How digitization can help boost sustainable development

Sustainability is one of the great challenges of today’s society and to achieve it, all available tools and efforts have been put on the table. This urgency comes at a stage in which new technologies have permeated a good part of the world’s social, economic and productive relations. Connecting this application with the need for energy efficiency is an idea that has begun to be applied in many sectors. In this scenario, training appears as a key factor and this is evident in the sustainable development master that opens new theoretical fields and its application in practice. The objective is to find answers to how digitization can help promote sustainable development and here we give some of them.

The improvement in productivity is one of the direct consequences of the application of technology in industry and this fact brings with it many advantages in terms of sustainability. In the closest sphere, the digital format has implied a noticeable reduction in the use of paper and the tools associated with it. The widespread use of the Internet has facilitated communications, which is why many messages and notifications arrive through this channel, without the need to resort to sending letters.

In a larger dimension, Digitization means savings in basic raw materials such as energy, water or oil, because with the same amount of resources much greater results can be obtained. All tasks are automated and controlled through computer programs, which seek the best decision in each case. The result is none other than the use of a smaller quantity of these goods, scarce in some cases.

Water, a key factor

At a local and regional level, from the perspective of the management carried out by Town Halls and Provincial Administrations, water management is one of the areas in which digitization has led to an improvement in sustainability. Technological tools allow organize the basic needs of a city or a region through more efficient management. In this way, the use of water is optimized and not a drop is lost. This idea is also applied in agriculture, through sophisticated irrigation organization systems. This notion is taken into account in the sustainability courses that bring the citizen closer to the search for real solutions to this problem.

Solar panels

The environment is favored by this new scenario, as companies can increase their production according to sustainability criteria. This benefit is also developed at a private level. The installation of photovoltaic panels to convert sunlight rays into energy is the best example and has only been made possible by the power of computing and technology. Whether they are citizens who carry out this type of installation in their homes or large companies, the consequence is tremendously positive, since it means a significant reduction in the use of non-renewable energy sources. The technique that allows this conversion, as well as the automation of the entire process, is obtained thanks to the digital format.