliver Wight EAME , a leading consultancy that has been helping mining and other large international businesses successfully transform since 1969 . Oliver Wight is a world leader in Integrated Business Planning consulting . With a different approach to other consultancy firms , industry experts transfer their knowledge to clients through coaching , mentoring and education workshops , thereby enabling ongoing self-improvement . m-mtoday . com 27