Brands are extending their sustainability practices into the digital realm to maintain a green platform and reach their sustainability goals. According to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s “New Realities: The Metaverse and Beyond” report, 71% of those who know what the Metaverse is, believe brands need to think about the environmental impact of the Metaverse. I believe there is.
Romanita Oprea
Currently, one Ethereum transaction consumes an average of 60% more energy than 100,000 credit card transactions, while an average Bitcoin transaction consumes 14 times more energy. An average NFT transaction produces 48 kilograms of CO2, equivalent to burning 18 liters of diesel. Nonetheless, answers to the real world climate crisis may be found in the virtual world. NFTs are powerful tools for building a more sustainable metaverse. NFTs can be used to create new and exciting experiences and also help create new and sustainable business models. Increase transparency and accountability, reduce waste, and improve supply chain efficiency. NFT trading has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 90 percent compared to traditional art sales.
“In addition, NFTs are a more sustainable alternative to physical wearables and offer a way for brands to significantly reduce their carbon footprint. The manufacturing of the We have the opportunity to reduce our emissions by up to 30%, which not only benefits the environment, but also demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and helps attract environmentally conscious consumers.” metav.rs said.
When consumers choose to purchase virtual denim for their avatars instead of real denim for their bodies, there can be significant savings in carbon dioxide and water. According to the EY Future Consumer Index, 21% of consumers already expect to do more digitally and therefore plan to buy less physical items in the future. At the same time, if this kind of substitute reduced the physical denim trade by 10 percent, the CO2 emissions would be equivalent to the annual emissions of about 350,000 internal combustion vehicles in the United States, and the water consumption equivalent to the annual average. will be reduced. China’s consumer population footprint of over 400,000. Considered across different categories of consumer spending, substitution effects can lead to significant carbon and resource efficiencies.
“While the Metaverse will not completely replace our physical reality, it could and does provide some tools to make our lives easier and reduce our carbon footprint. We see this in many industries, including in education: Germany’s RWTH Aachen University is using VR tools to provide resources to students and researchers around the world to inform them about their study programs and research opportunities. It reduces the need for travel and reduces CO2 emissions, while providing efficient access to water,” said Anka Mural, founder of Sustenabilitate. .biz.
From trends to must-haves
KPMG reports that the Metaverse is the dominant technology trend of the 2020s, and its public awareness has skyrocketed. Similarly, sustainability is becoming a rising market and consumer trend, with the market value of sustainability and green technology expected to exceed US$51 billion by 2029. It is therefore important to consider the overlap of these trends and see what opportunities and challenges the market presents. each other. Daria Krivonos, CEO of the Copenhagen Institute, said, “Concerns about energy consumption and conservation, as well as environmental impacts, can be both major drivers and inhibitors of the Metaverse, so there is no reason to believe it will continue.” Talking about possibilities and the metaverse is essential.” For futures research.
“But while the Metaverse creates emissions, it also has the potential to create waste, materials and emissions reductions. No more going on vacations, moving physical products around the world, etc. Through this thought leadership, learn how the Metaverse impacts the world’s ability to become sustainable. , aims to provide a nuanced perspective.Combining our own knowledge with insights from a range of industry leaders and experts, this thought leadership will guide you to ESG considerations as you begin your Metaverse journey. It provides initial insight into the process and outlines the steps our experts recommend,” said a KPMG representative.
According to Anca Muraru, even if you can reduce your carbon footprint by immersing yourself in the metaverse, you have to consider the amount of energy required. The more data you create, the more energy it takes to store it, creating a carbon footprint. “Global emissions from data centers range from 2.5 to 3.7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, which actually exceeds emissions from commercial aviation (about 2.4 percent). So if metaverse adoption becomes the norm, the energy crisis could grow exponentially, but as 2030 approaches, carbon emissions reductions will soon reach all And the sustainability of the Metaverse should also be included in the conversation to build a more sustainable future for our physical world,” added the Sustenabilitate.Biz founder.
According to Venture Beat, the Metaverse will help optimize the physical world by replacing physical goods with digital goods and replacing real-world existence with virtual interactions and digital twins. We promise to reduce. From Earth to individual humans. The immersive nature of the Metaverse experience could also help overcome barriers to our action on climate action. Furthermore, we must not forget the need for social sustainability to make the metaverse accessible, inclusive and equitable.
The power of the digital twin
Digital twins have been demonstrated in research to have a significant impact on the ecosystem. Ernst & Young has discovered that digital twins can reduce a building’s carbon footprint by up to 50% through more efficient use of resources and reduced waste. Cities account for about 70% of the world’s carbon footprint, and buildings make up a significant portion of their urban area. Extending this kind of digital twin initiative across large cities and urban corridors will therefore have a significant impact on the global environment. This will enable progress towards a net zero carbon world.
Digital twin technology can be used to integrate large data sources to predict factors such as air pollution and carbon emissions and identify actions to address these challenges.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claimed in an interview that the company is creating digital twins of real-world structures in a virtual environment called Omniverse. They can model how to improve air conditioning distribution efficiency, where to place solar panels to maximize light exposure, and how to modify building structures to reduce air conditioning demand during warmer months. .
A 2°C rise in temperature scenario could be applied from papers to simulations, allowing scientists to better analyze climate impacts. This may be a boon for scientific research and innovation. It is expected to be used to promote research and development aimed at solving sustainability issues.
“As business leaders invest, develop new customer strategies, and transform to pursue the potential of the Metaverse, a better climate and social outcomes must be at the heart of their planning efforts. A broader perspective is needed to ensure that the gap between the costs and benefits of using Even if this requires intervention by regulators, investors, consumers, stakeholders and other business leaders, it will take time before exponential growth makes it even more difficult. Very important,” writes venturebeat.com.
It is clear that customers can shift their budgets for certain products to sustainable virtual options that require less resources to generate and generate waste. This could be a notable development for waste-rich industries such as fast fashion, which contributes to overproduction and overconsumption.
One of the most promising benefits of the metaverse can be found in business travel. Before the pandemic, air travel accounted for 2.5% of his global emissions. But people quickly learned that meetings could be held virtually. In the future, business meetings may take place in the metaverse, replicating some of the same benefits of face-to-face meetings, while reducing air travel emissions with discretionary travel.
Furthermore, perhaps the biggest sustainability benefit of the metaverse is the ability to leverage technology to better identify and implement carbon reduction plans. Virtual and augmented reality can increase access to educational resources, reduce the need for physical resources, and improve efficiency in areas such as agriculture, energy production, and waste management.
Experts say the Metaverse has the potential to create a fairer and more sustainable world, but only if sustainability is built into its design and development. This means that virtual worlds must be designed in a way that uses resources efficiently, minimizes waste, and reduces environmental impact. By prioritizing sustainability in the metaverse, we can create virtual worlds that not only offer new and exciting experiences, but also lay the foundation for a better future.
good habits
In September 2022, the Ethereum cryptocurrency completed a software update, reducing its carbon footprint by 99 percent. The merger, as the company calls it, is a move from a verification method known as “proof of work” to a more energy efficient method called “proof of stake” (PoS), which will help cryptocurrencies Effectively reduce power consumption from 8.5. GW ~ less than 85MW.
Some platforms prioritize green practices from the start. Tezos is an energy-efficient PoS blockchain that offers a green alternative to standard blockchains through faster NFT transaction times and a lower carbon footprint. A green blockchain offering carbon-neutral mining, EOSIO runs on an energy-efficient PoS algorithm that does not encourage continuous mining by server farms. Consumers looking for sustainable NFT marketplaces and galleries can turn to Abris.io and KodaDot respectively.
According to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s Rise of Rebirth: The Future of Sustainability report, 86% of respondents expect business to play a role in solving major challenges such as climate change. 88% believe sustainability should be standard business practice. And 89% believe brands should do more to reduce their carbon footprint. Consumer payment services company Ripple is a co-founder and active member leader of the Crypto Climate Agreement and the WEF’s Crypto Impact and Sustainability Initiative, aiming to achieve carbon net zero by 2030. The aims.
Gucci accepts payments from a sustainable crypto solution built on the XRP Ledger, the world’s first leading global carbon-neutral blockchain. The brand has also created the Superplast and NFT collections, a carbon-neutral digital collectible creation platform. Burberry dropped its second NFT collection at the Blancos Block Party in June 2022. This does not require cryptocurrency mining.
For brands to sustainably enter the metaverse, whether companies decide to use a green blockchain or balance their carbon footprint with a greener platform. There are many approaches that can be taken.
