AI-driven technologies can be harnessed for climate action and significantly improve environmental and market performance, according to the findings of a new study, co-authored by UNSW's Institute for Climate Risk and Response.
The fast fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world. Employing about 75 million people and valued at more than $2.5 trillion (A$3.8 trillion), it is responsible for about 10 per cent of global carbon emissions.
A study co-authored by UNSW highlights the potential of AI to mitigate climate impact quickly. AI-powered climate services solutions improve energy efficiency, emissions reductions and market competitiveness. Bangladesh's textile sector, a major player, can benefit from these innovations, improving both environmental and market performance.
The study, “Unlocking the Power of Artificial Intelligence for Climate Action in Industrial Markets,” was co-authored by an international team of researchers, including lead author Professor Shahriar Akter, Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Business and University Law. of Wollongong, and Professor David Grant, Senior Deputy Director of UNSW's Climate Risk and Response Institute.
“Due to AI's unique ability to collect, integrate and interpret large data sets, our proposed AI framework provides a data-driven approach to addressing climate risks, focusing on the environment, infrastructure and market of a viable and systematic way,” he explained. Actress.
“The findings of our study have demonstrated enormous potential to help companies achieve emissions-related targets and meet their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions-related reporting and assurance obligations, as defined.” in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol of the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. (2004),” Grant said.
Bangladeshi manufacturers are renowned for their exports all over the world. They produce most of the clothing for leading fast fashion brands such as Primark, Nike, H&M and others in 150 countries. In recent years, consumers and governments have put pressure on these brands to reduce the emissions and environmental impact of their global supply chains.
“H&M has committed to a 56 percent reduction in emissions and 100 percent renewable electricity in its supply chain and operations by 2030. An increasing number of clothing brands, such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Next, They also require their supplier factories to be green, meeting environmental and safety standards,” Grant said.
“AI-driven climate services solutions are technologies such as big data and machine learning that can reduce routine, repetitive, simple and standardized tasks,” Professor Grant explained. “These include measuring emissions, calculating the carbon footprint of individual products, identifying risk factors, forecasting demand to reduce waste and climate education.”
In their study, the researchers surveyed 211 managers of manufacturing companies in Bangladesh with at least one year of experience using basic AI-powered climate services solutions. The findings showed that companies employing AI-driven climate service innovation models improved energy efficiency, reduced emissions, and increased renewable energy sources.
“AI-driven innovations in climate services can enable companies to adopt innovations that reduce the environmental impact of their business activities while improving energy and material efficiency and managing climate-related risks and opportunities,” Grant added.
Emissions from the global fast fashion industry are estimated to soar by 60 percent by 2030. “AI-driven innovation in climate services can improve environmental performance in terms of energy efficiency, waste reduction, optimal consumption of natural resources and sustainable ecological design. . Better environmental performance can also improve market performance by allowing companies to access new markets, secure new sales opportunities and generate more revenue,” Akter added.
In the document, “environmental performance” refers to an organization's performance related to pollution control, and market performance refers to the degree to which AI-powered climate solutions improve profitability and competitive advantage.
“We show the significant impact of AI-driven climate innovations in the fast fashion industry on two key indicators of business performance: environmental and market performance. We demonstrate that environmental performance can substantially impact market performance when a company has strong AI-driven climate service innovation capabilities. We also found that focusing solely on environmental orientation is insufficient, and researchers need to explore various technological and market dynamics to understand what constitutes more sustainable innovation in this area,” Akter explained.
“A key feature of the model discussed in the document is that it points out how AI can improve the company's environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and credentials, as well as market performance in terms of productivity, efficiency, assurance of quality and global competitiveness. AI can improve a company's long-term sustainability, growth and profitability. In short, investing in AI makes business sense,” Grant concluded.
