The end of ‘business as usual’: How the world is making a #SustainableTransition

Published regularly throughout the year, Transform is a platform for conversations about how digital technology is re-shaping the present, while giving readers a glimpse of the future.

In this edition:

Connecting AI with biodiversity  

ICT can play an important role in meeting global sustainability goals, says the former head of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a UN body aimed at strengthening ties between science and policymaking.

“Emerging technologies that comply with the principles of accessibility and information sharing can be a great tool in the development of sustainable solutions,” says Ana Maria Hernandez Salgar. “They can really reduce pressures on the environment and on lost biodiversity.”

IPBES experts review and analyze the impact of new technologies on the environment. They have recently started looking at the potential of artificial intelligence, especially how to connect AI with data on biodiversity.

Still, Hernandez Salgar says her optimism is tinged with caution. “My main concern is that humanity does not want – or is afraid – to change the status quo, that we are happy with business as usual,” she says. “We are really not conscious of the harm that we are doing to the planet and ourselves.”

Read the full interview here.

In the developing world, a U.S. entrepreneur runs “Uber for farmers”

In many emerging markets, small farmers can’t afford to buy their own equipment. But most can afford to pay for services. Hello Tractor meets this demand by providing tractors and drivers to farmers in 15 African countries, plus Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Guatemala, Thailand, and Jamaica.

“Most farmers own small plots of land, so the work can be done in just a few hours,” says CEO Jehiel Oliver, a former investment banker from Cleveland who founded Hello Tractor back in 2014.

“Ordinarily, it wouldn’t be economic for a tractor owner to pay someone to drive his farm equipment a long distance just to do a bit of piecemeal work. For that reason, we use agents who group the individual farmers into batches. That makes it efficient to drive your tractor 100 kilometers to provide our service.”  

Read more about Hello Tractor here.

Decoding the secret signals of plants

Did you know that plants use sophisticated networks, based on electrical signals, to gather and share information? Well, they do. And a company in Switzerland is figuring out how to read those signals and use them to make crops healthier.

“One way to feed the planet while conserving limited natural resources is to continuously measure crop health and respond to crop stress as it happens,” says Carrol Plummer, Co-founder and CEO of Vivent SA. “That allows each plant to deliver optimal yields.”

Vivent’s technology records and transmits plants’ signals continuously, monitoring crops around the clock so farmers can respond quickly to environmental stressors such as changes in the level of water or nutrients in the soil, or the presence of diseases.

“By harnessing the power of IoT, data analytics, and smart systems, Vivent is helping farmers gain a deeper understanding of their crops,” Plummer says. “Among other benefits, our solutions enable more efficient management of irrigation water, reduced environmental impacts from pesticides or fertilizers applied at the wrong times, and 24/7 crop health monitoring.”

Read more about Vivent’s innovative technology here.

Going green is good for business

To avoid damaging their reputations, companies must make climate response an integral part of their business strategy.  

But “going green” should not be done just for PR purposes. It can actually help companies become more profitable, says David Trevitt, a digital transformation advisor at Huawei in Ireland.

Trevitt quotes a survey done earlier this year by GSMA Intelligence. Conducted across 16 countries, it found that 45% of survey respondents would be willing to pay a premium for products and services that had been certified carbon-neutral.

There is a clear correlation between green purchasing and those countries most exposed to extreme weather conditions induced by climate change. The highest correlations are seen in the Philippines, Brazil, Türkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia – fast-growing emerging economies with direct exposure to warming and extreme weather events. 

You can access all of the GSMA Intelligence research here.

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