Sustainability is one of the most critical trends in many spheres, including environmental, economic, and social. It shapes our day-to-day lives and gives companies guidance on the solutions that will make them competitive and sought-after in the constantly evolving market. 

Sustainable practices are now a “must-have” for businesses. Consumers often pay attention to this factor, and it often becomes the decisive point as to whether to say “yes” or “no” to a specific company. 

A bunch of industrial businesses, including manufacturing, transportation, and agriculture, are irreplaceable, but their impact on the environment is adverse. That’s why many companies are trying to minimize this negative impact by defining the goals and coming up with solutions to mitigate the harmful effect. 

Technology has the power to reduce waste, chemicals, and resources, making the industries’ impact on the environment less adverse. Although it’s not a panacea, sustainable tech shapes many spheres, making organizations leverage its solutions. 

Some decide to outsource to nearshore team, while others hire local software developers to create products that can bring massive changes. Whatever your case is, let’s take a look at how technologies drive sustainability.

Cloud and Infrastructure 

Companies reduce their carbon footprints when migrating to clouds, decreasing CO2 emissions by 59 million tons per year. This equates to taking around 22 million cars off the road. That’s impressive, isn’t it? 

Also, the organizations leveraging cloud storage reduce material waste, increase energy reduction by 65%, and decrease carbon emissions by 84%. According to Microsoft’s research, the company’s cloud platform had 98% lower carbon emissions compared to on-premises data centers. 

Green data centers use less power for servers, hence eliminating the usage of physical software. This, in its turn, makes cloud infrastructure a more sustainable option. Besides, such an approach helps companies save time, costs, and energy.

Notably, a leading cloud provider, Microsoft Azure, aims to become carbon negative by 2030. 

Sustainable IoT 

IoT allows companies to introduce energy-efficient practices and use resources more responsibly. One can apply this technology in various spheres. For example, smart offices use IoT devices that rely on connectivity to monitor, manage, and optimize the workplace. 

They also help make business operations more efficient and make working environments more comfortable. Lighting control is based on motion detection, allowing significantly less light usage and energy savings. 

Also, organizations leverage IoT devices to improve their office security and make workplaces more productive and collaborative. 

Additionally, there are various wireless IoT sensors that make smart waste management more accessible. Since systematic waste collection means more air and noise pollution alongside traffic and increased public costs, IoT helps to address these issues. 

That being said, managers have real-time data about all the dumpsters of their facility. They know the current fill of each trash receptacle and understand when it needs to be emptied. It’s also possible to monitor the temperature and humidity data to see the biological activities in each container.

In this way, the organization can optimize the pickup schedules of each waste type, resulting in lower transportation costs and environmental footprint.  

Optimized Production Process 

The company can address various environmental concerns and improve overall sustainability when optimizing its processes. Many organizations are trying to go paperless by using technology solutions to collect real-time data and make it more visible for managers and operators. This allows reducing paper-driven sheers and human errors, making further analysis clearer and error-free. 

Another valuable tool in data-driven software is predictive analytics that diagnoses and predicts failure. It helps companies save resources and not waste energy, deploying the solutions more quickly. 

Besides, optimization allows engineers to create a digital representation of the processes and physical environment without actually affecting the real surroundings. In this way, the specialists can design top-notch solutions that won’t produce CO2 emissions and other pollutants.

Technology helps to make all the processes safer, stay on the same page with energy goals, and reduce waste while complying with industry standards. 

Conclusion

As you can see, sustainability and technology are closely intertwined because digital solutions help companies reduce their carbon footprints and boost profits. Smart energy consumption, reduced waste, and a mindful approach to using resources allows companies to contribute to the overall sustainability levels and be considered responsible tech partners.