Digital trade: 4 Ways in which marketplaces can promote sustainability

Digital Trade and sustainability - Showcasing the role of digital trade in tackling climate change | #techUKDigitalTrade

‍

Across the globe, environmental sustainability is emerging as a business imperative as countries everywhere face the impacts of climate change. As a result, organisations in every sector face increasing pressures to decarbonise. The UK and, indeed, the world must aim to commit wholeheartedly to meeting net-zero targets; #techUKDigitalTrade

Danielle Downs x techUK

‍

‍

Customers now expect businesses to have firm carbon reduction targets and straightforward strategies to get there. Investors are also now choosing to put their money into companies with strong environmental credentials as regulators make businesses disclose their credentials.

Digital trade and marketplaces have the potential to play a critical role in tackling climate change by facilitating sustainable production and consumption patterns. Here are some ways in which digital trade and marketplaces can help to promote sustainability:

• Facilitating the circular economy: Digital marketplaces can promote the circular economy by facilitating the exchange of used or refurbished products, reducing waste, and increasing resource efficiency. By providing a platform for exchanging second-hand goods, digital marketplaces can help reduce the need for new products, thus reducing the environmental impact of production.
• Promoting sustainable supply chains: Digital trade can promote sustainable supply chains by providing greater visibility and transparency in production. By tracking products and materials throughout the supply chain, businesses can identify opportunities to reduce waste and improve resource efficiency.
• Encouraging the adoption of renewable energy: Digital marketplaces can promote the adoption of renewable energy by providing a platform for the sale and purchase of renewable energy credits. By incentivising the adoption of renewable energy, digital marketplaces can reduce carbon emissions associated with energy consumption.
• Enabling sustainable consumption: Digital marketplaces can help boost sustainable consumption by providing consumers with greater access to eco-friendly products and services. In addition, digital marketplaces can promote sustainable consumption patterns by providing a platform for selling and purchasing sustainable products.

Overall, digital trade and marketplaces have the potential to play a critical role in tackling climate change by promoting sustainable production and consumption patterns. By leveraging the power of technology, businesses and governments can work together to create a more sustainable future for all.

A good example of how digital trade can promote sustainability is through the creation of platforms for VCM. The combination of digital trading marketplaces and voluntary carbon markets can help promote sustainability and reduce carbon emissions by providing a platform for exchanging carbon credits in a transparent, efficient, and accountable manner. Furthermore, digital trading marketplaces can provide greater transparency and accountability in voluntary carbon markets by allowing buyers to trace the origin and quality of carbon credits they purchase. This can help to reduce the risk of purchasing fraudulent or low-quality carbon credits, increasing buyer confidence and trust in the market.

NovaFori’s work with Climate Impact X (CIX) shows how the digital marketplace and auction technology can augment the process of establishing a Voluntary Carbon Market. CIX, founded by Temasek, DBS, Standard Chartered and SGX, approached NovaFori in early 2021 to create a platform that allowed carbon credit suppliers to list their projects with sufficiently detailed information from a range of data sources.