How the Internet of Things Will Boost Sustainability

If you work in telecoms or ICT, you probably spend a fair amount of time reading and hearing about the Internet of Things. 

In fact, no matter what industry you’re in, the Internet of Things (or IoT) seems to loom larger all the time. Almost daily, companies announce breakthroughs for connecting people and objects in new ways. 

But the IoT isn’t just about technology. It’s about what technology can do for consumers and businesses. 

An article published last December in the McKinsey Quarterly points out that the IoT creates a huge opportunity to increase the value of every connected thing. Trackable devices will let manufacturers better service home appliances, for example: instead of sending a repairman to go fix your broken air conditioner, they can do it remotely. 

Things will run better, too – more safely and efficiently– and they’ll be made to a higher quality standard. 

There’s a simple reason that the IoT will help companies do a better job manufacturing, operating, and servicing nearly everything they make: connected devices provide quantitative feedback that shows how people actually use their products. 

Until now, each “thing” in the Internet of Things was silent. Now, it can speak to its creators. It’s like customer relationship management on steroids: Not only can customers tell you what they want, the very products themselves can tell you as well. 

This new ability presents a huge opportunity to learn what customers really need. As a result, the Internet of Things will make “things” more valuable. 

But what happens when a Thing reaches the end of its useful life? Does it wind up in a landfill? Or could the IoT help make it not only more valuable, but also greener and more sustainable? 

The answer is that technology associated with the Internet of Things could potentially be a great boon to the circular economy – a system where waste is re-purposed, or (ideally) eliminated from the manufacturing process entirely. 

Project Mainstream, an initiative born at the 2014 World Economic Forum in Davos, aims to help companies and industries move toward a circular economy. Together with McKinsey and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it consists of three experimental projects that focus on “areas of stalemate” in the circular economy. These rough patches on the road to sustainability require collaboration across industries, and between the public and private sectors, in order to move things forward. 

Two of Project Mainstream’s initiatives center on recycling plastic and paper. The third focuses on “connected objects” – the heart and soul of the IoT. 

What do connected things and sustainability have to do with each other? Plenty, as it turns out. Every year, millions of household appliances and consumer electronics reach the end of their useful lives. Collectively, they represent about US $390b of input value. 

Some of that value can be recaptured. Through re-use, re-manufacturing, and good old-fashioned recycling, an estimated $52b can be extracted – with another $4b potentially available from new business models aimed at improving maintenance or lowering disposal costs for components that can’t be salvaged. 

How it works

Because objects in the IoT are embedded with chips and sensors, they can be tracked throughout their life cycles. This process of asset tracking can be done in several ways. 

Active tracking allows connected things to exchange data with each other remotely, while in use. This greatly improves manufacturers’ ability to monitor and service things like vehicles, industrial machinery, and medical devices, ensuring that they operate with maximum energy efficiency. 

Passive tracking allows manufacturers to track an appliance – say, a microwave oven – using RFID or some other scanning technology, with the aim of reducing costs along the supply chain and making it easier to identity objects for re-purposing, as each object nears the end of its useful life. 

For example, a washing machine that might otherwise end up as landfill can be scanned and decisions made about whether to re-furbish it or harvest some of its components for remanufacture. This not only reduces waste, but also lowers the cost of inputs and the labor-intensity of assembly, resulting in a lower carbon footprint for the refurbished machine.

As is often the case, technology is only half the battle. Using the IoT to enhance sustainability will require a radical new form of collaboration. Companies in different industries – with sharply different products, cost structures, and operating models – will have to work together much more closely than in the past. 

For the first time, sectors such as telecommunications, IT, electrical power, automotive and consumer goods will have to collaborate to support the many technologies used in the IoT. That collaboration will extend beyond mere development of technical standards and encompass a broader perspective that seeks to understand the needs of potential users and developers from different sectors.

It’s a radically collaborative scenario for the future, and one that will force us to break down silos between industries. But the prospect of adding greater value to every connected object in the IoT – while enhancing sustainability – should provide the inspiration and energy to meet the challenges ahead.

Do you have ideas about what this new, green, and connected Internet will look like – or how to help bring it about? If so, please let us know!