Our actions as humans are cited to be a principal cause for the Earth warming at an unprecedented rate, so can our actions help prevent it? Hi everyone, my name is Audrey Jones and I am a marketing intern here at Impact Hub Vienna, but more importantly I am a human who is concerned with the future of our world’s climate.
Our world is faced with many issues as a result of global warming. NASA states that human activity is cited to be a principal cause of unprecedented increases in the Earth’s temperature within the past 10,000 years. Natural disasters such as intensified hurricanes occurring in the southern part of the United States, high levels of rainfall causing the Sahara Desert to flood, and distinguishably larger amounts of vegetation growing in Antarctica are all visible evidence of the impact of climate change. As we have four years left until the world’s carbon budget clock runs out and our planet will experience heightened global climate impacts, change needs to occur.
While people around the globe differ on their stances toward climate change and the solutions towards the issue crisis, it will inevitably impact everyone. Even those who recognize its impact, prioritize it in policy discussions, and are concerned about its effects may feel discouraged about the measures they can take as individuals. Personally, whenever I am making decisions as a consumer regarding my own footprint in an attempt to be more sustainable, it frustrates me that the measures I take towards combating the climate crisis are undermined by businesses and policy makers who are willing to harm others indirectly by harming the planet in order to gain profit. According to the Pew Research Center, fewer than 40 percent of Americans who identify with the Democratic Party—who are more likely to view climate change as a concern—say that reducing their own carbon footprint is extremely or very important to them personally. This is while less than a quarter of Americans anticipate making major lifestyle sacrifices because of climate change. Is this also the case in another continent such as Europe, and more specific in a country like Austria? Despite the data being collected from Americans, it is a universal frustration, impacting Austrians as well. In a world where many people do not believe that climate change is a priority and those who do are discouraged from taking their own measures as an individual consumer, it is important for me to use this opportunity to educate and uplift myself and others on the impact they can make at the individual level.
It can be easy to think that there are no businesses that care about the environment to the same extent as a sustainable consumer does, but this is not the case. In fact, social enterprises do exactly this, particularly in Austria. This country hosts many social enterprises all across the board who prioritize taking sustainable measures when producing products and in their daily operations.
These are the first stops on my journey to discover social enterprises driving sustainability in Austria: Tausendundein Dach’s solar energy solutions, Evias E.U.’s greener train systems, GMD’s natural hazard sensors, Tree.ly’s innovative forest preservation projects, and the Dusts Institute’s creative approach to environmental education. Stay tuned for the next blog post, where I’ll dive deeper into their inspiring stories and explore how they’re shaping a more sustainable future!
Before diving into these enterprises, I wrote here about Understanding Social Enterprises 101
Impact Hub Vienna
Lindengasse 56/18-19
1070 Vienna,
Austria
Phone: +43 (0) 1 522 71 43
General Enquiries:
vienna.hosts@impacthub.net
Space Bookings:
vienna.bookings@impacthub.net
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri, 09:00 – 18:00
Sign up for our free global membership perks, incredible opportunities and monthly inspiring updates!