Climate Week 2019 is upon us and the world is waking up. Since each contribution is significant and time is starting to run out, it’s important that each organization stops for a moment and really considers how it can act on climate change. Rather than using the term climate change, a more appropriate expression to describe the increasing global temperatures and extreme weather events would be climate crisis.
The UN Global Climate Action Summit, in addition to many other climate related events, took place this week. The message was loud and clear – this is the turning point where we shift from nice words to action. As the UN Secretary-General António Guterres puts it, “This is not a climate talk summit. We have had enough talk. This is not a climate negotiation summit. You don’t negotiate with nature. This is a climate action summit.” Slowly but surely, climate change has emerged on the agenda of governments and businesses. Today, there is no company that can afford to ignore the climate crisis. Each company’s contribution is needed. In the time of the climate crisis, Innofactor is committed to also do its part and strive for sustainability in all its operations.
There is a lot of discussion about the positive and negative climate impacts of digitalization. As the world becomes more digital and connected, the amount of electricity used by information technologies increases. At the same time, digital solutions are expected to play a critical role in limiting global warming to 1.5°C and achieving net zero emissions no later than 2050. But how is going digital actually going to save our planet?
A prime example of how digitalization contributes to a more sustainable world relates to circular economy. The idea behind circular economy is to “close the loop” on production and consumption, share, lend and reuse as much as possible instead of owning things. Simply put, reduce waste. Digitalization helps industries by enabling more efficient production and use of existing resources. Digital systems, automation and robotization each can make the circular economy loop function in the most optimal way. In addition, data-driven solutions help organizations to manage the huge amount of data the systems in circular economy create.
It is difficult to establish a clear overview of digitalization’s impact to a more sustainable future since the estimates vary quite a bit. Industry cooperation in the area is crucial and all discussion is more than welcome.
Talking of cooperation, the tech industry, along with other industries, presented its plan of a low-carbon roadmap as a response to the Government’s Climate Neutral Finland 2035 target on Monday 23 September. The roadmap will describe the actions the industry can take to reduce its emissions and point the way to renewal within the industry. “Advanced technologies enable the Finnish industry to lead the way in emissions reduction. What we want is a small footprint but a big impact,” explains the CEO of Technology Industries of Finland, Jaakko Hirvola.
The roadmap will be published during next spring 2020 and it will describe how Technology Industries of Finland plans to move towards the target of climate neutral Finland 2035. In the meanwhile, Innofactor will participate in the conversation within the industry and take all the steps possible towards a more sustainable world and society.
Read more about our sustainability work.