Digital Strategy, Operating Models & Technology Implementation Insight

Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant Helen Pukszta explores the use of drones for sustainability. From the critical application of precision agriculture to whimsical light shows, drones not only provide new functionality, they do so with a low carbon footprint. In precision agriculture, we see again that the data collection capability of drones coupled with sophisticated optimization algorithms can help farmers use natural resources more efficiently. In an unusual application that most would not think of, Pukszta goes on to illuminate the unintended environmental consequences of fireworks and the benefits of using drones for light shows.

A Renewal Energy Certificate (REC) is another mech­anism for offsetting carbon emissions. As explained by Claudio Lima, RECs are issued to accredited generators of renewable energy. These credits can then be traded in energy markets where consumers looking to offset their own fossil fuel energy consumption can buy the credits. Since a REC is essentially a record of a quasi-observable event (i.e., renewable energy fed into the grid), this data is susceptible to manipulation and transaction errors. Similar to carbon markets, or any market for that matter, lack of credibility can under­­mine the effectiveness of the market. Lima explains how blockchain can be used to ensure the authenticity of RECs and improve their market credibility.

We continue the trend of the last CBTJ issue with an interview of a top-notch expert whose company is helping to make great strides toward sustainability. Cutter Consortium Fellow Lou Mazzucchelli talks with Carlos Silva of Pachama, a company that uses satellite imagery and ML to measure the carbon captured by forests and how it evolves over time. This measurement allows us to determine whether a carbon credit that is traded on an exchange represents a “real” reduction in emissions. The verifiability and accuracy of such measurements form the foundation for robust carbon markets. Silva explains how the technology works to ensure the integrity of forest carbon credits.

Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant San Murugesan provides a broad overview of the many areas where we can use IoT to improve environmental sustainability, from energy management to food waste reduction. He explains that “the power of IoT lies in its efficiency, accessibility and controllability, and scalability in connecting disparate, distributed devices and appliances.” Many of the applications Murugesan describes rely on sensors to collect data in settings where previously it would have been prohibitively expensive or infeasible. These sensors then feed information to data analytics software that can optimize decisions. His article gives us a sense of how pervasive IoT already is, and how much potential it still has.

The four articles in this companion issue of CBTJ on sustainability explore the ways that technology can be used to monitor and improve the sustainability of a wide range of processes, industrial and otherwise.

Explore the unintended consequences, such as erosion of human skills and the scope expansion that takes us from reconnecting with old friends online to channels that broadcast un-fact-checked news, that AI can bring. In this Advisor, Paul Clermont offers no-nonsense advice for dealing with these issues.

The pressure on telecom companies’ cash flow has never been so intense. Now more than ever, it has become imperative to unlock value through asset reconfiguration in order to finance growth and transformation via 5G and diversification.

As we explore in this Executive Update, there are tangible benefits to basing corporate purpose on sustainability drivers, and sustainable business models are gaining pace. Therefore, businesses should rethink their role in the context in which they operate and adapt their strategy, organization, resources, processes, and culture accordingly.