Atmosphere Inspires is our regular curation of news and views from the digital sphere; the lead stories that are affecting you and your business. In this edition we’re looking at how technology is helping us to become green and more sustainable.
Stories catching our attention
Encouraging sustainable tech in the workplace
Wouldn’t it be great to see the real benefits of
sustainable technology at work? We’re definitely getting there, especially with the development of AI and IoT sensors helping to improve efficiency and productivity. Apparently updating office technology can cut energy consumption by up to 30%: not a statistic to be ignored, and a goal every business should be striving to meet. But even with the most innovative technology in place it will be essential to attain buy-in from employees. Start by increasing
employee sustainability engagement.
Why we should look to India for inspiration on sustainability
What else is happening?
Can space tech help address sustainability challenges?
Considerable issues, like sustainability, needs far out thinking, and what’s further out than space tech helping to solve
sustainability problems here on Earth? The world needs to meet 17
SDG's and Danielle Wood (founder of Space Enabled at MIT Media Lab) says satellites will help play a key part. From providing data on climate change to linking the world through video calls, innovative technology coupled with innovative thinking will be a vital tool in achieving these goals.
Sustainability competition launched using Blockchain
An interesting
blockchain based competition has been set by European Innovation Council (EIC) for best sustainable and social initiative. Part of the
Horizon 20 programme, it’s great to see potential blockchain opportunities being exploited in such a positive way. As a relatively new concept, the ledger technology has many possibilities still left unexplored, so what’s better than a competition to encourage great thinking which might make us more sustainable and ready for the future?
Sustainable fashion, automation and education
Ahead of the UN Partnership for
Sustainable Fashion in New York next month, the Global Landscapes Forum held a Digital Summit panel. Discussions were held around the relationship between sustainability and automation: it was particularly interesting to hear fashion technologist Amanda Parkes saying that “today’s outcry on the automation takeover is an education problem, not a technology problem”. It's not a surprise that the promise of automation brings about fears of replacement and job loss, but with the right knowledge it's possible to harness tech to work in union alongside it.
AI helps to boost wildlife conservation
Great little story here; AI driven algorithms to develop a better understanding of wildlife via
animal photography. In a world where understanding and preserving wildlife is critically important, algorithms are now able to identify and characterise a whole host of animals to accelerate our understanding of different species. Gaining access to wildlife without disturbing fragile habitats is crucial and it's great to see technology providing opportunities to allow and respect this.
