In recent years, pollution had a significant effect on the environment, including changes in air quality, weather and contamination of water, causing severe health issues. To know it well the news media, environmental researchers, and even government officials are paying close attention to the problem of pollution and its global consequences.
You know, when government officials begin to focus on something, it means things are getting serious. The last decade has made much of the globe aware of climate change. Some governments are now taking action for environmental protection. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasizes the importance of lowering carbon emissions to prevent the worst effects of the climate catastrophe. But what are the crucial factors we should prioritize?
Identifying the world’s most polluting sectors is a certain strategy to reduce emissions in the least amount of time. Of course, air pollution is just one form of contamination, making it difficult to definitively list the most damaging industries worldwide. So, in this blog, we pointed out some of the most polluting industries and precisely what can and is being done to change them. From the fossil fuel and energy industries to the often-overlooked sectors of fashion and technology, each plays an essential part in defining our global landscape.
How did we arrive at this list of top Polluting Industries?
Creating a clear ranking of the top polluting sectors requires extensive study and analysis of numerous environmental parameters. In creating this list, we concentrated on companies. Being ranked as the most polluting signifies that a particular industry or sector is prominent in contributing to air and water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste generation. The research was based on the most recent scientific studies and environmental data from respectable organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization. We also assessed these industries’ global reach and impact, acknowledging that pollution is a global problem rather than a local one. The cumulative environmental footprint, from resource extraction to end-of-life disposal, was essential in determining each industry’s ranking.
Top 10 polluting industries in the World
| Rank | Industry | Air Pollution | Water Pollution | Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Waste Generation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuel & Energy | High | Low | High | Medium |
| 2 | Agriculture & Food Production | High | High | High | High |
| 3 | Fashion Industry (Fast Fashion) | Medium | High | High | High |
| 4 | Food Retail | Low | Medium | Medium | High |
| 5 | Plastics Manufacturing | High | Medium | High | High |
| 6 | Transport Industry | High | Medium | High | Medium |
| 7 | Construction Industry | High | Medium | High | High |
| 8 | Waste Management & Disposal | Medium | High | Medium | High |
| 9 | Chemical Manufacturing | High | High | High | Medium |
| 10 | Technology | Low | Low | High | High |
There is no standard approach for determining the most polluting companies. As a result, we analyzed the five major types of pollution affecting the world: water, air, light, soil, and noise pollution. Visual pollution from your neighbours’ poor landscaping choices was not considered. While all types of pollution are harmful, there is little doubt that air and water pollution are the most damaging to our physical health.
However, this blog will talk only about air pollution emissions from various industries. Therefore, the industrial pollution highlighted below focuses on this catastrophic type of pollution: air. This industry not only affected the nearby area but had a significant impact on the urban area as well. “How these industries contributed to a global issue by worsening the air quality of the various cities, which created the world’s top 10 most polluted cities list.
In fact, in 2021 alone, air pollution contributed to more than 8.7 million deaths, while water pollution contributed to 1.5 million child deaths and continues to threaten sea life on a global scale.
1.) Fuel & Energy Industry
As the world’s population grows, we consume much more fuel, particularly electricity and heating. One primary reason why the energy industry causes so much harm is that we rely on it for practically everything, from charging our phones to heating buildings. Most countries’ industries rely primarily on fossil fuels. When burned, they emit massive amounts of CO2e into the environment.
This reliance on fossil fuels means that energy use in buildings – for things like electricity and heating – contributed to 17.5% of global GHG emissions, according to Our World In Data. For context, 85% of UK homes currently use natural gas for heating – though this should change now that the government has proposed a gas boiler ban. This new legislation should encourage more UK households to switch to greener alternatives, such as heat pumps or infrared heating panels. And despite 60% of UK residents wanting to go greener, oil continues to flourish in modern energy markets.
2.) Agriculture & Food Production
According to the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land, agriculture is directly responsible for up to 8.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions, with land-use change accounting for an additional 14.5%. First, the world must start eating less meat: livestock production processes are the most significant cause of farm emissions, causing widespread deforestation. Second, regenerative agriculture, sometimes known as carbon farming, offers a more sustainable way to produce food while sequestering more carbon in the soil. However, Poor air quality can harm crop yields, livestock health, and overall farm productivity, presenting significant challenges for agricultural sites.
- An Oxford University study published in the journal Climatic Change suggested that meat-eaters are responsible for almost twice as many dietary GHG emissions as vegetarians – and about two and a half times as many as vegans.
- The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest grabbed people’s attention around the globe in early 2022. In the first 29 days of April, deforestation in the region totalled 1,012.5 square km (390 square miles) – nearly doubling the area of forest removed in that month last year.
3.) Fashion Industry (Fast Fashion)
The third most polluting industry accounts for around 10% of our annual carbon footprint, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined! It contributes to water pollution, textile waste, and high carbon emissions. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Unfortunately, fast fashion problems are often overlooked by consumers.
How can clothes be so environmentally destructive? It boils down to five key reasons:
- Cheap Materials: Fast fashion manufactures its clothing with low-quality fabrics and poisonous colours, making it one of the leading pollutants of pure water. Polyester is also one of the most popular fabrics in this business. It is produced using fossil fuels and can shed microplastics into the water system when washed.
- Manufacturing locations: To keep production prices down, fast fashion firms choose to make their products in factories in Asian countries, which are generally powered by coal and gas.
- Water Consumption: The fashion sector is predicted to need 93 billion cubic metres of water per year. Even natural textiles might be an issue in the rapid fashion sector. For example, you’d need around 3,000 gallons of water to manufacture a single cotton garment. Using this much water increases the drought probability, significantly straining local populations.
- Transportation: Many fast fashion brands operate online, which means we have to take the delivery into account as well. For example, the combined annual emissions of postal services in the US, such as FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service, are roughly equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 7 million cars. Some estimates show that shipping accounts for 2.5% of the world’s total CO2e, estimated to rise to as high as 17% by 2050!
- Waste: Fast fashion has led to a rise in the high turnover of clothes. Keeping up with fashion trends means that 85% of textiles go to the dump yearly. Once people are done with the season’s best clothes, they’re onto the next.
4.) Food Retail
It comprises the activities of markets, supermarkets, and restaurants selling food to consumers; most of this sector’s emissions are from food and plastic waste. It is estimated that food waste alone accounts for 8 to 10% of worldwide GHG emissions. The EU wastes 57 million tonnes of food annually, equivalent to 127 kg per person! Programmes that collect leftover food from supermarkets and restaurants and offer it free or at a discount are an excellent method to cut emissions. For example, France passed legislation 2016 prohibiting stores from throwing away food. Instead, they must donate leftovers to organizations, distributing them to those in need.
According to the EPA, the average grocery store emits 1,383 metric tonnes of CO2e per year from energy consumption alone and another 1,556 metric tonnes of CO2e from leaked refrigerants. Refrigeration is the most energy-intensive part of a supermarket, accounting for 50-60% of the electricity consumption – most of which will be produced by fossil fuels.
5.) Plastics Manufacturing
As for packaging emissions, research suggests that 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year come from UK food retailers alone – enough waste to cover the whole of Greater London to a depth of 2.5cm.
Since plastic is made from oil, food packaging generates a huge amount of emissions – not to mention, once users throw these items away, they’re littering precious ecosystems. And it takes decades – sometimes even centuries – for plastic products to break down.
6.) Transport Industry
This industry, which includes road, air, and marine transport, is a major source of air pollution and CO2 emissions, significantly contributing to climate change. Transport emissions account for around one-fifth of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which can be broken down into four categories: road, aviation, shipping, and rail. The world has become smaller, primarily due to the affordability and availability of flights – the number of flights has increased by 40% since 2010. But does this make the aeroplane the bad guy here?
Surprisingly, no!
Despite being much more carbon-intensive than road travel, aviation only accounts for 11.6% of passenger transportation emissions. On the other hand, road transport contributes to 74.5% of all CO2 emissions in the transport industry. Did you want “Solutions for improving air quality on roads and highways in the transport industry by monitoring how much the transport industry emits pollutants?
7.) Construction Industry
If you live in a city, sometimes it’s easy to forget that construction work isn’t part of natural life. This industry contributes to almost all types of pollution – air, water, soil, light, and we’re all familiar with the noise pollution it creates – and it’s happening almost everywhere worldwide. Buildings are projected to release approximately 40% of global emissions after accounting for the extraction and transportation of building materials, construction processes, and day-to-day activities. To help the construction industry achieve net-zero emissions, it is critical to investigate options such as using more sustainable materials and practices, increasing energy efficiency, offsetting residual emissions, and monitoring air quality levels at construction sites with automated dust suppression techniques can be more effective.
According to the UK Green Building Council, around 400 million tonnes of materials are used by the UK construction industry each year – with roughly 100 million tonnes becoming waste.
8.) Waste Management and Disposal
Inadequate waste management and disposal lead to landfill overuse, soil and water contamination, and air pollution, particularly in developing regions. New waste management techniques such as anaerobic digestion and biodegradation convert waste into bioenergy as liquid or gas biofuels.
It’s also important to replace plastic and heavy-emitting materials with wood, paper-based packaging, or aluminum for metal products. These materials can biodegrade faster, are easily recyclable, and come from renewable sources. This shift is crucial, especially in the most polluted cities, where reducing environmental impact can significantly improve air quality and public health.(as long as the forests are managed sustainably). Alternative packaging can also derive from sources such as seaweed.
9.) Chemical Manufacturing
Chemical manufacturing industries are known for emitting air pollutants with significant environmental and health impacts. Key pollutants include:
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): These are emitted during the production and use of solvents, paints, and other chemicals. VOCs contribute to ground-level ozone and smog formation, posing risks to respiratory health.
- Nitrogen Oxides (NOx): Generated during high-temperature combustion processes, NOx gases are precursors to ozone and particulate matter, aggravating respiratory conditions and contributing to acid rain.
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2): Released from the burning of fossil fuels containing sulfur, SO2 can lead to acid rain, which harms ecosystems and corrodes buildings.
Particulate Matter (PM): These tiny particles can arise from chemical reactions and combustion. PM is a significant concern due to its ability to penetrate deep into the lungs, causing respiratory and cardiovascular issues.
10.) Technology
We left the most unclear for last. On the one hand, technology has transformed renewable energy and other eco-friendly equipment. On the other hand, it has evolved into everything we use all the time, including our phones, transportation, work, and entertainment, all of which need a lot of energy. About a decade ago, we were persuaded that we could rescue the world by simply turning off our TV on standby and turning off the lights at home. Ten years later, we must do much more to make a difference since we have so much technology.
- Today, there are around 30 billion internet-connected devices in the world. If this figure continues to grow, it’s estimated that the IT industry could use 20% of all electricity produced by 2025 and emit up to 5.5% of the world’s carbon emissions.
- Research has also found that many digital tech companies are significantly underreporting greenhouse gas emissions, so they could be impacting the planet more than we realise.
Digital currencies, such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, rapidly increase global emissions. Just how bad is cryptocurrency for the environment? It emits 129 million tonnes of CO2 per year – more than Qatar’s carbon footprint – and uses more electricity than Egypt, a country of 102 million people.
Conclusion
So there you have it: the top ten polluting industries. A lot of hard work must be done to ensure these industries reduce their emissions – but it can be done. Monitoring devices such as Oizom, at the forefront of this paradigm shift, provide comprehensive solutions that empower industries to monitor, assess, and act on various industrial parameters. The path to industrial sustainability becomes clearer with real-time accurate data, cutting-edge technology, and a commitment to a greener future. Harness the power of data with Oizom’s air quality monitors.
In recent years, the transportation industry has witnessed a significant increase in electric vehicles, tech businesses are using renewable energy, a record number of individuals are transitioning to plant-based diets, and grocery shops are testing refill stations to eliminate plastic. It might feel very doom and gloom right now, but there is hope – we just need to continue pushing for change.
