The major drivers for the green technology and sustainability market are the increasing focus on low-carbon electricity generation, rapid shift to renewable energy, volatility in the price of electrical power, favorable government initiatives, surging requirement to decrease operational costs, and swift adoption of building automation systems. As a result, the market revenue will increase from $8.3 billion in 2019 to $57.8 billion by 2030, at a 20.0% CAGR between 2020 and 2030. Green technologies are those that can be used to check the degradation of the environment.

The technology segment is categorized into the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics, digital twin, blockchain, and others. Among these, the IoT category held the largest share during 2014–2019 (historical period) because of the burgeoning utilization of this technology in smart domestic appliances, smart cities, smart mobility, smart factories, and smart healthcare. The technology allows one to monitor the performance of machines with respect to vibrations, heat, noise, and, most importantly, energy consumption and collect data on all these parameters, so their operations can be optimized.

On the basis of application, the categories of the green technology and sustainability market are green buildings, air quality management, environment management, water and wastewater management, climate change management, solid waste management, and others. In 2019, the green buildings category dominated the market as such structures save energy by using only what they produce on site. The fastest growth during the forecast period is predicted in the environment management category, on account of the rapidly degrading soil quality due to intensive farming, usage of chemicals, and pollution.

The burgeoning demand for renewable energy is the strongest driver for the market as renewable energy suppliers are using AI and other technologies to more accurately forecast weather patterns. Since the operation of solar and wind plants is directly dependent on weather, the usage of such technologies allows utilities to make better decisions on when to store most of the energy and when to sell it to the grid. This is essentially because of the surging number of solar and wind power plants in order to produce low-carbon electricity.

As per the International Energy Agency (IEA), due to a 7% increase in the generation of renewable energy in 2020, its usage rose by 3%, while the consumption of fossil-fuel-based electricity decreased. Moreover, the share of renewable energy in the global electricity mix increased by 2% between 2019 and 2020, from 27% to 29%. The renewable energy growth forecast for 2021 stands at around 8%, to 8,300 Terawatt-hours (TWh), which will keep acting as a strong green technology and sustainability market growth driver.

Apart from the global outcry for air pollution and government initiatives for low-carbon energy, another reason behind its growing generation is the price volatility conventional electricity witnesses. Due to the limited availability of crude oil, coal, and natural gas, conventional power is becoming increasingly expensive. And, since these fossil fuels account for the highest amount of electricity produced, energy is all over costly. Hence, a key reason behind the growth of the green technology and sustainability market, especially with regards to the surging clean energy production, would be the rising electricity costs.

Presently, North America is the largest user of these technologies because of its advanced infrastructure, high public awareness on the issue, and robust government support. Asia-Pacific (APAC) will be the fastest-growing region in the green technology and sustainability market during the forecast period because of the rapid pace of urbanization, which is putting immense pressure on natural resources and leading to alarming levels of air pollution. Further, regional governments are taking initiatives to increase energy generation from renewable resources and use advanced technologies, such as AI and IoT, to mitigate environmental degradation.

Hence, the market will keep growing with the increasing concerns about the state of the environment.