165 operators on the factory floor, which creates a sense of pride and buy in for the strategy from the corporate suite.” Crucially, today’s technology offers capabilities beyond that available in previous years, as cloud technologies become more widely spread throughout the industry. “Today’s technology has the capacity for scale, which wasn’t the case 10 years ago,” says Dobbrow. “We’re able to look through all the variables that influence efficient production at the same time to develop an optimal process. This has the knock-on effect of reducing material and energy consumption, removing waste, and improving quality, all of which are important goals for achieving sustainability.” Among some manufacturers, however, concerns about data safety within the cloud is limiting their progress to full adoption of the technology. “For me, cloud adoption is the next big hurdle,” says Newman. “Manufacturers need to get past the perception that data is safer within their walls, so that they are not only deploying the cloud but also using it to its full potential. Using the capabilities of cloudbased technologies to their fullest will provide them with the information they need to make informed decisions and improve sustainability.” In 2021, Microsoft launched a specific cloud offering, Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, to help companies measure, understand and take charge of their emissions, set sustainability goals and take measurable action. Newman highlights the focus on actionable insights as a significant advantage of the offering. “The fact that Microsoft is focusing on making sustainability more practical through the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability is very important,” he says. “Lots of companies have sustainability programmes, but this platform is helping those ambitions actually happen.” With the need to reduce environmental impact only set to become more pressing in the next few years, Dobbrow is optimistic that organisations are invested in making progress. “Companies like Augury, together with Microsoft, can bring our purpose-built applications to the cloud environment to show companies the value of pushing sustainability KPIs,” says Dobbrow. “Businesses we are talking with are asking how our platform can impact sustainability, so we’re starting to see attitudes progress in this area. The key thing for any organisation is to get started now.” I NDU S T R I A L S & MANU FAC TUR I NG “ Organisations [must] pay more attention to sustainability and back it up with serious action” JAMES NEWMAN, AUGURY
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=