From energy use and asset management to the workplace experience, smart buildings use AI-enabled intelligence to reduce costs and turn sustainability goals into operational outcomes.
The Fortune 2018 Change the World list features 57 companies that are doing well by doing good. These businesses are trying to fix big problems and make money while doing it. That’s right, it’s not a list about charity (though many of these companies also have charitable efforts). It’s about how business—one of the most scalable and sustainable engines we know of—is using its resources and expertise to tackle the biggest challenges. In recent years, more companies are taking steps to try to solve large-scale social issues; it’s a trend that’s not likely to slow down.
In the US, we hear a lot about how technology is disrupting inefficient, entrenched systems. Usually, this conjures up images of mature, large businesses being taken by surprise by new, agile startups.
Bloomberg’s new European headquarters has been named the UK’s best new building the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) after an expert jury reached a “unanimous” decision. The prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize was awarded at a televised ceremony in London where the judges called the building a “once-in-a-generation project” that has “not just raised the bar for office design and city planning but smashed the ceiling.”
The challenge of ending poverty for the world’s 3.7 billion poor is larger than any one entity can solve. Crucially, this task also presents a market opportunity so large that there is more than enough work for all active stakeholders to engage in. More than ever before, digital technology is making these opportunities easier to harness.
Just a decade ago, emergency medicine did not exist in Tanzania. Patients waited hours for the most basic life-saving care. Today, East Africa’s first-ever emergency room and emergency medicine residency training program save thousands of lives, every year.
There is no natural gas pipeline that extends anywhere near Chapleau or the Borden site, so the team had to find a solution for heating fuel to warm the air underground during colder months.
Propane was the expensive go-to consideration. Biomass such as refuse from the forestry industry was briefly considered but would require significant traffic on site and it was not sure if it could economically compete with propane. Liquified Natural Gas was another option looked at quite extensively, though that required both a significant site footprint and government funding to become a reality. The team felt strongly about finding solution that was going to be even better for the environment and be cost efficient as well.
Underground mining tools usually include a mix of mechanical and pneumatic tools such as handheld jacklegs and stoper drills. Mechanical equipment such as bolters can now be operated remotely keeping the operator at a safe distance from hazards in the work area. Hand-held tools require cumbersome connections to water and compressed air to function and are heavy to lift, making them difficult to maneuver at the risk of musculoskeletal injuries to the worker. Pressurized air and water lines underground can also be a risk as they age and deteriorate in underground conditions, faulty valves on compressed air lines have caused serious accidents in the industry.
With worker safety in mind, Borden has banned the use of jacklegs and stopers, which are pneumatic hand tools.
Worker health and safety is of the utmost importance at Goldcorp and air quality is a high priority in underground operations. Ventilation fans, air ducts, and infrastructure such as fresh air intake raises, are necessary to distribute fresh air, and as a result are indispensable to ensure the health, safety and comfort of anyone working underground. However, as mine development progresses deeper, costs rise as it takes more effort to deliver quality air.
To conserve energy and save money without compromising safety and air quality, Borden has implemented a Ventilation on Demand (VoD) system.
Despite the convenience of instantaneous food delivery or the wonder of flying cars, we should not lose sight of the tremendous social change powered by today’s technology advances. Drones and autonomous systems, for example, are creating unforeseen opportunity to make a positive impact in the world.
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