Sustainable IoT: The right Balance

The IoT company Telenor Connexion has investigated what impulses for sustainability will emanate from a networked economy. The new IoT Trend Predictions Report 2020 highlights the role the Internet of Things will play in the fight against climate change.

Under increasing pressure from society, customers, and regulators, the report says companies are looking for ways to balance the pursuit of profit with the reduction of their environmental footprint. The report highlights the key role that the Internet of Things will play in this.

As companies have embarked on the path of digitization and implementation of IoT solutions alongside these efforts, much of the attention is focused on improving efficiency and reducing costs in manufacturing, in transport, within the supply chain, and in the maintenance of products. The cost reduction achieved is often the result of optimizing the use of raw materials and production aids, ranging from electricity, fuel, and water to cotton, iron, wood, and more.

This means that a positive contribution to sustainability has been and is being made through efforts to reduce costs and increase profitability. Customers are also increasingly making more ethical and sustainable choices, with many willing to pay extra for products and services that are produced or delivered in an ethical and sustainable manner. However, it is difficult to know which purchase option is the more sustainable one. Customers are therefore demanding more information about how the products they buy are procured, produced, and transported and how they impact the environment as a whole. More and more companies are striving for CO2 neutrality. Another driving force discussed in the report is the role of IoT in combating climate change.

source ©: Telenor Connexion

Regardless of government regulatory measures, it can be observed that companies are increasingly voluntarily committing themselves to aligning their corporate strategies with the goals of the Paris Accord by becoming CO2-neutral.The latest generation technologies are generally more energy efficient and thus more environmentally friendly than their predecessors. Companies will use the data from IoT to create offers for environmentally conscious consumers and companies. This means that companies will collect IoT data and use it to optimize resource use and respond to environmental legislation – for example, stricter regulations on emissions in shipping and the maritime industry, which require both technical and organizational measures.

Many companies will create new offerings based on sustainable products and services that target environmentally conscious consumers. These companies do not see sustainability as a cost factor but as a competitive advantage that they place at the heart of their brand identity and product design. Innovative companies are beginning to apply the principles of the circular economy to their product life cycle management.

This approach is based on reducing resource consumption, reusing products and parts as much as possible, and recycling raw materials. The principle of closed loop recycling management is to reduce the consumption of natural resources, starting in the design and manufacturing phase, which must be focused on improving processes and conserving resources.

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