Green IoT: Sustainability via the Internet of Things

The year is 2050, the climate crisis has been overcome and CO₂ emissions have been minimised. Instead of coal-fired power plants or nuclear reactors, the electricity for Europe's smart grids comes exclusively from wind and hydroelectric power from northern Europe, biomass from central Europe and solar power from Italy, Spain and Greece. The industry has completely reorganised its processes and switched to entirely new production methods based on the use of climate-neutral hydrogen. Organic food and food from sustainable agriculture are a matter of course and the combustion engine in vehicles has had its day.

What sounds like a distant utopia is already on the political and economic agenda. With the Climate Programme 2030 and the new Climate Protection Act - keyword: energy transition - the German government wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 300 million tonnes, thereby mitigating global warming and becoming climate-neutral by 2045. The EU Green Deal, which has a budget of 1.8 trillion euros, is intended to smooth the transition to a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy. The goals: A 55 per cent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and zero net greenhouse gases by 2050.

In order to achieve these goals, politicians are relying on regulatory interventions that increasingly penalise climate-damaging business activities and reward sustainability in return. Companies must therefore take action in order to be able to fulfil future requirements. Many companies are therefore currently reorganising their production or prefer to focus on developing new, environmentally friendly business models. The aim is to reduce their carbon footprint or even operate in a climate-neutral way.

But not only because of the political requirements: Companies have recognised that customers and business partners are also paying more attention to the sustainability of products and services. As studies show, sustainability is already a decisive purchasing criterion for two thirds of people - and the trend is rising. Corporate social responsibility and sustainability issues are becoming a decisive success factor, for example, when it comes to attracting and retaining the millennial generation as customers. B2B customers also have high expectations of their suppliers when it comes to making the entire supply chain sustainable. Investors are also striving for net zero and see sustainability as an increasingly important criterion. Companies must therefore fulfil the requirements of different stakeholder groups. The advantage: sustainability is changing from a cost factor to a competitive advantage and is becoming part of the brand identity and product design.

The Internet of Things (IoT) makes an important contribution to sustainability in Industry 4.0. This is because an IoT application not only increases efficiency: Resources are used more sparingly, journeys are reduced and with them CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption, production and transport become more climate-friendly - in other words, exactly what customers are demanding today.

Half of the 300 million tonnes of greenhouse gas required by the German government can be saved in manufacturing, mobility, the building industry and other sectors (see graphic). In supply chains, for example, a lack of transparency is often a problem: goods spoil because their condition during transport is not known. A good example of how IoT makes transport and logistics more sustainable is Quehenberger Logistics. The company uses an IoT platform and the cloud to monitor the condition of goods along the supply chain: if a container equipped with IoT sensors containing sensitive medicines is left at a location for too long and the temperature rises to an alarming level, the solution sounds the alarm. Those responsible can initiate countermeasures immediately. Fewer rejects means fewer replacement deliveries - and therefore less traffic and CO₂ emissions as well as more efficient use of resources.

A lack of transparency is also a challenge for the manufacturing industry, for example when it comes to machine maintenance. Cloud-based IoT solutions use networked sensors to continuously collect and analyse machine operating data. Thanks to predictive maintenance, faults become visible before they affect the performance of an appliance or lead to failure. The manufacturer rectifies many faults remotely and maintenance journeys are only made when necessary. Machines last longer, customer service saves costs for vehicles and fuel. As with Ziehl-Abegg: By networking its fans, the manufacturer reduces downtime and service costs for its customers. A sustainability plus.

Natural resources are valuable and scarce, efficient utilisation is essential - and transparency about usage is also important for this. Smart metering, i.e. the use of intelligent energy consumption meters, provides a remedy here and also enables consumption to be optimised. A practical example: The Spanish company Hidroconta has connected its measuring devices to the cloud in order to control and view plantation irrigation and water consumption online. The IoT devices are equipped with embedded SIMs from Telekom. Thanks to the global NB-IoT coverage, the water meters in the most remote locations are networked even without a power supply. Advantages: The devices can be controlled remotely, water consumption is reduced, resources are saved - and costs are also reduced.

From responsible global purchasing of raw materials, green logistics and production conditions to packaging, sales and marketing: there is potential for measures to save CO₂ and operate more sustainably for the climate in all areas of the company. Meetings via video conference instead of on-site meetings, a company car fleet with e-cars and company bikes, choosing an electricity provider with a view to renewable energies - the possibilities are numerous.

With #GreenMagenta, Deutsche Telekom has launched an initiative to recognise the company's particularly sustainable products, services and initiatives: If recycled material is used, the packaging is biodegradable or the product is particularly energy-efficient, it receives the "#GreenMagenta" label. A good example of this is the end device cycle for smartphones: the Bonn-based company takes back its customers' old devices and either refurbishes them or recycles the smartphone's raw materials. Under the label, the telecommunications provider offers customers and business partners targeted products and services with ecological and social added value. By operating sustainably and more efficiently, Deutsche Telekom can not only fulfil the increased expectations of its customers, but also differentiate itself from the competition, fulfil its social responsibility and achieve its ambitious climate targets.

With #GoodMagenta, Deutsche Telekom has launched another initiative: The label recognises projects and initiatives that stand out for their social and societal commitment in the digital world. The two labels support companies in implementing their sustainability goals and make it easier to fulfil regulatory requirements in the area of sustainability. TÜV Rheinland has officially validated and certified the entire award process for Telekom's two sustainability labels 2024.