Technology vs. Nature: A trade off or an opportunity?

The tradeoff between technology and nature is most evident in the impact fossil-fuel based industries have had on our climate.?But it extends much further.?To overexploitation of farmland, loss of biodiversity, loss of natural carbon sinks, and the depletion of water tables. These are just some of the man-made impacts on nature. Today, this tradeoff has come full circle. ?The nature-based risks –like climate change and loss of biodiversity-- impact businesses and their bottom line in ways that are both calculable and a threat to future profitability.???

Unlike any generation of the past, this negative feedback loop demands that we use technology to respond to nature-based risks and reverse the damage we have done as a society. ?In fact it is a clarion call for a new paradigm in how we view the linkages between technology and nature.

CEOs of global businesses surveyed by KPMG are already adapting to this new technology-nature paradigm.?Businesses are adopting aggressive digital investment strategies while committing to NetZero goals.??And our data show that some 74% of the organizations surveyed see their digital strategies and investments in environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities as linked.?They are building up the social component of ESG and locking in reductions in carbon emissions that resulted from the pandemic. ?Importantly, by a ratio of 2:1 they see their ESG programs as beneficial to their financial performance.

These are win-win opportunities that embody a new paradigm of better environmental stewardship and improved business sustainability

These efforts include decarbonization by adopting renewable energy and the development of new battery storage technologies; investments in electric vehicles and mobility-as-a-service; building and construction designs that reduce the impact that cities and growing urban populations have on ecosystems; and technology-enabled land/water use and farm production technologies.??

These steps are driven by both market forces and societal demands.?Reporting standards like the Task Force Climate-Related Financial Disclosure and the new Task Force for Nature-related Financial Disclosure call for greater transparency, while shareholder activism has led to greater climate accountability among oil companies.?ESG investing is moving trillions of dollars of capital into green markets, and an emerging consensus on carbon taxes is changing the incentives for fossil-fuel energy use.?All these elements mean that the cost of corporate inaction is increasing.

?To address the new technology-nature paradigm businesses most address core questions:

• ?How does your strategy enable technology and address nature-based risks that impact your business?
• ?Which of the emerging technologies yields the best ROI by mitigating nature-based risks in your supply chain, production, and distribution channels?
• ?How do you communicate to the investor and stakeholder community your efforts to enable technology and de-risk?

By successfully answering these questions businesses will find innovative approaches to deploy technology and reduce nature-based risks.?These are win-win opportunities that embody a new paradigm of better environmental stewardship and improved business sustainability.?