Nokia Network Resiliency Drives Sustainability, Business Goals

An intelligent and resilient network foundation that connects people, things, and processes is vital for companies pursing environmental and business sustainability, according to Nokia‘s Jochen Apel, global VP of transportation, manufacturing, and energy and resources. An intelligent and resilient network foundation that connects people, things, and processes is vital for companies pursing environmental and business sustainability, according to Nokia‘s Jochen Apel, global VP of transportation, manufacturing, and energy and resources. Financial and sustainability goals can no longer be separated from one another as the elaborate relationships between people, processes, and machines increasingly impact both environmental sustainability and business performance, Apel explained in a blog post. Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark echoed this sentiment during his keynote address at MWC this year by urging that “there is no green without digital,” further identifying the links between being successful in the digital world and being sustainable. The secret, according to Apel, is to manage and optimize those complex relationships with an intelligent communications network, cloud capabilities, and digital apps. And this explains “why more and more companies are turning to digitalization strategies to help achieve both sustainability and business targets,” he said. The network is the core component of digitalization, providing critical connectivity and cloud services at a single site, between campuses, and end-to-end through the value chain. Specifically, Apel cited industrial-grade private wireless, mission critical IP and MPLS, optical, and fixed access networks as key ways companies can expand the reach of sustainability tools throughout their operations. This might look like using IoT sensors for emissions and temperature monitoring or logistics and data sharing, or employing artificial intelligence (AI) systems to optimize transportation and reduce fuel consumption, he explained. Apel touted Nokia’s digitalization efforts in agriculture — an industry that accounts for 11% of global CO2 emissions — with vertical urban farming company AeroFarms. The partnership is founded on Nokia’s AI plant vision tech that uses “integrated machine vision and machine learning to identify and track how plants interact and affect each other,” Apel explained. That data is then supported with Nokia’s private wireless connectivity. This tech allows AeroFarms, which grows and harvests food closer to its point of consumption, to produce almost 400 times more food than a traditional farm while using 95% less water and avoiding the use of harmful pesticides, according to the company. Environmental sustainability is also just good business, noted Apel. “With the right connectivity and digital technologies, sustainability measures also become business enhancers,” he wrote. This is done by accelerating and optimizing logistics operations to do more with the same — or fewer — resources, he said, referencing Nokia’s partnership with shipping giant DHL to develop smart warehousing solutions. For example, actions like decreasing vehicle idling time, integrating smart lighting in industrial operations, and monitoring environmental condition data in real-time all focus on sustainability while still making good business sense.