By Jadd Elliot Dib, Founder and CEO of Pangaea X
Climate change affects every country, disrupts economies and natural habitats, and puts the future of the planet at grave risk. Even though some damage is irreversible, it is still possible, with the use of a wide variety of technological measures, to control the increase in temperature globally. Addressing environmental concerns and operating in a sustainable manner are becoming increasingly important to businesses as they adapt and contribute to the growing governmental and societal drive for sustainable development.
Big Data can generate useful insights towards fostering environment sustainability. . Mining Big Data is essential to predict, plan, manage, and control environmental processes. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), modelling, simulation, and user interfaces, are key tools for environmental sustainability that can also be used to improve green infrastructure and to optimise energy use, water consumption, and reduce waste and pollution, For example, big data can provide new and powerful ways of studying and improving environmental, social, and economic systems to enhance urban sustainability by allowing scientists to discover, analyse, and better understand environmental changes from a micro to global scale.
Data science can also help the corporate world to optimise resource consumption. . Governments can now adopt insights from real-time environmental quality data. The data output can then be used monitor the emissions of large utility facilities, and adjust if the data shows detrimental effects to the environment.
Big data can also illustrate how sustainability and cost saving go hand in hand. Sophisticated technology, including AI, can monitor and organisation’s energy expenditures, and highlight energy wastage, which, in turns saves money on energy costs.
There are infinite ways in which big data can enhance our ability to live sustainably. The first step, however, is for organisations to adopt data capture and analysis as a regular practice.
According to a recent Gartner report, business leaders must explore a combination of big data analytics and advanced AI to provide a richer context for accurate business decision-making. This will also help with the predictive analytics aspects that are increasingly becoming the front and centre of any sustainable business initiative.
