How can technological sustainability revolutionize your business?

Harnessing the Power of Sustainable Technology for Business Growth.

By the end of the 20th century, roaring progress in all branches of the technology industry has led us to a few industrial revolutions with the explosive development of public production for energy consumption for many decades in a row. All that has contributed to the expansive growth of the global population and the rise of a so-called modern consumer society: the mentioned factors caused unprecedented devastation to the natural resources and changed the planet’s environment.

Today humanity stands on the edge of a grim choice. According to estimates, in about 10 years, the environmental issues will grow massive and irreversible if we don’t cardinally reduce carbon emissions, change how the global economy works, and leave things untouched. Subsequently, our planet will be slowly turned into a hardly habitable, scorching, and toxic wasteland.

Here are just a few challenges that are to be overcome in the upcoming years: exhaustive overuse of renewable resources and nonrenewable natural resources, shrinking biodiversity, deforestation on all continents, climate change, superstorms, polar cap melting, uncontrollable carbon dioxide emission, polluted air and ocean, extreme poverty in certain regions, and many others. Fixing that all at once requires a revolutionary approach, and sustainable technology is one of the answers.

What is sustainable technology?

What once became the reason for the problems should finally become an ultimate solution. Modern science is looking for a complex and systematic solution to adverse environmental impacts by merging two conceptions: technology and sustainability goals.

• Rational and wise consumption of natural resources (with a preference to renewable)
• Moving from fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc) toward renewable energy sources
• Adhering to recommendations concerning the climate change prevention
• Improving international supply chains for consistency and waste minimization
• Improving the balance between the urban and rural production
• Opting for decisions that would support ecology
• Protection for vulnerable populations, species, and areas
• Decreasing toxic emissions and minimizing pollution

Sustainable technology is the key to reversing environmental degradation and fostering a future of eco-friendly growth. By adopting these principles, businesses can contribute to a healthier planet while optimizing their operations.

How to achieve technology sustainability?

Indeed, becoming sustainable today can interfere with traditional business tasks, such as pursuing higher revenues, shrinking costs, and providing a sufficient customer experience. To sustain modern technology challenges and keep business profitability, companies of all scales are looking to implement the best and proven to enable sustainability initiatives and solutions and acquire governmental and organizational support and private investments in sustainable products. Also, sustainability is connected with a few myths. Let’s shortly debunk some of them:

Myth #1: Sustainability tech is very expensive

Despite certain upfront costs, a long list of successful sustainable business cases proves that implementation of technological sustainability pays off immensely. Moreover, digital transformation costs are now more affordable than ever: the benefits of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, edge computing, robotic process automation, and cloud computing – are now readily accessible even to small businesses.

Myth #2: Achieving sustainability is another hassle, not a solution

As mentioned, initial steps in fostering sustainable tech and corporate culture might need some investments. Still, the results will speak for themselves once sustainable, eco-friendly technology and business practices are established. Optimized, computer-regulated processes or an in-house environment will let you drastically save on reduced energy, water, or material consumption and prevent other resource wastages. Also, improved productivity and energy efficiency will decrease operational costs and improve your company’s profitability, even from a short-term perspective.

Myth #3: Employees don’t want to work for sustainable companies with sustainable technology solutions

Maybe because of some additional pressure put on them (imagine a picturesque angry boss yelling at you something like “you should accurately sort your office trash and spend less paper! No bonus this month!”) to sustainable it, or because they are afraid of lower wages? Anyway, it’s another funny myth. This report suggests that people are readily willing to work for sustainable companies: about two-thirds of potential employees reported that they would opt for a company using sustainable tech over a traditional company.

Myth #4: Large corporations do nothing with environmental and ecological risks

The top brands and companies, such as Microsoft, Walmart, and Amazon, are already on their way to leadership in sustainability technology standards. Here is what sustainability pioneers and business leaders are already doing to drive sustainability in their daily activities and what is recommendable to replicate in every company worldwide (including small and mid-sized), when applicable:

• Minimize CO2 emissions: render sufficient online services and shopping capabilities, allowing customers to avoid personal transportation.
• Recycle production materials: investing in the means to reinvolve the used materials into the production chains.
• Use energy-saving construction materials and energy-saving tech: solar panels, wind turbines, photosensors, motion detectors, LED lighting, innovative heating and air conditioning systems, etc.
• Implement hydrogen-powered and electric engines, motors, and vehicles.
• In agriculture: use AI-driven IoT systems to orchestrate field irrigation automatically.
• Consume water wisely with sensor-regulated bathrooms and toilets.
• Plan the landscape and trees around the company’s buildings, focusing on rational water usage.
• Encourage and stimulate employees to opt for electric cars and other eco-friendly transportation options: bikes, public transport, etc.
• Control environmental conditions and implement smart means to respond automatically (IoT-based centralized control and response systems in many industries and rural production fields.)
• Add power management functions to the company’s products, equipment, and employee workstations.
• Opt for renting “green” office space, using green-certified office stuff, and buying energy from renewable sources (wind, solar, etc) when possible.
• Become as paperless as possible.
• Recycle as much as you can (batteries, plastic, light bulbs, etc.).

Does sustainable technology help you stay competitive?

Achieving technology sustainability is very profitable. The brand-owned sustainability consciousness allows you to amplify your brand’s voice and win robust attention from the audience, especially among millennials and Gen Z. According to McKinsey. Environment-friendly companies are more appreciated, trusted, and valued by most consumers. At the same time, according to another study, a significant number of Americans (true for the residents of other countries, too) hope that businesses will do what is necessary to implement sustainable technologies ahead of the detailed governmental regulations forcing companies to comply with the principles of social and other negative environmental impacts and eco-friendliness.

Using sustainability technologies is profitable and suitable for your competitive potential, but it has already created a few business empires from scratch. Seeking a solution for ecology, environmental awareness, and social problems has started a new multi-billion economy, discovering new branches in manufacturing, energy savings, and IT.

For example:

• Electric cars and trucks. Let us mention one name — Tesla! Founded in 2003, it is worth more than all car manufacturers worldwide (~500K Tesla cars produced in 2020). Not all-electric car projects have been successful in recent years, but Tesla proved that sustainable technology can be helpful, eco-friendly, and super profitable.
• Plastic recycling. According to some frightening estimates, plastic mass in the ocean is expected to outweigh the fish by 2050. Many companies, including Microsoft, Intel, and Estee Lauder, are doing everything possible to achieve an 80-90% recycling rate in their processes. Chemical recycling, mainly plastic, is now attracting billions in capital spending: Europe has recently become home to a giant plastic recycling plant capable of processing millions of tons of plastic.
• Hydrogen-powered engines. Another entirely new industry that is about to boom in the upcoming years. While battery-powered electric engines offer better fuel efficiency, hydrogen-powered fuel cells have higher energy capacity per lower weight. They are the best solution for powering long-distance cargo transportation: locomotives, cargo trucks, and cargo vessels.
• Smart tech in agriculture. It is an entirely new take on how food is grown. Controlling large areas of fields with drones and remotely regulating the use of pesticides, chemicals, irrigation, heating or lighting, and harvesting makes a significant difference compared to anything known before. It increases the sustainability of farming: and prevents the overuse of chemicals, water, etc.

Sustainable technology enhances a company’s reputation and opens up new avenues for growth and profitability. By aligning business strategies with sustainability, companies can tap into a burgeoning market of conscious consumers and create innovative, eco-friendly industries.

How can you get help in implementing sustainability tech?

Are you interested in implementing sustainable digital technology in your business processes to discover new benefits for your products and services brand? Adding smart tech into your business should be done wisely and under the supervision of qualified engineers — it’s the only way when it can become a real game-changer for your company, discovering new horizons of profitability.

That might be a potent mix of IoT, AI-augmented decision-making, smart sensors and regulations, energy-saving tech, and many other options contributing to the sustainable status of your business. If you are unsure what technologies to pick for your specific business/project or want to improve your already existing technological profile enabling your sustainability efforts too, make sure to contact us right away.