Sustainability is the top priority for all businesses today, with many Europe-based companies vowing to strive for net-zero emissions by 2050. Unfortunately, Accenture found that just 9% of companies are on track to hit this target. Fortunately, digital twins and AI provide organisations with the opportunity to significantly accelerate their efforts and achieve these goals.
Digital twins simulate and model complex scenarios and help companies identify effective ways to reduce energy consumption and reach their sustainability objectives. They are currently used to create models of the heart, lungs and other organs to enhance healthcare and provide oil-drilling companies with real-time guidance. As digital twin security and modelling capabilities have advanced, energy companies, healthcare providers, manufacturers and other industrial facilities have increased their use of the technology to gain unprecedented insights into their operations.
AI can be combined with digital twins to gain even greater understanding of a system’s cause and effect. Companies can use AI-augmented digital twins to run simulations and explore “what-if” scenarios. Businesses in a variety of industries are beginning to reap the benefits of digital twins and AI, using them to get a comprehensive view of their operations and reduce their environmental impact.
In the energy industry, digital twins are used to simulate and model scenarios to optimise operations and measure their carbon footprints. Cities can deploy digital twins and AI to better outline their development plans and test the effects of their actions to reduce energy waste and meet their sustainability goals. Smart buildings are also utilizing digital twins equipped with AI to design and build infrastructure with sustainability in mind from the get-go.
Accenture are pioneering the use of digital twins and AI to promote sustainability, encouraging smarter and more holistic solutions for organisations and cities to reach their sustainability goals. Their efforts to pioneer technologies to help us transition to a more sustainable future are offering real solutions in recent years and we look forward to more in the years to come.
