Abstract
Climate change is a long-term change in the earth's overall temperature with massive and permanent ramifications. Manufacturing operations result in significant direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are the main drivers of climate change. Therefore, manufacturing businesses must set sustainability goals and have climate change mitigation strategies to reduce their carbon emissions.
This research focused on understanding the climate change impacts of eleven South African manufacturing businesses and their progress in implementing mitigation strategies to address climate change. Secondary data sources from established electronic sites were utilised to obtain quantitative data on the impact of businesses on climate change and the mitigation strategies these businesses have in place to tackle climate change. In addition, the standard industrial classification codes were used to enable activity-based classification and analysis of emissions.
The findings suggested that most direct and indirect emissions from South African manufacturing businesses are attributable to fossil fuel burning during production and purchased electricity. The eleven companies reported total emissions of 107 Million tCO2e in 2017 and 109 Million tCO2e in 2020. These companies have energy-related mitigation plans in place; however, few have effectively implemented their strategies. The selected companies achieved a reduction of 1.1% in their total emissions from 2017 to 2020. The goal is to reach net-zero by 2050, and if the companies continue to reduce their emissions by 1.1% in three years, their total emissions will be 89 Million tCO2e by 2050. This implies that an emission reduction of 1.1% is insufficient to reach net-zero by 2050, and effective mitigation strategies must be implemented to increase the emissions reduction. Policies must be enforced to encourage companies to reach specific targets within specified timelines, and there should be penalties if companies do not reach their targets. Furthermore, there is a definite need for substituting coal-based electricity with low carbon-content renewable energy. Therefore, businesses and the government must invest in renewable energy technology.
The main challenge faced while conducting this research was obtaining all the required information from secondary electronic sources. Hence, it is highly recommended to replicate this research study using data from primary sources to improve the accuracy of the results.