Decarbonization: The view from Atos’ global industries
What can each industry do to accelerate decarbonization? Atos’ industry heads give their views…
Technology and firms like Atos have a huge role to play. At heart this is a challenge of using the world’s finite resources in the best possible way. So whether that is smarter cities, data-driven government, or even quantum powered computer algorithms, digital technology is a huge enabler.
Andrew Griffith MP, UK Net Zero Business Champion
Financial Services & Insurance
Adrian Gregory, Head of Financial Services & Insurance
Financial services and insurance organisations can lead the development of more sustainable business models for their customers and drive progress on decarbonization through innovative green finance.
- Usage based insurance can help incentivise more sustainable operations and behaviours across a broad range of sectors.
- Smart technologies can provide insights that can better inform risk assessments directly impacted by climate change, such as flooding, storms and extreme weather.
- Smart carbon pricing policies can help drive investments that support the growth of sustainable businesses and enable established industries to lower their emissions.
- Big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), now offer a range of ways in which access to sustainable finance can be expanded.
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Robert Vassoyan, Head of Healthcare & Life Sciences
Healthcare and life sciences organisations have the potential to improve environmental performance while reaching more people at lower cost. Digital technology and data enables more personalised and efficient care while helping reduce logistics costs and energy consumption.
- New AI-enabled technologies allow service providers to make more informed decisions, reducing waste while improving health and wellbeing outcomes.
- Connected devices and real-time data facilitate telehealth and virtual care, improving patient experience while reducing carbon footprints.
- Digital twin technology enables service providers to precisely assess and predict the benefits of waste management versus infection control.
- Design and testing to develop and deliver more sustainable products means that a larger amount of natural resources can be more easily reused.
Manufacturing
Pierre Barnabé, Head of Manufacturing
The global manufacturing sector is under high pressure to accelerate its transition towards zero-carbon products with a minimal environmental footprint throughout the entire lifecycle. Because of intertwined value chains the sector needs to team up with other industries and make use of advanced technology to gather and exchange information.
- The design of products needs to consider renewable resources, lower material usage, higher durability, sustainable production processes and end of life treatment. Advanced simulation and data exchange platforms support companies to act on such information and take the right decisions.
- Efficient use of energy and minimal waste during production can be achieved by correlating energy management and production management data.
- Prediction and optimisation of energy consumption at a granular level (per part / per process) can increase the amount of renewable energy used and reduce fossil-based sources.
- The shift towards a more circular economy demands new business models, digital marketplaces and digital services as well as the ability to flexibly adapt production capacity to repair, refurbish and remanufacture existing products.
Public Sector & Defence
Beth Howen, Head of Public Sector & Defence
Public sector organisations are uniquely placed to lead the development of new business models that are not only sustainable but can also reverse the adverse impact of the historic over-consumption of fossil fuels and other natural resources.
- New citizen experiences should be developed to transform urban transport with active travel solutions and resource optimised public transport. Such innovation can improve health and wellbeing outcomesand help build stronger communities.
- Public sector organisations should seek to use digital technologies to increase efficiency, lower costs, reduce emissions and streamline services across their value chains. The cost of carbon needs to be fully understood.
- Public sector organisations need to provide leadership for resource optimisation, both through compliance with regulatory interventions and by demonstrating best practices to support the circular economy.
- Investment in innovation must continue, incentivising new technologies and business models that will help accelerate the transition to a fossil-fuel-free economy, benefiting all of society.
Resources & Services
Giuseppe Di Franco, Head of Resources and Services
For the resources and services sector, sustainability is already a key focus, with innovation and new business models fast-evolving and traditional boundaries blurring across the transport and energy ecosystems.
- Service providers can actively encourage their supply chains to prioritise the re-use of natural resources by incorporating sustainability principles into their business models.
- Leveraging big data from smart-metering initiatives can facilitate responsible consumption in homes and workplaces and reduce the carbon footprint at the prosumer level.
- Platformisation can optimise transportation fleet operations and vehicle/vessel performance, maximising available transport capability and routes, enabling predictive maintenance and delivering significant sustainability gains.
- The Internet of Things (IoT) and video analytics can be used to make the most efficient use of energy in stores, particularly in food stores which rely heavily on energy for refrigeration.
Telecom, Media & Technology
Jean-Philippe Poirault, Head of Telecom, Media & Technology
Telecoms, media and entertainment companies have opportunities to use digital technology to decarbonize their own operations and supply chains, support the sustainability goals of other industries such as energy, transport, agriculture and construction, and also help shift public awareness and behaviour towards a more innovative, inclusive and green society.
- Artificial Intelligence, supercomputing, cloudification and 5G will facilitate rapid, high volume data transfers allowing better analysis and decision-making on climate crises and the environment. This will support better corporate management decisions and public policy.
- The ‘production office of the future’ will enable teams around the world to collaborate virtually, while the transition of gaming technologies to film means that whole worlds can be created without leaving the studio.
- Virtual and augmented reality and other advancing eSports technologies will become mainstream, creating new immersive experiences and reducing the need for travel by participants and fans.
- Additionally, the power of the media can help shift perceptions, creating public demand for sustainability and the regeneration of cities, habitats and ecosystems.
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