Sustainable industry: how sustainability and technology are impacting the world
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 6:35 am
The term "sustainability" has gained great notoriety in the market and the media over the last few years. Since then, it has maintained an upward trend and has become one of the main expressions of the 21st century, with several companies and countries showing concern for sustainable development.
For reasons such as global warming, concern for the canada mobile number database environment or even marketing, various industries have invested in receiving the seal of sustainable company.
We will show you some examples of companies that are doing excellent work in this area, to justify why you should do it too. Learn about the strategies of a multinational, a company already established in its country and a Brazilian startup.
But first, let's clarify:
What is sustainable development?
Sustainable development is about seeking to evolve socio-economically, but in a way that does not compromise future generations. That is, developing in a way that is sustainable for the environment.
When we talk about the environment, we are referring to the entire ecosystem that a society depends on to survive. This includes, for example, the supply of water and energy. So it is, in reality, a balance between the natural ecosystem and the human economy.
Thus, human evolution is capable of affecting this balance drastically, through the development of new technologies and institutions. We can recall the following examples to illustrate this:
the emergence of agriculture approximately 10 thousand years ago;
the use of coal as an energy source with the first Industrial Revolution;
and alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind, which are gaining increasing market space.
There are many other situations that have happened throughout history that show why sustainable development is essential. But, to explain it even better, we share with you the following quote, taken from the respected New York Times :
"The country that presents the most developed sustainable industrial technology in the 21st century will also present greater energy security, national security, economic security, environmental preservation, innovative companies and global respect."
This is from a post from April 2009. Since then, what have you done to contribute to sustainable development?
And if that sentence wasn't enough to encourage you, we'll continue with examples of companies that are doing exemplary work in this regard. Starting with:
Adidas and its line of plastic products
The German company has partnered with Parley , a cause focused on raising awareness about the beauty and fragility of the oceans, enabling collaborations and projects that can reduce damage to them.
One of these damages is the plastic waste that ends up in the ocean. According to recent studies by Parley itself , at least 5 trillion pieces of waste, weighing more than 250 thousand tons, are now floating in the seas.
Knowing the cause, Adidas launched the next project: a line of racing shoes made by recycling waste intercepted on beaches and coastal communities before reaching the waters.
The result of this partnership was a sensational campaign to raise public awareness about the need to preserve the oceans, allied to a very well-done marketing action, which generated videos like the following one:
These Adidas sneakers are made from recycled plastic
For Parley, visibility was an obvious benefit. But what did Adidas achieve with the partnership?
In addition to a clear conscience for playing their part in promoting sustainability, the members of the German company achieved very good results with an excellent Branding & Buzz strategy.
If you are not familiar with this concept, we will briefly summarize it for you:
Branding is the management and consolidation of a brand in the market through a series of actions, plans and strategies. While Buzz Marketing is the set of techniques that encourages people to talk about your brand.
And right now, we're talking about Adidas, right?
But you are wrong if you think that only foreign and multinational companies do great work with sustainability.
The 14th most sustainable company in the world is Brazilian
In January 2018, Corporate Knights, a financial information company focused on combining business and socioeconomic benefits, released the ranking of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world .
The study to compile this ranking took into account financial statements and sustainability reports, analyzing factors such as:
energy consumption;
carbon emissions;
waste production and clean air;
innovation costs;
suppliers with whom companies work.
And for the ninth consecutive time, Natura has appeared among the 100 most sustainable companies . What's more, the brand has moved up five positions compared to 2017 and now occupies 14th position in the ranking.
We see, therefore, that Natura takes the sustainable issue to a new level, which would be business sustainability, when it refers to the entire operation of the company: from the conception of the product to the services, through production with certified materials, waste reduction and, finally, disposal by the consumer.
Learn about some of Natura's actions that led the Brazilian company to achieve this recognition:
Use of biodegradable and easily recyclable packaging to avoid the consumption of plastic and slow-decomposing materials. In addition to the use of spare parts , since 1983;
Since December 2006, it has not tested its products on animals ;
Changing the formulation of products , replacing raw materials of animal and mineral origin, derived from petroleum, with vegetable raw materials;
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
Adoption of what is called the Environmental Table , which is published on its products and contains information on the environmental impact of each of the items.
And of course, there could not be missing an action to spread all this strategy, but note that the video already shows a genuinely greater concern with sustainability. And it also suggests the technological innovations possible by abandoning animal testing.
Why don't we test in animals?
But it's not just big companies that create beautiful, sustainable projects. Take a look at the example of this Brazilian startup:
The most sustainable solar energy you can find
Yes, solar energy is already one of the types of renewable energy sources, or alternative, as you prefer. So how can it be made more sustainable?
Photovoltaic energy is an icon of what is "green" and is also a much less environmentally harmful energy source than several others used in Brazil. However, the manufacturing process of solar panels is capable of acidifying soils and emitting harmful gases , if not done properly.
And this is exactly where Sunew comes in : a Brazilian startup that produces organic thin films (OPV), a technology recognized as part of the Third Generation of Photovoltaics.
In addition to the sustainability factor, OPV offers the advantage of agility, transparency and flexibility, factors much better than those of traditional plates. This ends up generating an unlimited range of applications! For example, look at some possibilities:
coverage;
building facades;
vehicle roofs;
solar trees built using this technology, which were even used at Rock in Rio in 2017 .
sunew
For reasons such as global warming, concern for the canada mobile number database environment or even marketing, various industries have invested in receiving the seal of sustainable company.
We will show you some examples of companies that are doing excellent work in this area, to justify why you should do it too. Learn about the strategies of a multinational, a company already established in its country and a Brazilian startup.
But first, let's clarify:
What is sustainable development?
Sustainable development is about seeking to evolve socio-economically, but in a way that does not compromise future generations. That is, developing in a way that is sustainable for the environment.
When we talk about the environment, we are referring to the entire ecosystem that a society depends on to survive. This includes, for example, the supply of water and energy. So it is, in reality, a balance between the natural ecosystem and the human economy.
Thus, human evolution is capable of affecting this balance drastically, through the development of new technologies and institutions. We can recall the following examples to illustrate this:
the emergence of agriculture approximately 10 thousand years ago;
the use of coal as an energy source with the first Industrial Revolution;
and alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind, which are gaining increasing market space.
There are many other situations that have happened throughout history that show why sustainable development is essential. But, to explain it even better, we share with you the following quote, taken from the respected New York Times :
"The country that presents the most developed sustainable industrial technology in the 21st century will also present greater energy security, national security, economic security, environmental preservation, innovative companies and global respect."
This is from a post from April 2009. Since then, what have you done to contribute to sustainable development?
And if that sentence wasn't enough to encourage you, we'll continue with examples of companies that are doing exemplary work in this regard. Starting with:
Adidas and its line of plastic products
The German company has partnered with Parley , a cause focused on raising awareness about the beauty and fragility of the oceans, enabling collaborations and projects that can reduce damage to them.
One of these damages is the plastic waste that ends up in the ocean. According to recent studies by Parley itself , at least 5 trillion pieces of waste, weighing more than 250 thousand tons, are now floating in the seas.
Knowing the cause, Adidas launched the next project: a line of racing shoes made by recycling waste intercepted on beaches and coastal communities before reaching the waters.
The result of this partnership was a sensational campaign to raise public awareness about the need to preserve the oceans, allied to a very well-done marketing action, which generated videos like the following one:
These Adidas sneakers are made from recycled plastic
For Parley, visibility was an obvious benefit. But what did Adidas achieve with the partnership?
In addition to a clear conscience for playing their part in promoting sustainability, the members of the German company achieved very good results with an excellent Branding & Buzz strategy.
If you are not familiar with this concept, we will briefly summarize it for you:
Branding is the management and consolidation of a brand in the market through a series of actions, plans and strategies. While Buzz Marketing is the set of techniques that encourages people to talk about your brand.
And right now, we're talking about Adidas, right?
But you are wrong if you think that only foreign and multinational companies do great work with sustainability.
The 14th most sustainable company in the world is Brazilian
In January 2018, Corporate Knights, a financial information company focused on combining business and socioeconomic benefits, released the ranking of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world .
The study to compile this ranking took into account financial statements and sustainability reports, analyzing factors such as:
energy consumption;
carbon emissions;
waste production and clean air;
innovation costs;
suppliers with whom companies work.
And for the ninth consecutive time, Natura has appeared among the 100 most sustainable companies . What's more, the brand has moved up five positions compared to 2017 and now occupies 14th position in the ranking.
We see, therefore, that Natura takes the sustainable issue to a new level, which would be business sustainability, when it refers to the entire operation of the company: from the conception of the product to the services, through production with certified materials, waste reduction and, finally, disposal by the consumer.
Learn about some of Natura's actions that led the Brazilian company to achieve this recognition:
Use of biodegradable and easily recyclable packaging to avoid the consumption of plastic and slow-decomposing materials. In addition to the use of spare parts , since 1983;
Since December 2006, it has not tested its products on animals ;
Changing the formulation of products , replacing raw materials of animal and mineral origin, derived from petroleum, with vegetable raw materials;
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
Adoption of what is called the Environmental Table , which is published on its products and contains information on the environmental impact of each of the items.
And of course, there could not be missing an action to spread all this strategy, but note that the video already shows a genuinely greater concern with sustainability. And it also suggests the technological innovations possible by abandoning animal testing.
Why don't we test in animals?
But it's not just big companies that create beautiful, sustainable projects. Take a look at the example of this Brazilian startup:
The most sustainable solar energy you can find
Yes, solar energy is already one of the types of renewable energy sources, or alternative, as you prefer. So how can it be made more sustainable?
Photovoltaic energy is an icon of what is "green" and is also a much less environmentally harmful energy source than several others used in Brazil. However, the manufacturing process of solar panels is capable of acidifying soils and emitting harmful gases , if not done properly.
And this is exactly where Sunew comes in : a Brazilian startup that produces organic thin films (OPV), a technology recognized as part of the Third Generation of Photovoltaics.
In addition to the sustainability factor, OPV offers the advantage of agility, transparency and flexibility, factors much better than those of traditional plates. This ends up generating an unlimited range of applications! For example, look at some possibilities:
coverage;
building facades;
vehicle roofs;
solar trees built using this technology, which were even used at Rock in Rio in 2017 .
sunew