Over the decades lot of damage has been done to our planet and a major contributing factor is pollution. The balance of the earth’s atmosphere has been disturbed by the rapid population growth, fast urbanization, drastic increase in vehicles on roads, and rapid industrialization. All these factors affect the quality of climate and this climatic change is caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The emission of greenhouse gases causes global warming, which is one of the biggest environmental problems facing the world today.

According to a study conducted by a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the flow of products to consumers makes up about six percent of all greenhouse gases generated by humans. Another study by CDP—an NGO based in the UK, reveals that supply chains can account for  four times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions out of a business’s direct operations, while a Eurostat report shows transportation as the second highest emitter of global greenhouses gases.

To add to the above, the World Economic Forums reports that the carbon footprint of the logistics and transport sector is over 2,500 mega-tones, with road freight being the biggest contributor at around 57%. All these stats point towards one thing which is the need for sustainability initiatives.

The need for IoT solutions

Sustainability initiatives are good for all; they lead to costs savings and improved reputation, are appreciated by investors and consumers, and they help preserve the planet. In recent years, sustainability initiatives have gained momentum. One such initiative is the use of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to monitor C02 emissions for greener environments.

Unless you have systems to measure them, you cannot improve or lower the C02 or carbon emission generated by your business. To identify where in your supply chain or business C02 are concentrated and develop, you need quality metrics. But, measuring C02 emission across the supply chain is challenging to say the least. A complex task, monitoring CO2 emission can consume a lot of your time and resources unless you use an IoT solution.

By enabling them to track and measure the environmental impact of each process in their supply chain, IoT solutions allow businesses to lower the greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chain. Also, since the IoT solutions can easily integrate with smart phone technology, you will be able to find out if a area or work site is responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by your business. This in turn will allow you to deal with a problem area/work suite to reduce the C02 emissions generated in your supply chain or by your business.