BENGALURU: From committing to becoming 100% carbon neutral to targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and making packaging recyclable, companies are increasingly focusing on improving sustainability initiatives, and technology plays a significant role in embracing sustainability.
Many companies are exploring artificial intelligence, big data, and other digital transformation tools to speed their journey to net zero. Using cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain, companies are tracking societal as well as environmental impacts across the value chain to improve decision-making.
Combining both digital and industrial data, Hitachi Vantara, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, helps customers assess IT systems and OT (operational technology) processes for a more energy-efficient future.
Tata Power says it understands that technology plays a pivotal role in driving sustainability efforts across its business value chains. Advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, and data analytics are harnessed to optimise energy consumption, reduce emissions, and enhance resource management.
Renewable energy solutions, such as solar and wind power, are increasingly integrated with digital control systems for eco-friendly power generation. Leveraging technology for energy optimisation, Tata Power has developed a solar axis tracker, which is a device used in solar power plants to enhance the efficiency and output of solar panels.
At the three-day World Coffee Conference 2023 in Bengaluru, which concluded on Thursday, experts from across the world spoke about how companies can come together and make use of innovative technology for sustainability in coffee production. Since there is a huge consumption of coffee, growers need to come forward and use technologies to transform coffee waste into energy.
Technology innovation company Scalene Livprotec, which exhibited its technology at the conference, said the biomass generated from the production process right from coffee pulp to husks can be transformed into a source of bioenergy with its technology.
The company’s integrated technology solution, consisting of SERIGAS (Bioenergy) and Aquatron (water recovery) have already been implemented at Bombay Burmah Trading. These technologies can advance the coffee industry to the next level of sustainability, said inventor Rajah Vijay Kumar.
Artificial Intelligence technology can generate data on the environmental impact of a product or service and companies can also share data and create transparency among their clients and partners.
According to Gartner, cloud services, GHG (greenhouse gas) management software, AI, supplier sustainability applications, and supply chain blockchain will be important for businesses and stakeholders. It says AI can be made environmentally sustainable with the use of AI techniques that can help create and run models with the lowest carbon footprint.