Carbon Footprint Effect on the Economy - Literature review Example

How Popular Companies in the UK are minimizing their Carbon Footprint Student’s Name Institution Date Introduction Vicente, (2015) stated that carbon footprint has steadily appeared in the news especially with the explosion of information that has emerged that concerns climate change. Carbon footprint refers to the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions that consists of mainly carbon dioxide connected with an enterprise, production or a particular event. This has become on of the most common assessment of the influence of an individual, corporation, country or community on the entire environment. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions and therefore carbon footprint is the main event that is linked with the changes in climate that have resulted in global warming. Impacts of carbon footprint on the environment and also Human Health The increasing carbon footprint has a profound effect on the environment. The rising temperatures and also the shifting precipitation patterns in the UK have become changing. These changes have affected the growing patterns of plants and have resulted in indigenous vegetation moving towards increasingly cooler climates. Also, the sea levels that have begun rising at the temperature of the increase in the entire planet which has resulted in warming water occupying more space than cooler water (Solli, 2010). Therefore the rising seas will erode the shorelines and also entirely destroy coastal cities, ecosystems and also towns that may be displaced by the increased sea levels. The increase of carbon footprint can negatively affect the health of a person. The individuals that are at most risks are children and also women involved in the agriculture sector. According to the World Health Organization, the fluctuations in climate is projected to increase the percentage of people that suffer from hunger in some countries from thirty-four percent to at least sixty-four percent forty years from now. Increased malnutrition is due to the changes in climate on food crops such as drought that might affect the growing season. Drought might also cause other serious diseases as the temperatures increase which would allow malarial mosquitoes in surviving in nations previously inhabitable or them. Lastly, the increase in air pollution has led to the increase in respiratory challenges such as allergies and also asthma that have increased (Rameshwar, 2016). Carbon Footprint effect on the economy The hazards posed by the growing carbon footprint in the economy are significant. Climate change has an impact on local economies that rely on both natural and land resources such as farms. These typically fall victim to the lowered yields of crops. For example, the Nature Conservancy has stated that economic losses due to the increased carbon footprint and the outcome of these changes in climate have threatened the lobster in the United Kingdom as catches have reduced drastically. Also, the increase in the ocean temperatures is highly threatening the entire survival of coral reefs. Carbon Footprint in the UK Research has clearly highlighted that the average individual in the United Kingdom has an Ecological Footprint of almost five global hectares or three times the total global per capita target. This leads to the assertion that if every individual on the planet consumed as much as the average UK person, they would need three planets just to support them. The United Kingdom’s carbon emissions need to decrease at significant lengths. Currently, the United Kingdom’s climate change bill has established an objective for the entire UK to reduce its overall carbon dioxide emissions by at least sixty percent below the levels experienced in the early 1990s by the year 2050 (Herring, 2012). According to the One Planet Calculator, the average emissions for a single UK resident are almost twelve tonnes in a year. This number might be higher that experienced in any region. This is because the UK figures include emissions from their consumption of commodities. The government also published information that has entirely left out emission from the shipping and aviation industries which have been incorporated in the One Planet Calculator. Carbon dioxide emissions have also been included in the calculation of the entire ecological footprint of the UK. The environmental footprint converts tonnes of carbon dioxide that are released into the atmosphere into the total area that is necessary for the absorption of these carbon emissions (Franchetti, & Apul, 2012). Theoretical Perspectives on Carbon footprint reduction The Novel Approach High proportions of emissions of carbon dioxide emerge from manufacturing systems, procedures and also from the transportation whereby the working on the extended supply chains is manufacturing. Cheng and Bateman introduced this novel approached referred to s Devolved Manufacturing that integrates the three most necessary components together in the process of building future systems. These three elements include web-based manufacturing, mass customization and also fast production. The purpose of this type of approach is to enhance the provision of a large factory less that customers can receive their products in the nearest area. In other words; this framework can be utilized in minimizing the transportation that is connected with numerous manufacturing processes structure. Therefore, the devolved manufacturing can be used as an approach to the reduction of carbon contents emissions especially for LCM in the supply chain based manufacturing processes (Bateman, & Cheng, 2006). Low carbon Manufacturing This process can be described as the procedure that emits low levels of carbon dioxide from the source of the systems and also during the entire manufacturing processes. Also, the term Low Carbon Manufacturing can be utilized in an environmental aspect and also in both efficient production and energy conservation since the process uses excess energy that is available simultaneously without the most useful algorithm in the processing in running a system that can lead to a high carbon dioxide intensity volume to the atmosphere. Desktop and micro factory machines The central concepts involved in desktop and micro factory machines for most UK companies is solely for micro manufacturing purpose that has been explored in broad terms for the concepts and definitions of the micro factory and also the desktop machines. Yuichi stated that this was a small-scale manufacturing system that can perform with a high throughput while the resource utilization and energy consumption rate can be decreased simultaneously. Also, Mishima, (2006) asserted that the entire concept of desktop and micro-factory machines must focus on the low generation of heat and less energy consumption of these systems. Therefore, the innovation of the micro and desktop machines can be applied in Low-carbon manufacturing through the reduction of irrelevant carbon materials from the manufacturing systems Approaches in Minimizing Carbon Footprint O'Neill, (2010) stated that developers in London have begun constructing developments while paying close attention o sustainability. They have adopted rigorous and greener planning exercises that have been considered for these new constructions of the establishment. Most of these enterprises have designed and planned their developments in such a way that they would observe climate change issues, adequate service access such as the provision of water and electricity in most urban housing and also the application of renewable sources. Most of these construction companies have a unified vision to ensure that London achieves a high environmental standard in the new developments which would act as a catalyst for all other regions within this area to emulate. London currently seeks to become the leading city in the provision of a greener environment while handling the issue such as rapid climate change, pollution and also the preservation of natural resources (Aras, & Crowther, 2009).Also, companies have conducted exercises that improve water and waste management and also the provision of quality energy. These strategies have been successful because these companies have maintained high standards of sustainable development and also the adoption of greener practices through minimizing their use of carbon energy and as a result have improved the overall sustainability and have enhanced the entire green infrastructure of the UK. Food waste has become of the most significant contributors in the entire carbon footprint of UK. Most companies, however, have begun educating their consumers of curbing their emissions through the reduction of the amount if the food that they purchase serve and eventually waste while also highlighting the objective that food manufacturers play in the application of fertilizers in a more appropriate manner. This has led to these consumers purchasing local and seasonal produce that enable them to minimize their individual levels of emissions through elimination of carbon costs involved in shipping and manufacturing out of season commodities. Most companies have begun utilizing carbon-free sources of energy in most of their operations. Carbon-free power sources have their connected influences, however; these technologies generate energy without the hazard of production and emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbon free energy sources include geothermal energy, solar and wind power. Alternatively, some enterprises have also switched from high-carbon fuel sources such as oil and coal to reduced fuels such as natural gas. These practices have resulted in the increase of reduced carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom. Challenges in Minimizing Carbon Foot Print Reduction However, other companies are still having challenges in this area. These enterprises are not aware of what happens to their commodities after their customers purchase them. This lack of knowledge has made it problematic for an enterprise to estimate the actual environmental impact of their commodities and therefore can mean that the available opportunities to promote a full lifecycle potential in their commodities are not attained. Both of these oversights can be handled through the assessment of the lifecycle of a product’s footprint. This means that acquiring an accurate landscape of the indirect emissions across the entire value chain of the product. A company can achieve this goal by making sure that it analyzes how a product is used and also how it is manufactured Also in most businesses, the downstream emissions which are generated by a service or commodities used and disposed of by their consumer are far greater than those produced upstream when the product is created. Making the best choice concerning which aspect of the value chain is essential is highly challenging, and therefore, the work undertaken by the Carbon Trust Advisory is to assist organizations to comprehend the indirect emissions in their value chain. These indirect emissions would lead to highly surprising results. Expert support from experienced individuals and firms in the assessment of the management of indirect emissions in the value chain is highly significant. However, some companies have made numerous wrong decisions in examining the areas that must be handling first to acquire the greatest gains. In the United Kingdom, when considerations are made concerning the carbon emission of drink commodities, the determining factor I the relative influence of other manufacturing stages and also the usage of the product. It has often been the packaging and refrigeration that contributed largely to their overall total lifecycle carbon emissions (Kosseva, & Webb, 2013). Coca-Cola organization base in the UK discovered that packaging mainly led to almost thirty percent and also seventy percent t of the carbon footprint of their commodity since it depended on the packaging type and size, and also the kind of the product created. Emissions linked with the packaging of meat products is highly minimal when compared with emissions that arise from cooking and refrigeration. Recommendations and Conclusion Organizations must work hard in engaging their customers are comprehend both at the point of sale and throughout the application and disposal of their commodities whether there is more they can do in the enhancement of their product in a manner that meets the needs of their customers. Organizations must also work to reduce the cost of ownership and also the environmental impact of the lifecycle of their product. Comprehension of how clients utilize their commodities will assist UK companies to develop better ways of communicating the value of their products. With Televisions, fifty percent if these emissions emerge from the use stage. This means that from a cost-benefit perspective, the Plasma TV is the greenest and most cost effective product for casual users. Such an insight can significantly affect the choice and deliver a highly environmental and economic benefit for all parties involved in the business and also the consumers (Gray, 2015). Customers need more information that could enhance their decisions concerning the products they purchase, how to use them, how to dispose of them in a way that reduces their individual contribution to carbon emissions without compromising their identity. This could be conveyed through a carbon guideline strategy that assists consumers in their purchasing decisions. Looking ahead consumer demand and also government pressure is highly likely to lead to more organizations to explore all frameworks that an assist in the reduction of carbon footprints. Therefore comprehending where these emissions arise and how they can be decreased will be highly relevant. The enterprises that have a full recognition of their carbon emissions that include indirect emissions connected with application and disposal stages, maintenance and lifetimes will be able to examine, assess and decrease hem in a surrounding where carbon emission reduction is an increasingly business critical issue. References Aras, G., and Crowther, D. (2009). The Durable Corporation: Strategies for Sustainable Development. Corporate Social Responsibility Series. Gower Publishing, Ltd Bateman, R.J. and Cheng, K., 2006. Extending the product portfolio with ‘devolved manufacturing’: methodology and case studies. International Journal of Production Research, 44(16), pp.3325-3343. Franchetti, M. J. and Apul, D. (2012). Carbon Footprint Analysis: Concepts, Methods, Implementation, and Case Studies. Industrial Innovation Series. CRC Press Gray, N. F. (2015). Facing Up to Global Warming: What exactly is Going on and How You Can Make a Difference? Springer Herring, H. (2012). Living in a Low-Carbon Society in 2050. Energy, Climate and the Environment. Palgrave Macmillan Kosseva, M. and Webb, C. (2013). Food Industry Wastes: The Assessment and Recuperation of Commodities. Food science and technology international series. Academic Press Mishima, N., 2006, June. A Study on a Microfactory and an Evaluation Method of its System Configuration. In 2006 The International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (pp. 837-842). IEEE. O'Neill, M. (2010). Green IT for Sustainable Business Practice: An ISEB Foundation Guide. British Comp Society Series. BCS, The Chartered Institute Rameshwar, D. (2016). Strategic Management of Sustainable Manufacturing Operations. Advances in Logistics, Operations, and Management Science. IGI Global Solli, M. (2010). Global Carbon Footprints: Methods and Import/Export Corrected Results from the Nordic Countries in Global Carbon Footprint Studies. Nordic Council of Ministers Vicente, G. (2015). Promoting Sustainable Practices through Energy Engineering and Asset Management. Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies. IGI Global Read More