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    How the Metaverse Can Help Companies Cut Emissions

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    So-called metaverse It conjures images of gamers in headsets, friends hanging out in virtual worlds, or new kinds of online meetings. But Nokia envisions the metaverse in a different way. The company places what it calls the “industrial metaverse” at the heart of its corporate strategy. The goal, help companies Plan industrial systems and determine the most efficient ways to operate them, saving costs, accelerating innovation and reducing emissions when used correctly.

    Power companies can use the industrial metaverse to remotely repair facilities and reduce emissions-intensive travel. Manufacturers can prevent machine downtime and reduce emissions from building and operating backups. Carriers can also use this technology to better model their networks, keeping unwanted trucks in garages and aircraft on the ground.

    “Sustainability is the flip side of efficiency and productivity,” says Thierry Klein, president of Nokia Bell Labs Solutions Research.

    Nokia’s industrial metaverse business is just one example of the growing intersection of digitalization and industry. climate change. Over the past 20 years, designing the right response to the digital revolution has become a strategic imperative for companies, and in many cases a survival imperative. Digitization also presents opportunities as companies increasingly focus on climate change and ways to decarbonize their operations. And many large, energy-sensitive companies are eager to do whatever it takes to keep that cost down. analysis A report released last year by consulting firm Accenture found that digital technologies can quickly reduce emissions in the energy, materials and mobility sectors by up to 10%.

    Efficiency is central to the impact of digitization on emissions. These technologies reduce waste and lower operating costs. This ranges from relatively simple uses for regulating office lighting and temperature to complex system modeling such as industrial metaverses. “Digital allows us to do things at scale in ways that were not possible with traditional processes,” said Aamir Paul, President of North America, Schneider Electric.

    But digital technologies come with their own climate risks, and managers and regulators need to be conscious of how to manage them. For example, companies like Amazon and Microsoft are Leveraging our own cloud technology It aims not only to help other companies reduce emissions, but also to market its services to help oil and gas companies drill more efficiently.

    And even digital programs aimed at reducing emissions have their own footprint. Enterprise technology alone accounts for his 1% of global emissions, according to. data from McKinsey. AI, which is integral to programs such as the industrial metaverse, also needs energy.a paper Amherst found that training a single AI model could generate emissions equivalent to the lifetime emissions of five U.S. cars, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts. “By applying an AI engine, we can expect to optimize the system and improve resource consumption,” says Klein. “But the AI ​​engine itself takes away some of the profit.”

    There is also the challenge of convincing small businesses and industries with low energy usage to think about digital technologies to reduce energy waste. This is where the issue of climate change may come into play. Reducing energy and other waste in places such as hotels and stores will reduce emissions and make your business more attractive to consumers and customers like large corporations who are equally concerned about their footprint. there is a possibility. And efforts like this can help get ahead of the regulatory efforts that companies have to adopt. Climate Change Information Disclosure Rules.

    Given the industry-wide focus on digitization over the last few decades, it’s safe to assume that it’s on the minds of most business leaders. Now, it is important to consider the climate as well.

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