"We cannot safely live on a planet with the climate that is out of control. But that does not mean that to reduce emissions, we should sacrifice the livelihoods of Europeans. "[1] As said by the Vice-President responsible for the Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission aimed to achieve a climate neutral economy by 2050, while keeping the market thriving.
This can't be done without the participation of all players from both the public and private sectors. Surrounding the eight policy areas of policy[2], involved industries are proactively seeking the best ways to shift the strategy and maximize the benefit of digitalization.
Public service providers, local authorities and enterprises should be equipped with adequate knowledge and technology to comply with the requirements of the European Commission. Additionally, experience across the industry shall be shared to ensure the smooth implementation of strategies.
NTT DATA has shed some light on the possible betterment that can be made in organizations. This can be a reference to a greener future, especially for the organizations in these mentioned industries.
Ensure the sustainability of the primary sector
The value chain of “Farm 2 Fork” has revealed several processes to be optimized if we want to promote sustainability in the primary sector. Starting from rural development, the public sector is investing in using technology such as satellite imaging to supervise agricultural production, keeping the carbon emissions under control. Followed by the logistic process that can be assisted with IoT (Internet of Things) to track the distribution of products while keeping the recycling traceable. And finally, sustainable food consumption may be under the joint initiation with the health authorities to reach health objectives for citizens and control emissions in the food consumption. Dealing with the primary sector, NTT DATA has collaborated on a wide range of projects, including the development of a comprehensive report on Carbon + Farming for the World Economic Forum and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Diversification Project (DIVECO 2) for Algeria.
Get digitalized in urban planning for creating a smart city
Urban planning is the central topic that has been in the conversation for the global sustainability transition, considering that urban districts take up 70% of the responsibility for carbon emission[3]. For that, pollution and air quality prevention systems ought to be at the same pace as the expansion of the urban area. At the same time, a strategically advanced data-analysis platform should be implemented to collect and interpret real-time data, generate analyzed results and, very importantly, give early warnings for impacts such as extreme weather events. For example, Smartcity in a Box is a platform with all the above-mentioned features created by NTT DATA, and it has been proven effective in several public projects.
Abate the environmental footprint of mobility
Electrification would be the first keyword in the next decades regarding sustainable mobilities. Besides the demand for a more robust energy source for electronic vehicles, possibilities for developing MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) should also be considered. In MaaS, a joint digital channel ensures that traditional transportation can be fully exploited so that anyone who needs to travel can realize his trip in a most sustainable way other than buying a car[4]. In this context, NTT DATA has developed various projects, for example the management of a Low Zone Emission for the city of Madrid.
Green the energy supply
The energy transition in Europe has been at the center of the discussion for a long time since the prominent indication of the EU's energy crisis. The demand to be independent of natural gas and coal, as well as the initial goal of reducing carbon emissions, are driving the energy transition in the EU.
Energy companies are encouraged by the European Commission to seek alternative energy sources such as hydroelectric or hydrogen. However, this is a process where conflicts will appear in the reconstruction of those energy multinationals now that they shall decrease exploiting natural resources. Statistic support is needed when those companies in transition want to know this progress. NTT DATA has defined and successfully implemented a methodology for accounting and valuation of natural capital, which improves the decision-making process at a corporate level.
Multinationals contribute to biodiversity in a measurable manner
The ultimate goal to be climate-neutral will eventually contribute to releasing burdens on natural ecosystems. Rising global temperatures can alter ecosystems over extended periods by changing what can grow and live within them[5].Therefore, to be able to measure the biodiversity in the ecosystem is to be able to know how far we have gone to stop climate change.
Multinationals that are ethically responsible for restraining their impact on the ecosystem should be able to evaluate the changes in biodiversity. In this sense, those sectors that can directly interact with biodiversity: wind, solar, hydro and transport networks etc., will be an advantage if they could provide evidence of their contribution to the fight for biodiversity. The question of how has been answered in projects such as a partnered collaboration between ECOACSA and NTT DATA, where a methodology has been defined to measure the biodiversity impact of the different Iberdrola infrastructures, and it is replicable in all the countries.
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_18_6543
[2] The EU Green Deal proposes actions in eight policy areas: climate, energy, environment and ocean, agriculture, industry, transport, finance and regional development, and research and innovation.
[3] https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/the-net-zero-transition-what-it-would-cost-what-it-could-bring?cid=netzero-pse-gaw-mst-mck-oth-2201&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3v6SBhCsARIsACyrRAk2mcjZng1mfVUBjWVxHrV-WRjC5sruGYUmdpGvzJWCV2tI0wXmZNQaAkz2EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobility_as_a_service
[5] https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/biodiversity/climate-change-and-biodiversity/