New ABB study on industrial transformation unveils critical relationship between digitalisation and sustainability

The study, ‘Billions of better decisions: industrial transformation’s new imperative’, examines the current take-up of the industrial internet of things (IoT) and its potential for improving energy efficiency, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and driving change. The goal of the new ABB research is to spur discussion within industry regarding opportunities to leverage the industrial IoT and empower companies and workers to make better decisions that can benefit both sustainability and the bottom line.

“Sustainability goals more and more are a crucial driver of business value and company reputation, and Industrial IoT solutions are playing an increasingly important role in helping enterprises achieve safe, smart and sustainable operations,” said Peter Terwiesch, President of ABB’s Process Automation business area. “Unlocking insights hidden in operational data holds the key to enabling literally billions of better decisions throughout industry and acting upon them, with significant gains in productivity, reduced energy consumption and lower environmental impact.”

The study, commissioned by ABB, found that an organisation’s ‘future competitiveness’ is the single greatest factor – cited by 46% of respondents – in industrial companies’ increased focus on sustainability. Yet while 96% of global decision-makers view digitalisation as ‘essential to sustainability’, only 35% of surveyed firms have implemented industrial IoT solutions at scale. This gap shows that while many of today’s industrial leaders recognise the important relationship between digitalisation and sustainability, the adoption of relevant digital solutions to enable better decisions and achieve sustainability goals needs to accelerate in sectors like manufacturing, energy, buildings and transport.

Key learnings from the study

• 94% percent of respondents agreed the industrial IoT ‘enables better decisions, improving overall sustainability’.
• 72% of companies are increasing investment in industrial IoT specifically to address sustainability aims.
• 72% said they are ‘somewhat’ or ‘significantly’ increasing spending on industrial IoT due to sustainability.
• 71% of respondents reported greater priority given to sustainability objectives as a result of the pandemic.
• 57% percent of respondents indicated the industrial IoT has had a ‘significant positive effect’ on operational decision-making.
• Perceived cybersecurity vulnerabilities are the largest barrier to improving sustainability through the industrial IoT.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/special-reports/08022022/new-abb-study-on-industrial-transformation-unveils-critical-relationship-between-digitalisation-and-sustainability/