This article is sponsored by Siemens.
Looking toward the upcoming climate talks at COP28, businesses across the globe are focusing on the shared responsibility of climate action. To drive it, we must move fast and together — something that more companies and communities are doing by committing to net zero.
At Siemens, our net-zero journey started in 2015, before we had all the answers to the many tough questions about decarbonization. Today we still don’t have all the answers — even as we accelerate timelines and aim higher with our ambition to green factories, offices, vehicle fleets and supply chains. But we now have many more answers than when we started, and we’re using them to advance our own sustainability goals and help others with theirs.
The promise of digitalization
Shaping our view that climate change can be addressed in the limited time we have left is our ability to combine the real and the digital worlds. The more we work on real world challenges using digital tools like those that help organizations monitor their carbon footprint, the sooner we will achieve net zero and do our part to build a sustainable future. This is the promise of digitalization.
Reaching sustainability goals requires rethinking business to decarbonize and do more with less — all while growing the bottom line. And with collaboration and transparency, organizations can move quickly to advance their energy efficiency and achieve their targets.
Digitalization at work
A recent study of 1,400 executives globally found that, while decarbonization is a top priority within the infrastructure transition, less than half of executives expect to meet decarbonization targets by 2030. However, nearly half of the respondents believe digitalization has significant or massive potential to support progress in energy efficiency, productivity and decarbonization within their organizations.
We’re already seeing the power of digitalization in action, efficiency and emissions reductions in some of the country’s largest and busiest spaces, such as the Javits Center in New York City. The largest convention center in New York, and the busiest in the United States, sees sustainability as a fundamental core value. The Javits Center recently renovated its facility and implemented solar renewable energy, energy-storage battery units and digitalization of its operations to meet its aggressive carbon-emission reduction goals. With nature technology, Javits Center not only is reducing its emissions but also boosting operational efficiencies.
And by reducing just 1 percent of industrial production carbon footprint, 70 million tons carbon emissions can be saved each year. With digitalization, organizations can track a product’s carbon footprint across the supply chain, providing transparency into the greatest opportunities for decarbonization. And because supply chains often account for more than 90 percent of an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring supply chain traceability and transparency are available can help organizations overcome this challenge.
At Siemens, our vision for net-zero is one in which companies and communities also become more efficient, more productive and more resilient. It’s why everything in our own portfolio is designed not only to advance sustainability, but to bolster productivity and generate strong business results. So much is now possible. We can truly do more with less.
