Introduction

The concept of sustainability itself has been trending for many years. Governments, businesses, and industries are all adopting sustainable ways to ensure that the environment is harmed to the minimum. The environment has suffered a lot, and the impact has been evident on the humans and flora and fauna. Thus disturbing the whole ecosystem. Many companies have come up with innovative ideas to promote sustainability. Individuals are becoming more responsible and aware of the necessity of such sustainable products to help save the planet. The millennial generation will be ready to spend more on sustainable products as they understand the importance of protecting the environment for their future generations. The good thing is that all the industry sectors are coming forward and paving the way towards sustainability. Many sustainability trends have been talked about in the past few years and have made the news. Trends like sustainable fashion reduce carbon footprint, switch to plant-based food, move from plastic to eco-friendly paper bags, etc. Here we will be discussing some of the sustainability trends from the past week.

1. Centered around sustainable tourism, a startup named not on the map by Manoj Sharma is making rounds. The startup has converted a 200-year-old ancestral house into a unique hotel. This is in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh and has been built on the water to save the declining watermills in the hilly areas. The guests here have to stay with the villagers and be a part of their lives. The house has been named H2O because it is built on five watermills. Without any innovation in the house, Manoj has used the pillar, which is 200 years old, and the walls are constructed using mudplast, which are 2.5 to 3 feet tall.  The houses are made in the style of old village houses in mountain areas with low roofs. The wood used is from a deodar tree, which is around 35-40 years old. There are five watermills in the hotel, and the food is served to the guests from these watermills only. The make-shift service window has been made from an old TV. The startup is playing an essential role in saving, and a way of life in Indian villages and generating employment.
2. Microgrids is one of the leading sustainability trends witnessed past week. Electrical problems are a common sight during extreme weather conditions,, leading to default in the supply of electricity and power. Microgrids are a source of reliable and secure power supply in the regions that have severe power scarcity. Also, the cost of photovoltaic and battery storage solutions is comparatively low, which has made microgrid projects popular. Many projects have been successfully launched, which shows the gaining popularity of the microgrids in almost all the sectors of infrastructure, industrial and commercial. One such project is Lidl’s carbon-neutral distribution center in Finland.
3. Achieving net-zero carbon emissions is also one of the sustainability trends seen last week. Many companies and organizations have committed to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and checking carbon emissions. The US today report states that carbon emissions have seen a most significant jump in seven years. It is disturbing the ecological balance of the environment. Therefore the need of the hour is to keep a check on the carbon emissions and find out ways to reduce it significantly. One such technique is the carbon removal technique. By carbon removal technique, we mean storing carbon in different forms like soil, trees, oceans, lakes, underwear reservoirs and concrete forms of carbon and removing the carbon from the atmosphere.
4. Another trend being talked about is the regenerative agriculture which is the system of farming practices and principles that enrich the soil, increase biodiversity, enhances ecosystem services and improves watersheds. Regenerative agriculture is beneficial to prevent ourselves from the situation of serious public health issues, degraded food quality, harm to our flora and fauna, and no arable land left to provide food. Regenerative agriculture is also significant in combating climate change. It also makes the crop more resistant to weather and other conditions. Regenerative agriculture is one of the solutions to so many problems facing the planet.
5. Sustainable packing is another trend that has been around for sometime. Plastic has had a significant impact on the environment. The plastic packaging of the products has caused a lot of environmental harm. It, therefore, requires the retailers to reduce their impact on the environment by reducing plastic waste. In this regard, the supermarkets have moved towards zero waste transformation by giving fruits and vegetables without a wrapper. Industries and businesses have also come forward in this regard and a company named Tesco announced last year that it would go plastic-free entirely and remove all plastic packaging.
6. Sustainability in clothing is another trend that is evolving slowly and people are micing from fast fashion to slow and environmental friendly fashion. Sustainable clothing can be reusing the clothes again and avoiding the waste generated during production. In this regard, for days a clothing brand provides subscriptions to the users where they can take six t-shirts, use them and then send them back to the upcycled anew. In turn, they will receive the new versions of the shirt.
7. Using plant based alternatives is also becoming popular among individuals. People are shifting their eating habits and becoming vegan and switching to plant based derivatives. The supermarkets are flooded with such foods like veggie meat, tofu and tempeh. In this regard, a company named Beyond Meat has made World’s first meat burger that is made from the plant. It is made from vegetable proteins found in peas. Also, making packages which highlight the sustainable brand mission is going to be a marketing strategy for time to come. One such brand is the dairy alternative ‘oatly’ who put the climate footprint of the product on the packaging to make the consumers aware of the impact it has on the environment.
8. Environmentally sustainable buildings are also a new trend building and people are now shifting towards green buildings and contributing to the environment. The concept of green building means designing buildings with such materials and technologies which have minimal impact on the environment. Through this, the present generation and future generations can also benefit from energy efficiency, comfort, and well-being until the building is there.Environmentally sustainable buildings will use eco-friendly raw materials or limit the use of non-renewable energy sources.