WORK SMART// T E C H TA L KSTORY GLENN REESTECH TOOLSFOR A GREENERBUSINESSPhilips Hue systemWITH THE RI G H T TECH NO L O G Y, ORGA N I SAT I ON S CA N H E LP T H E E N V I RON M E N TAND S O CI ETY – AND A D D VA LUE TO T HE B US I N ES S, TOO.Businesses’ environmental and socialcredentials have become increasinglyimportant for consumers, employeesand investors.For example, nearly half of the Australianconsumers surveyed in a Mastercard studysay they actively avoid shopping at businessesthat don’t source their products sustainably.Results of the same study indicate that ofthe Australians either actively looking for orconsidering new employment, almost half saythey will not work for an employer that doesnot have an active sustainability plan in place.Environmental, social and governance(ESG) has quickly become an importantbusiness discipline – and there are rewardsfor companies that get it right.Investment in ESG-focused funds globallyhas more than doubled in two years,64 ITB June 2022according to Refinitiv Lipper data. Consumersentiment has been evolving, too – nearlythree-quarters of Australian consumerssurveyed by BBC World News are happy topay more for brands with strong sustainabilityand eco-friendly practices.In fact, McKinsey has identified severalways ESG can create value – including costreductions by cutting energy usage andwaste. Unlocking this value isn’t easy, butas with most modern business challenges,technology can help.OPTIMISE ENERGY USAGEStarting with the easier wins, even thesmallest business can save on its power billswith a few simple changes – such as installingLED light bulbs. Smart lighting systems suchas Philips Hue allow you to further reduceenergy usage by programming lights to turnon, off or dim, depending on human activity.With smart thermostats and air conditioningcontrollers from the likes of Tado, you canoptimise your heating and cooling basedon ambient temperatures, the time of dayand other factors.Smart home hubs such as Google Nest andAmazon Echo can centralise your control ofsmart lighting and other compatible devices.For larger businesses, the likes ofHoneywell and Schneider Electric offer smartroom controllers that can automate lightingand optimise heating, ventilating and airconditioning (HVAC) systems.These controllers can connect to a buildingmanagement system (BMS) that also canalso collect data from internet of things (IoT)sensors around new or retrofitted buildings.
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