How to combine the physical and digital worlds to enable successful, sustainable business

How to combine the physical and digital worlds to enable successful, sustainable business

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic remind us of the need to build a more sustainable world.





Technology companies can provide solutions to tackle our planet's most fundamental challenges.





Leveraging data-driven insights, the digital world can solve problems in the real world.



The pandemic has given our environment a much-needed breather - with carbon emissions falling by a record 7% in 2020 - and has painfully revealed the hard work required to slow down detrimental climate change.

To reach the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, emissions must be reduced by 7.6% annually until 2030, according to the UN.

While regional lockdown measures are clearly not a long-term answer, some behaviours adopted during 2020 demonstrate the potential for sustainable, positive change, such as the increase in remote working.

Happy side effects of enforced remote working

And the same story applies not only to the office environment but also to industrial facilities - and here we see the power of digital transformation at work. Sensors installed in office buildings, for instance, help us quantify how many people work in a given area at one time, ensuring staff keep their distance, and ultimately