From Paris to Dubai, how can cities be more sustainable?

As we undergo the Fourth Industrial Revolution, companies are uniquely positioned to partner with governments to address some of the world's greatest challenges.

Urbanization continues to spread globally, with 70% of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2030. This trend brings with it the urgent need for more efficient use of energy, cleaner energy generation and cost effective energy storage. While the public sector must lead, it should work closely with the private sector to rapidly implement best practice policies, programs and projects that will improve urban efficiency and sustainability.

Buildings are responsible for up to a third of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The most cost-effective time to reduce energy consumption in buildings is before construction, as today’s integrated designs and off-the-shelf building technologies can yield up to a 50 percent reduction in energy use and positive returns on investments. For existing buildings, energy efficiency retrofits using these same principles can deliver 15-40 percent savings on energy costs, paying for themselves over time.

Best practices for improving building energy efficiency in cities include: 1) adopting and enforcing building codes and appliance standards; 2) setting reduction targets and adopting sustainable construction and leasing policies; 3) establishing retrofit programs for public and private sector buildings; 4) introducing certification, benchmarking and transparency programs; 5) accepting innovative financial models and programs; and 6) coordinating efforts with local utilities. While results are promising, very few cities globally have implemented a comprehensive set of these elements.

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Intelligent manufacturing: Targeting better energy efficiency

As policy makers, business and society tackle the complex challenges around climate change, industry is increasingly coming under the spotlight. Manufacturing activities account for around one-third of the world’s total final energy demand; as populations continue expanding and living standards continue rising, industrial demand for energy is set to grow further. Targeting better industrial energy efficiency—first and foremost the efficiency of the manufacturing processes at the core of industry—is the most effective lever available to curb industrial energy consumption.

The main findings of the research are:

Industry executives say better energy efficiency is critical to their businesses and will be critical in the coming two decades.

Growing numbers of companies are seeing energy efficiency as a key part of their efforts to promote sustainability.

More and more firms are investing in efficient lighting, heating, and air conditioning—but the proportion investing in efficient plant and equipment remains static.

Although barriers to investment in energy efficiency remain, they appear to be lifting for some companies.

Industry is embracing better practices around energy management.

Regulatory pressure on industry will further intensify in the coming years.

Innovations in process design and execution will also promote better energy efficiency in the future.

The key to improved energy efficiency will increasingly lie in software rather than in hardware.

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Can an Indian startup provide answers to global data center energy woes?

In September 2012, the New York Times carried a thought provoking article, which claimed that data centers can waste 90 percent of more of the electricity they pull off the grid. This received a huge amount of backlash from some industry veterans.

The same article also estimated that globally data centers consume about 30 billion watts of electricity – which is roughly equivalent to the output of 30 nuclear power plants. Considering the amount of power data centers consume, the time has come for data center owners to seriously take a relook at their power conservation strategies.

This is both a huge challenge and a massive opportunity. VigyanLabs, an Indian startup, believes that it has the answers. The company’s pedigree is impressive. VigyanLabs was founded in 2010 by a team of IIT-ians specializing in high-performance computing. With more than 15 patents and a high patent hit ratio, VigyanLabs was recognized by NASSCOM as one of India’s top ten IT product startups of 2012.

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Welcome to the Home of the Future

The increasing use of intelligent devices combined with ongoing breakthroughs in robotics, cloud computing, and other technologies are leading to a new era of digital living spaces. Next-generation entertainment centers will lead to the installation of sound systems and screens within walls to save space. Smart windows will be bigger than traditional windows, and increased use of shared, driverless cars will eliminate the need for garages or dramatically reduce their size, according to architect Tom Kinslow. Smartphones could become the remote controls for smart homes. Sprinklers, kitchen appliances, washers, dryers, lights, windows, and pools all could be controlled from a smartphone or tablet, predicts futurist Paul Saffo. Robots also will be a major component of future smart homes. Within 10 years, general-purpose robots will perform house chores while users are at work, says Bossa Nova Robotics co-founder Sarjoun Skaff. In addition, future homes likely will have networks that connect all of their appliances. Microsoft already has developed HomeOS, an operating system designed to turn homes into live-in computers, and Google recently launched Android@Home, an ecosystem for managing every electric home device. Meanwhile, Apple is developing an energy-management system that uses intelligent power-line networking to measure and control which home devices are consuming power.

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