Using Artificial Intelligence for Decarbonisation

Many organisations are finally becoming carbon emissions conscious and want to lower their carbon footprint. Now is the perfect time for them to get started with Artificial Intelligence. Imagine a business whose operations are causing high carbon emissions. AI can help reduce many of these issues and save the company loads of money simultaneously.

Carbon emissions are a global problem that has contributed to climate change and global warming. Different processes, such as human activity (burning fossil fuels) or natural ones, such as the decomposition of organic matter, causes these emissions. We must understand where these emissions come from so we can make changes in our lives to help reduce them because, as we all know, what cannot be measured cannot be managed!

I’m sure everyone has heard of climate change by now, but companies are finally discussing decarbonisation. Essentially it’s the process that reduces carbon emissions, which are produced by burning fossil fuels like coal and oil. It is a global challenge as it will require a massive global transformation. This transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources needs to happen within the next few decades if we want to limit global warming since most greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are man-made.

To accelerate this, towards the end of 2019, the EU announced the Green Deal to transform the region into a “modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy”. AI can help reduce the carbon footprint of any organisation to achieve the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals and save money on energy costs in the process. Even though it is a rapidly growing technology, many business leaders don’t know how to harness its power. The following are some ways in which AI can make a difference to any organisation:

• AI systems can integrate ESG data from different systems into a unified view, thus giving companies real-time analytics on their ESG targets. When data is not available, Internet Of Things (IoT) sensors will be installed to augment the information available.
• An AI system can continuously calculate and track ESG KPIs against real goals, thus informing companies as soon as something goes wrong. Such a system will allow them to take timely corrective actions, thus also saving them real money.
• Predictive analysis can help to alert relevant staff before things get out of hand when something goes wrong or an unexpected event, such as an industrial accident, occurs.
• The system will provide AI-driven recommendations to improve performance on priority ESG issues.
• ESG reporting will become a must. By centralising compliance with major ESG documentation standards and frameworks, the company can automate most of its ESG reporting obligations.
• Workflows, too, need to be reviewed and their ESG data collected. By automating processes using AI, the system will handle most of the reporting overheads and provide managers with a fine level of granularity.
• External information requests can be a massive headache, whether from customers, other businesses or government entities. AI can analyse and efficiently respond to external data requests, thus servicing most of them in no time and relaying complex ones to human operators.
• AI can also preempt what will happen by analysing news, media, and priority stakeholder publications to identify emerging ESG risks and opportunities.
• Data accuracy and integrity are essential components of any system. With end-to-end auditability, AI-driven data validation can guarantee that no one is tempering with the information provided.

Such systems also allow for better staff management by automating repetitive tasks freeing up valuable time for managers who want more freedom in their working day rather than being chained down with administrative work.

It offers a great way to reduce carbon emissions by calculating how much energy buildings, vehicles, etc., use and where it’s being wasted. This data will then lead to changes that reduce the carbon footprint.

The urgency of decarbonisation is growing every year. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that if we don’t take immediate action, global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030 and 2 degrees Celsius by 2040. The world’s temperature has already increased by more than 1 degree celsius over pre-industrial levels and, in some places, even more than 3 degrees. Climate change is already happening around us: flooding, drought, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events are all examples of how our planet is being affected.

Since carbon emissions are a significant issue facing the world right now, the sooner we can reduce these emissions, the better. AI will play a massive role in helping organisations reduce their carbon footprint, as well as other environmental impacts. Using AI for environmental governance, we can ensure that all actions taken by businesses align with their sustainability goals and that they reach their ESG targets in a timely manner. We do not have a planet B, so now is the right time to work together and use emerging technologies to save our home planet from inevitable catastrophes.