Smart Industry 2021

Smart Communications Sustainable Investment
source ©: World Resources Institute
Sustainable Development, including
17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) set by the United
Nations. These goals encompass
efficient water use, fighting climate
change, and ending hunger
and food insecurity, among others.
The IoT can become a force
for good by offering actionable
insights that lead to more sustain-
Back on Track
With the US under
Joe Biden back on
board, hopes that
the Paris Climate Accord,
or COP21, will
achieve its goal of
reducing greenhouse
gas emissions are on
the rise again.
Smart Tracking
The Covid-19 pandemic has laid
bare many of the long-standing
vulnerabilities and risks lurking
in organizations’ supply chains. It
has intensified the need for better
data in understanding operations
and supplier traceability and
transparency – all critical to meeting
the commitments to sustainability
and better planning. The
key to automated, predictive, and
prescriptive operations management
in the post-Covid-19 world
lies in the interconnectivity of digiable
decisions. Here are three key
areas where IoT is making an impact
in sustainability:
Smart utility companies are finally
making headway in their effort to
modernize infrastructure to optimize
efficiency and improve sustainability.
According to UNESCO,
70 percent of the water used for
crops around the world is fresh
water. So, developing intelligence
around our resource usage and
efficient irrigation ensures sustainability
and productivity.
Seamless cellular connectivity, particularly
LPWAN networks such as
NB-IoT and LTE-M, have enhanced
the penetration of smart metering
solutions and near-real-time intelligence
of consumption or wastage
data. With eSIM and remote SIM
provisioning, smart meter manufacturers
are quickly innovating
to comply with regulatory specifications
and higher cybersecurity
standards and expand their supply
chain through ecosystems committed
to interoperability.
For smart-grid-ready solutions,
flexibility is key. This flexibility also
opens up new possibilities in how
data can generate revenue streams
for utility providers, positioning
them as broader service providers.
The example of pioneering
work by Iskraemeco, a Slovenian
manufacturer of metering solutions,
offers a blueprint for anyone
managing a greater diversity in resource
generation or transport as
the world moves to smarter grid
intelligence. As the IoT guidelines
on sustainability from WE Forum
highlight, the global shift to a
more resilient, reliable smart grid
is dependent on addressing how
utility companies can avoid lockins,
reduce fragmentation, and
build stronger customer relationships
with end users.
Micromobility presents a tremendous
opportunity, having stormed
from city to city in just two years,
helping to address some of the
most vexing transportation challenges
facing urban areas: congestion,
emissions, air quality, and
inconsistent access to transit. According
to research, if the share for
e-bike riding rises to 11 percent,
we could see a 7 percent decrease
in CO 2 emissions from the urban
transport sector by 2030 – potentially
accounting for over 50 percent
of urban trips in the US and 70
percent in cities like London.
Behind the scenes, micromobility
solutions are complex. They
connect a diversity of stakeholders
– government and city councils,
product manufacturers, and
platform operators – across a
fragmented value chain and force
them to work together to develop
innovative ways to make transportation
safer, cleaner, more efficient,
and more fun. Their success lies in
the simplicity they present to the
users, who will only change their
behaviors if the services offered
are significantly more convenient,
trustworthy, and reliable. Those
who sign up to use e-scooters also
offer up a great deal of personal
and sensitive data, including billing
information and other involuntary
analytics, such as location and
individual vehicle information. To
ensure that the early benefits of
greening our cities are realized,
companies need scalable security
models standardized for trusted
services and privacy frameworks.
GSMA’s IoT-SAFE security scheme
is a perfect example supporting
this market’s growth, strengthening
the promise and social contract
with users.
58