There is no silver bullet to fighting climate change. And the most effective weapon may already be in the toolbox, according to a new report from a leading data consultancy..While most talk of reducing emissions has centred around transformative ‘black box’ technological solutions, equally significant gains can be made simply by increasing the data driven connectivity of Canadian industry, according to a new Accenture report..The report, Canada's next sustainability frontier: Powering digital transformation with connectivity, says while present climate strategies that focus on renewables and clean tech solutions are important, other approaches — using data to become more efficient — are needed to achieve Canada's sustainability goals..For example, the use of drones and remote monitoring sensors could enable the agricultural sector to reduce water and fertilizer use by 20% to 40%, the report notes. Similarly, using emerging technologies such as AI in predictive maintenance of oilfield equipment could reduce fuel use and other inputs as much as 20%..For that to happen, it would require a massive buildout of both Canada’s wireless and wired telecommunication data infrastructure.."Through digital transformation, business operations can become more productive, grow with less inputs or waste and shrink energy and fuel consumption in the process," said Jefferson Wang, Accenture’s global networks practice lead. ."Specifically, modern wireless and wireline networks provide the exponential growth in bandwidth and speed, simultaneous connections and reliability needed to power (the Internet of Things), data and AI, and cloud across industry sectors.".The report concludes achieving the productivity and sustainability benefits of digital transformation depends on four key enablers:.A regulatory approach that maintains incentives for Canada's communications service providers to continue to invest in the expansion and enhancement of their wireline and wireless networks;Solution provider collaboration and innovation to ensure that industry ’verticals’ have the devices and software that meet their digital transformation and business requirements;Embracing of digital transformation by industry, including investing in the tools and processes needed to share data across their businesses and developing and hiring workers with the necessary advanced skillsets; andAn expansion of government approach to addressing environmental challenges, including extending incentives beyond clean technology investments and renewables to include incentives for digital transformation..Government agencies should also employ a “strong emissions measurement strategy” so both government and industry can focus on the specific type of digital transformations that have the largest impact, it added.."By continuing to invest in communication services, our industry is creating the foundation that enables businesses to use data and digital technologies to reduce waste, achieve greater energy efficiency and improve productivity (and help) Canada's ability to achieve its sustainability goals and fight climate change," said Canadian Telecommunications Association president and CEO Robert Ghiz.
