“We are at a defining moment in the fight against climate change, where drastic action is required to find solutions. The adoption of emerging technology, while understanding how to apply these technologies, is challenging.”
As the talk summary of Zumo Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Vicky Byron, at this year’s ScotSoft Conference, this is a powerful statement as to the shape of our world currently and why there should be no question about ensuring technology is as sustainable as possible.
After the global heatwave experienced this summer, it is evident we are most definitely in the last chance saloon (although there are many that would argue we are already past the point of no return) with regards to reversing climate change.
Technology has a major role it can play in providing climate solutions, from smart buildings and cities, to land-mapping via satellites, to net zero transport. ScotlandIS published the country’s first ever Climate Tech Report in 2021 ahead of COP26, highlighting the most innovative climate solutions being developed in Scotland. One of the featured companies that has seen success is Intelligent Growth Solutions, whose vertical farming towers run by IoT technology allows crops to be grown more efficiently and locally at any time and place. This reduces carbon footprint of importing farmed goods and helps to manage power consumption of indoor farming to keep it sustainable.
Whilst there are many companies providing these tech-based solutions to reducing carbon emissions, what about all the technology we currently use in our daily lives?
The pandemic massively accelerated the digital transformation revolution and now technology is embedded in nearly every facet of our lives.
What solutions can businesses utilise to maximise sustainability in their day-to-day processes?
Vicky Byron of Zumo has over 20 years’ experience delivering cutting-edge data and analytics projects, and was part of the steering committee to develop Scotland’s first AI Strategy. Her speaking session at ScotSoft 2023 will discuss pioneering work at the intersection of blockchain, sustainability, and data, aiming to drive home the importance of this. She will share her learnings and journey in building and launching the world’s first comprehensive product to account for the carbon footprint of digital assets – and prove it. This should be the future of truly tracking our tech carbon footprint.
But that’s not all on you can hear on the subject at ScotSoft.
Anna Sarnek, Head of Strategic Alliances at Valence Security, will lead a talk on why cybersecurity is an ESG issue. Cyber risk is the most immediate and financially material sustainability risk that organizations face today, and those that fail to implement good governance on cybersecurity, using appropriate tools and metrics, will be less resilient and less sustainable. Don’t leave security to your cyber division, build it into your ESG strategy from the get-go.
If you haven’t got your tickets for ScotSoft on 28th September in Edinburgh, you can book them now here.
As mentioned earlier, Scotland is promising to be a hotbed of development for climate tech solutions in order to meet its 2045 net zero targets. For example, a University of Edinburgh spinout is trialling a decarbonisation technology for distilleries, which claims to replace up to 100% of the fossil fuels used in high temperature industrial processes.
If you are passionate about embedding sustainability into your business practices, come along to our leading ScotSoft Conference to join the discussion.
*ScotSoft is now a CPD certified event, where delegates can gain CPD points for their attendance and participation.*