Climate change continues to have an impact on the environment. Everything from weather patterns to food production to glacier recession is having an impact on how we do business. In 2024, many businesses are committed to making a difference and changing the course of climate change. By choosing greener, more sustainable practices, businesses can reduce their carbon footprint while still increasing their bottom line.

Recently, IBM highlighted some of the most popular consumer sustainability trends for 2024. Many businesses are taking on two key areas: clean energy and sustainable supply chains.

In recent years, the costs to ship goods around the world have skyrocketed due to product shortages and global conflicts that have made the journey longer and more costly. This has led to an increase in fossil fuel emissions, as trips that once took a few weeks can now take months. Meanwhile, consumer demand remains high, with supply chains struggling to keep up.

Many companies in the optical community are meeting their sustainability challenges head on, by changing their business practices and adding products that have a more positive impact on their environment. Here are some of the most popular sustainability trends from leading experts around the world:

Full Disclosure—A recent report in Economist Impact finds that many companies are struggling to meet their sustainability targets because they don’t know what the right balance should be. By being honest and transparent about your sustainability goals, it will be easier to achieve them.

AI Integration—It seems like AI is taking over many aspects of life. This is also true for environmental sustainability where many companies are utilizing AI to improve energy efficiency, reduce waste and lessen the impact of climate change. There are many new AI tools available in the optical industry to help improve best business practices. At the upcoming VM Summit, VM will be exploring these issues to help optical industry members incorporate these tools into their business.

Eco-Friendly Products—There have never been more eco-friendly products to choose from in the optical industry. Frames, lenses and packaging are being improved to reduce carbon footprint and product life.

Circular Economy—One of the key elements to sustainability is understanding the circular economy. According to IBM, transitioning to a circular economy could generate more than $4.5 trillion in economic benefit to the U.S. economy by 2030. This can be achieved through activities such as rental and resale programs, and utilizing repair services rather than throwing away defective products.

Change From the Top Down—Many companies used to rely on customer-driven change. This has changed in recent years, with the C-suite taking over the directive when it comes to sustainability practices. According to a report from Deloitte, nearly 3 in 5 executives reported having implemented a cross-functional environmental, social, and governance (ESG) working group tasked with driving strategic attention to ESG.

Sustainable practices can have far reaching results, beyond just improving profits. The Deloitte report highlighted that many businesses are making changes in ESG to enhance talent recruitment, reduce risk and improve brand reputation.

According to 52 percent of respondents of a Deloitte study examining findings on ESG disclosure and preparedness, the main aggregate benefits include talent attraction and retention, which 52 percent said they wanted to gain in efficiencies. Meanwhile, 48 percent said their goal was risk reduction and 51 percent said they wanted to enhance trust with stakeholders.


“Stakeholders increasingly expect a company’s business strategy to align with its climate and equity commitments. While companies are at various stages on their sustainability journey, they must drive accountability today for a sustainable tomorrow,” said Kristen Sullivan, audit and assurance partner, U.S. sustainability and ESG services leader, and global audit and assurance climate services leader at Deloitte & Touche LLPA.

To achieve sustainability goals, businesses will have to stay ahead of trends, choosing to move in the direction of innovation and change to ensure they meet the expectations of customers and stakeholders.