I know I wasn’t the only person who found some measure of irony in NY Fashion Week ending the day the Climate Week NYC events began last month. The two events remind us of the apparent tension and assumed trade-off between the creativity and materialism of today’s world and the challenge of securing a sustainable future for our planet. But, can the two coexist? Is there room for both a world of creative expression and materialism, and a sustainable, resource-efficient planet?
The answer is yes. But the key is making sustainable choices aspirational, at scale. As well as needing political will, we need to harness business’ innovation and marry that with our knowledge of how to influence consumer behavior so we encourage greater adoption of sustainable practices.
A better solution for the planet begins with imagining better solutions for the customer. Take the idea of connected living. Disruptive innovations, enabled by technology, are allowing people to lead better, more efficient lives. Look at Uber, ZipCar, Airbnb, Nest or PassivSystems. These companies are taking what’s “uncool” – thermostats, booking a car or finding a hotel - and making them aspirational. Consumers want to have these new “cool” technologies in their homes or on their favourites list.
Just as important as creating smarter, innovative new products and services is the ability to translate innovation in the supply chain into competitive advantage.
Last month we signed a £26m deal with solar energy supplier UK Sustainable Energy, to build the largest private UK solar farm to help power our Adastral Park research campus for the next 20 years. The solar farm is equivalent to around 40 football pitches, and contains more than 32,500 solar panels. When fully operational on a sunny day, it will produce 90% of site demand.
This means that the renewable energy we use to power our R&D at Adastral Park is now as sustainable as some of the innovative communications solutions coming out of it. Some of these new ideas include helping fashion retailers to become more efficient, using fewer natural resources, while at the same time enhancing the customer experience. One example of this is Clientelling, a cloud based solution, which is helping retailers to have intimate, face-to-face interactions with customers without the need for them to drive into town.
As technology and communications networks increase in size and energy intensity, decoupling carbon emissions and operational costs will become increasingly key to protecting the bottom-line, as will passing that value onto our customers in the form of new innovations which marry that creative expression and, yes, materialism, with sustainable living.
More from the BT partner zone
- The consumer spring is coming
- Cutting emissions through teleconferencing
- Research reveals social value of being online worth over £1,000 a year
Content on this page is paid for and provided by BT, supporter of the Technology and Innovation hub
