2024 was yet another eventful year in the world of sustainability.
Technological advances, political shifts, regulatory lightbulb moments, treaty talk breakdowns, gigantic financial commitments, extreme weather events and the growing ubiquity of artificial intelligence have all had an impact.
As ever, businesses have been right at the heart of these moments.
Sustainability Magazine is here to recap and evaluate the biggest trends of 2024.
In this list, we'll look at the philosophies, actions and inventions adopted by the world's leading organisations, including circularity, regeneration, green finance and AI.
10. Regenerative agriculture
Applications: Soil health improvement, carbon sequestration, sustainable food supply
Company in focus Nescafé
Countries in focus: Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia and Mexico
Regenerative agriculture is gaining momentum as a solution to global food and environmental challenges.
By enhancing soil health, sequestering carbon and reducing chemical inputs, this approach ensures a sustainable and resilient food system.
Businesses in the agriculture and food sectors are leading this transformative trend.
Nescafé is currently one of the world's leading organisations when it comes to regenerative agriculture.
Throughout 2024, Nescafé introduced more than 3,000 incentive schemes across its global supply chain, encouraging farmers to adopt regenerative practices.
These initiatives, which took place in the likes of Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Mexico, have helped the company exceed all expectations laid out in its sustainability roadmap.
9. Sustainable water management
Applications: Water conservation, efficient irrigation, wastewater recycling
Company in focus: Carlsberg
Countries in focus: China and Laos
Water sustainability is critical as resources face increasing pressure.
Companies are adopting innovative practices such as efficient irrigation and waste water recycling to preserve this vital resource.
In 2024, those industries most reliant on water-intensive processes have focused on minimising their carbon and water footprints, which is a positive sign.
Naturally, the beverages industry is under the microscope for its water usage. Danish brewing giant Carlsberg has kickstarted several water-saving initiatives in 2024 to combat water waste.
In China and Laos, Carlsberg has partnered with NGO WWF on a large scale wetland restoration project, which is set to boost the availability of water in several critical basins across the two nations.
8. ESG integration
Applications: Corporate governance, social responsibility, ethical business practices
Company in focus: Toyota
Country in focus: Japan
Through 2024, ESG has gathered a lot of attention — often because of success stories, but sometimes thanks to vocal criticism.
Regardless, it's undeniable that a focus on ESG has started to reshape corporate operations around the world.
ESG's emphasis on social sustainability, from workplace equity to community engagement, ensures that businesses balance profit with purpose.
Toyota is one of the world's best when it comes to integrating ESG values with tangible results.
CSO Yumi Otsuka has been leading Toyota's corporate mission of "producing happiness for all" in recent years, which is a very people-centric approach to ESG.
You can see this philosophy take effect in its Japan-based projects, such as the 'Woven City'.
In 2024, the majority of the town's construction was finished and it was built in accordance with utopian principles of sustainability and ESG.
Many of Toyota's future operations will be based in Woven City after tests commence in 2025 and the company hopes it can provide a blueprint for a particularly sustainable form of urban living.
7. Sustainable finance and green bonds
Applications: Climate-focused investments, funding renewable projects, driving COP29 objectives
Company in focus: HSBC
Country in focus: United Kingdom
Sustainable finance is thriving in 2024, with green bonds and other financial instruments funding initiatives to combat climate change.
Aligning with the goals of COP29, these products empower companies and governments to invest in renewable energy, infrastructure and community development projects.
HSBC, one of the world's leading financial institutions, has been grabbing some headlines in 2024 with its commitments to green finance.
In October, it was announced that the British bank had joined forces with Google to fast track a series of climate tech start-ups.
With US$1bn on offer, we may well see some new climate projects bear fruit in 2025.
6. Circular economy models
Applications: Waste reduction, resource efficiency, product lifecycle extension
Company in focus: Dipli
Country in focus: France
Circular economy models are redefining production and consumption.
By minimising waste and reusing resources, companies are reducing environmental impact and fostering innovation.
From recycled materials in fashion to refurbished electronics, businesses adopting circular strategies are really beginning to stand out as sustainability leaders — so much so that we're likely to see many more major companies adopt similar models in 2025.
French company Dipli was one organisation that stood out in 2024 because of its approach to circularity.
Its business model involves partnering with major telco providers, like Orange, to upcycle the old phones of customers so they can be refurbished and resold.
Dipli conducted some large-scale research towards the tail end of 2024, which showed that consumer appetite for refurbished electronics are on the rise, which gives a promising indication that the future could be circular.
5. Nature intelligence in corporate strategy
Applications: Biodiversity conservation, nature-based solutions, environmental restoration, disaster prevention
Company in focus: Google
Country in focus: Spain
Nature intelligence — leveraging data and insights about ecosystems — has been gaining a great deal of prominence in corporate strategies across 2024.
Businesses are now prioritising biodiversity and adopting nature-based solutions to mitigate environmental damage, which speaks to the interdependence of economic activity and natural ecosystems.
There are examples aplenty across the corporate world, whether that's in Microsoft's use of AI to conserve British peatland, IBM and NASA's use of advanced forecasting to better predict global warming, or Google's new flood prediction software.
In 2024, the latter's deployment of nature intelligence seems like a real ray of light in the darkness.
In a year plagued by swathes of devastating floods — in Spain, the USA, Brazil and many countries right across Western Africa — Google's work could offer some hope for mitigating disasters moving forward.
4. Scrutiny of supply chains
Applications: Ethical sourcing, emissions monitoring, supply chain resilience
Company in focus: Vodafone
Country in focus: Global supply chains
Corporate sustainability efforts are increasingly targeting supply chains.
Companies are adopting technology to monitor emissions, ensure ethical sourcing and reduce environmental impact throughout their value chains.
Heightened consumer awareness and regulatory demands make this trend a pivotal area of focus for organisations worldwide.
Vodafone is one company to make tracks in supply chain sustainability this year.
The telco and tech company has partnered with Controlant in an effort to take on the challenges of the pharmaceutical industry — which is a sector with tangled supply chains that span the whole globe.
Together, the two companies are aiming to mitigate the waste of perishable drugs and to curb any unnecessary carbon emissions that result from redelivery efforts.
3. Sustainability as a long-term investment
Applications: Cost reduction, fostering innovation, driving competitive advantage
Company in focus: Patagonia’s long-term commitment to eco-friendly materials
Country in focus: China
In 2024, it looked as though businesses started to shift their perspective on sustainability, seeing it as a strategic investment rather than a financial burden.
Long-term cost efficiencies, improved brand reputation and innovation opportunities are motivating companies to embed sustainability into their core strategies — and you can see why when looking at companies like outdoor clothing brand Patagonia.
Yvon Chouihard, Patagonia's founder, has received a great deal of praise this year for his company's efforts to fight climate change.
In 2022, he decided to make the company a not-for-profit endeavour, with all proceeds going to the climate fight.
“I never wanted to be a businessman," Yvon says. "I started as a craftsman, making climbing gear for my friends and myself, then got into apparel."
“As we began to witness the extent of global warming and ecological destruction, and our own contribution to it, Patagonia committed to using our company to change the way business was done."
As the years roll on, we may see more and more business owners operate with a similar passion for planet over profit, in no small part thanks to the example set by the US-based Patagonia.
In terms of countries setting examples on this front, China is currently steaming ahead in the race for renewables, setting itself up for a sustainable future.
By 2030, China will own over 50% of the world's renewable energy sources.
2. Standardised sustainability reporting
Applications: Transparent reporting, combating greenwashing, climate risk assessments
Company in focus: Unilever
Countries in focus: the EU
In 2024, standardised sustainability reporting frameworks like the CSRD have started to change corporate accountability.
These frameworks mandate comprehensive disclosures, ensuring companies’ claims match their environmental impact.
Investors and consumers alike demand clearer insights into businesses’ contributions to sustainability, which is putting the heat on organisations to be more transparent about their operations and risks.
This hasn't always been plain sailing, though.
Regulators, governing bodies and companies have often come to blows as they try to wrestle control of reporting standards, but more often than not, a consensus has been made.
The European Union has often led the world on this front. The CSRD is an EU framework, which has received the assent of large companies all around the world, including Unilever.
1. Artificial intelligence
Applications: Smart energy grids, predictive analytics for climate modelling, efficient waste management, autonomous vehicles
Company in focus: Google
Country in focus: USA
A predictable first place entry? 2024 was a year dominated by AI innovations.
In every industry, business leaders looked for ways to apply AI to streamline operations.
The era of AI has only just begun and the technology is still very much in its infancy, though remarkable things have already started to happen — especially in the field of sustainability.
Take any of the planet's most pressing environmental problems: climate change, natural disasters, rising sea levels, air pollution, water pollution, landfill waste, biodiversity loss, food scarcity, poor agricultural yield.
AI has already started to change the way we approach all of these issues.
There have been so many fascinating use cases across 2024, but Google's deployment of AI in cities could be the most interesting of all.
The Silicon Valley company believes that AI could herald a new era of smart cities, and you can read all about its urban applications here in Sustainability Magazine.
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