Positive consequences from COVID-19

The severe consequences of Coronavirus are well documented and fairly ubiquitous in our daily news feeds.

But, despite many a grim personal financial outlook, there are happier and more positive impacts to be found.

Whether these continue in the longer term is yet to be seen. For now though, here are a few of the rosier outcomes shaping our daily lives and environment.

As recently reported in the Guardian, rare wildflowers and declining bee populations could start to recover during the coronavirus lockdown. According to Plantlife, Europe’s biggest conservation charity for wild plants, this is because many councils are leaving roadside verges uncut. The respite for these mini-meadows is likely to lead to an explosion of colour in the countryside this summer and bring benefits to other pollinators, including butterflies, birds and bats. Roadside verges are one of the last refuges for the many plant species that have been devastated by the conversion of natural meadows into farmland and housing estates. These narrow strips of grassland are home to 700 species of wildflowers, incredibly nearly 45% of the UK’s total flora.

For the first time since the early 19th century, many parents and kids are all under the same roof round-the-clock. And if past periods of emergency are any guide, this enforced togetherness could actually deepen family relationships for years to come.

While cooped-up families may now be sick of day-to-day home schooling, whining and bickering, sociologists say that — historically speaking — enduring hardship together builds stronger connections. When society is facing a tremendous challenge or there’s a big uptick in suffering, people orient themselves in a less self-centred way and in a more family-centric way.

For many families, the current situation forces a total re-evaluation of work-life balance. A large proportion of parents have typically had too little time to spend with their children due to their job and working long hours; or what time they did have wasn’t exactly quality time. For some of the luckier ones, currently being together is forging much closer relationship and social bonds. The working from home factor has currently tipped the balance in favour of the family. Whether this will continue to trend in that direction once we emerge out of the pandemic is likely be influenced by those reaping the current benefits. It may not be something they want to then give up so readily.

As industries, transport networks and businesses have closed down, it has brought a sudden drop in carbon emissions. Compared with this time last year, levels of pollution in NYC have reduced by nearly 50% because of measures to contain the virus. In Europe, satellite images show nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions fading away over northern Italy. A similar story is playing out in Spain and here in the UK.

In China, since Q1 2019, emissions have fallen 25% as people stayed at home, factories shut, and coal use fell by 40% at China’s six largest power plants. The proportion of days with “good quality air” was up 11.4% compared with the same time last year in 337 cities across China, according to its Ministry of Ecology and Environment. A researcher at Stanford University, calculated the improvements in air quality recorded in China may have saved the lives of 4,000 children under 5 years old and 73,000 adults over 70. Even more conservative estimates would put the number of lives saved at roughly 20 times the number of deaths from the virus directly.

Transport makes up 23% of global carbon emissions. These emissions have fallen in the short term in countries where public health measures, such as keeping people in their homes, have cut unnecessary travel.

Driving and aviation are key contributors to emissions from transport, contributing 72% and 11% of the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions respectively. With work travel and commuting currently only at a trickle, the planet is breathing that little bit easier.

The Craft Works business model of connected-resource, working in sync but remotely, is a model whose time may just have come. By removing fixed overhead costs, streamlining resources and processes, it’s also more environmentally sustainable and cost effective for clients. The world has shifted towards forcing remote ways of working. But as restrictions lift, much of working life will return to the existing models. However, it’s more than likely that the economic impact will severely restrict the marketing budgets that do finally emerge. Those clients seeking to squeeze more from what spend they do have, will find The Craft Works model very appealing.