How location intelligence can help with sustainability

Sustainability is not just a buzzword to please investors and customers. Business survival in a world increasingly threatened by extreme weather and temperature events that affect consumer livelihoods, disrupt essential operations and choke off supplies raw materials.

It’s a concern shared by most executives, especially those running thriving companies. in one Deloitte’s survey Of the more than 2,000 C-suite executives, 79% say the world is at a “tipping point” in responding to climate change. Only 59% had felt the same way just eight months earlier. However, optimism that immediate action can limit the worst of climate change has increased from 63% to 88%.

That immediate action involves consciously looking at every business decision through the lens of sustainability. And location intelligence underpins this.

Both large enterprises and startups are using location intelligence to guide sustainability strategies and balance the competitive landscape.

Track routes and supply chains

Carbon emissions from transportation account for 27% of US greenhouse gas emissions, the most of any sector, according to report I have to go to school every day. But this problem has a geographical solution.

Transportation causes a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions and can do a lot to enhance and shorten routes. Moving a product from start to finish (and vice versa) by semi-trailer, cargo jet, or rail while traversing as few miles as possible can seem like an unwieldy challenge. But smarter routing powered by modern location intelligence can save time and money.

It’s important to have access to the most accurate and up-to-date platform maps, then sometimes follow unique routes. A leading company that manages daily deliveries 19 million packsfor example, found that one mile can make a $50 million difference.

By adding satellite images and other key inputs, leaders can better understand raw material sources and determine whether suppliers are operating sustainably. Knowing the product chain of custody of any product — including its components — helps companies recover from supply chain disruptions and clearly demonstrate their environmental impact.

This knowledge can extend to the product roadmap — including how it can be reused. Plastic is increasingly being recycled for new uses — including packaging and the products themselves — but tons of plastic still end up in landfills. Track your shipment Plastic scrap for example, from one location to another, it is possible to show where the plastics go and what they become.

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Take almost any industry, add “accuracy” and it is most likely using position Smart to produce more by strategically using less. That’s because, by anchoring operations in a data-driven geographic approach, we can clearly see the impact of our actions and intervene, sometimes in real time.

Innovators and entrepreneurs are using location intelligence to determine where and how to produce more with less land, labor, and a more fertile environment — such as growing real proteins new, popular.

For example, precision forestry ensures that trees are planted where they are most likely to grow in a climate-changing world, which is key for the timber industry. Precise logistics helps shipping companies ensure that every mile is used. Precision agriculture helps farmers determine what they can grow and how much with less water or soil.

All of these examples involve digitizing operations so that every step of the process can be tracked and analyzed, creating a systematic approach. The technology – harnessed by those who need to be known all the time – can even receive smartphone alerts about the status of their device. one’s plantfor example, or provide sector-by-sector profitability data.

Smart Location: Choose the best location

Just as determining the surest transport route can save time, money and carbon emissions, so can choosing the right location – such as where to plant trees to keep them lush; where to put electric charging station; or where to find the most efficient renewable energy sources that take into account factors such as land tenure, accessibility and cost.

Currently, large organizations working with startups and consultants are using data-driven algorithms and maps that reveal environmental constraints, land availability, climate and population gap to give US agencies clear options before they even set foot on the site.

To build a truly sustainable company — one that not only survives but thrives — position analysis must be incorporated into the business strategy. Sustainability needs geographic context, precision, and partners understanding the most effective ways to adopt location-based technology.

Katie Decker is the senior partner manager of Esri Startup Program.