Today, the primary sustainability capabilities of IoT are energy reduction, emissions monitoring and water preservation. These large-impact features seem a far cry from the early days of IoT and indicate just how far the technology has come. 

Here are some case studies of sustainable IoT in action:

Energy

Reducing energy use gives companies a multitude of benefits - lower costs, predictable supply and ESG goal reach. 

For companies like Zuellig Pharma, reducing energy use in large warehouse operations means finding opportunities in every corner of inventory management. For example, in their connected warehouse, IoT devices are powered by 5G, meaning the high-speed, low-latency network prevents device downtime and ensures optimal usage. 

Precise inventory monitoring and picking also means worker time is optimised, and the large space is cooled and heated only when the workers need to be in the warehouse. 

Emissions

Shipping company Stolt Tankers uses IoT sensors to monitor CO2 emissions and nudge seafarers into taking action to reduce output. The result is predicted to bring a 5% fuel reduction across the whole fleet, in turn bringing high-cost savings for the company.²

Now that Singapore has signed a partnership agreement with the city of Los Angeles to reduce the environmental impact of shipping, companies like Stolt Tankers look set to be leaders in this new era of sustainable logistics.³

Water

Although the impact of carbon emissions on the world is well known, waterways, soil and air are equally critical to health and equality. 

Agriculture is particularly attuned to the impact of water preservation as the sector is the highest user of freshwater, accounting for 70% of all global, freshwater withdrawals.⁴ Its dependence on water, alongside increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, makes the need for preservation urgent to the success of agricultural businesses. 

Grape producers in Quzhou County, China have been using IoT technologies to solve these issues. As a sensitive crop with high water needs, grapes need precision and consistent water supplies, and IoT can offer a suite of solutions. By collecting moisture data from the soil and triggering a drip irrigation system, farmers can reduce water use by a third. IoT sensors also measure humidity levels to reduce fungicide use.⁵

The ideal networks for IoT devices are not one-size-fits-all and pursuing this single network concept is likely where sustainable IoT fell short in its initial development stages. In contrast, RedCap technology is a 5G radio technology designed with IoT in mind, particularly mid-tier devices such as environmental and industrial sensors. Using technologies such as these enables companies to take environmental measurements with 5G’s low-power, low emission, network running in the background.

Whereas technological advancements are typically about added complexity and power, sustainable IoT is all about simple, low-power solutions for the greatest gains. SIM to SIM IoT applications is one of these solutions. Able to manage the form factors needed for IoT, SIM to SIM allows owners to see a real-time view of all devices in use. For companies like Anywheel, this gives them a new level of optimisation where they can see which units are in use, when they need to be replenished and what the overall usage hours are. This allows them to scale up and down their business without guesswork or associated wastage of commissioning units that won’t be used. 

For true sustainability, IoT must be deployed with efficiency as its primary objective. It must also build these efficiencies without increasing the need for new devices. One way to achieve this is to use IoT devices for multiple use cases and consider the product life cycle of each unit. This allows the long-term benefit to be mapped and puts a stop to purchases that will not bring year-on-year benefits.

Also emerging as a key player in sustainable IoT is the combined power of 5G and MEC. While 5G provides a low-power usage network, MEC frees devices to do more computing on the edge and data processing, in turn, also saving power. 

To make sustainable IoT deployment a reality, companies need a broad view of where efficiencies can be gained and where a new product is unnecessary. Partnering with an experienced sustainable tech provider gives an overhead view of where IoT will benefit business and planet.

Singtel supports sustainable IoT deployment. Talk to us about tech-enabled sustainability for your business: