In the last report of the Word Meteorological Organization -United in Science 2022-, issued mid-September, it is clear: The most urgent task for achieving climate goals is the significant reduction of CO2 emissions. And yet there is a huge gap between aspirations and reality. In 2021, emissions appeared to return to pre-COVID trends and OECD data shows that support for fossil fuels in 51 countries worldwide almost doubled to 697.2 billion USD.
It seems clear that we are heading in the wrong direction. We can blame the war in Ukraine and the global energy crisis, but still, the challenge is there: emissions should be cut by 44% by 2030 to be in line with the 1.5 °C climate goal of the Paris Agreement.
As the source of around one third of global emissions, industries bear a major responsibility in this regard. Many companies are implementing sustainable business strategies first to meet this responsibility. But they need reliable and verifiable data on materials, components, and processes in order to quantify the CO2 levels for each of their products. Moreover, this data must provide guidance in identifying potential areas for improvement. However, as in many other sectors, getting this information is no small deed.
Torrent Closures, a Spanish company manufacturing diverse types of caps, and non-refillable pourers that protect consumers from counterfeiting or fraud, is developing a carbon footprint calculator with low-code technologies, which will be fully operational at the beginning of 2023.
Until now, calculations have mostly been imprecise as they were based on assumptions and average values. As a result, they only provided inaccurate and static values. The innovative tools developed by Torrent Closures creates a whole new ballgame. It’s aimed at reducing the number of processes, energy and other elements involved in the manufacturing of caps, which is a crucial packaging element, says Miguel Llorca, Global Chief Information Officer of the company, who will participate in IOTSWC23.
“We were already doing our calculations through an Excel file but we thought we could automatize them to get more accurate results in real time.” “We are committed to innovation as the path to explore new materials and more sustainable color pigments. No need to say we combine these improvements with sustainable transport,” Llorca says.
Nevertheless, it’s true that a calculator is just the first step in the sustainability path. Reducing energy use and water usage, boosting energy efficiency, reviewing logistics and limiting pollution by recycling should also be a part of the equation. And IoT can help with that.
Jesper Toubol, VP of Operations Moulding Production at Lego, which globally produced 3,786 bricks per second in 2021, described Lego’s roadmap to digitization and sustainability at IOTSWC22. He made it clear that the company is committed to ending single-use plastics in 2025 and to find an alternative to plastics by 2032.
He also gave some hints for a change to a more sustainable and digitized supply chain. In 2023, he will return to IOTSWC to give a glimpse into the factory of the future, a factory creating a safer work environment, boosting compliance, and improving worker productivity by using IoT.
Some would say that these IoT solutions also require energy. So, this appears to be a classic catch-22 situation, but really it is not. In fact, how much energy a device requires depends on its system performance and the time it takes for it to capture and transmit data. And ultra-low power technology for battery-less devices has been available for some time now.
It’s safe to say that IoT can help managers with the granular visibility into energy consumption, as well as actionable insight into waste, and other efficiencies in order to turn manufacturing green and reap attractive benefits. In this sense, green is gold.
The IOTSWC23 provides the perfect occasion for attendees to gather ideas to develop a sustainable business and to make products more environmentally friendly for a better world.
Article written by: Anna Solana.