How Virtual World is Making Real World Sustainable

The path toward sustainability has been suggested, advocated, and discussed for decades. But Metaverse, an immersive virtual world, was not a part of it in any way. When one hears the term 'sustainability', by default, it brings up images of recycling, plastic ban, and thrifting, and certainly not technology. Metaverse, as a concept and practicality, has pushed for an unknown feature it harbours- to make companies and their users adopt sustainability in some aspects of life

- PAROMITA GUPTA

Global brands such as Louis Vuitton, Walmart, Adidas, PUMA, Balenciaga, and Nike have entered the digital realm to offer their products and services to their consumers and create an exclusive community while pushing for sustainability. Recently, Aditya Birla Capital unveiled OneVerse, a virtual Metaverse lounge, to offer users PIFA details and information. "ABC One Verse offers a virtual replica of the physical branches where customers can create their digital avatar by taking a selfie and entering the virtual lounge to interact with an agent or navigate through the various product and service experiences available on the virtual lounge," shares Ramesh Narayanaswamy, CTO, Aditya Birla Capital Limited.

SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS: Metaverse offers significant environmental benefits, but the most integral one is a reduction in carbon emissions. A recent Cornell University research showed that it has the potential to reduce global surface temperature by .02 degrees by the end of this century and lower greenhouse gas emissions by ten gigatons in the US alone by 2050. Technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, blockchain, and non-fungible tokens play a role in developing the Metaverse and making it sustainable.