How location intelligence can contribute to sustainability

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Sustainability is not just a buzzword to satisfy investors and customers. Business survival in a world increasingly threatened by extreme heat and weather is affecting consumer livelihoods, disrupting essential operations and stifling the supply of raw materials.

This is a concern shared by most leaders, especially those running successful businesses. In a Deloitte survey of more than 2,000 senior executives, 79% said the world was at a "tipping point" in its response to climate change. Only 59% had felt this just eight months earlier. Nonetheless, optimism that immediate action can limit the worst of climate change rose from 63% to 88%.

This immediate action involves consciously examining every business decision with a sustainability lens. And location intelligence reinforces that.

Large corporations and startups are using location intelligence to guide sustainability strategies and balance the competitive landscape.

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Carbon emissions from transportation account for 27% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, the most of any sector, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But this problem has a geographical solution.

Transport is responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions and much can be done to increase and shorten journeys. Moving a product from start to finish (and back again) by tractor-trailer, cargo plane or railroad while traveling the fewest miles possible can seem like an unwieldy challenge. But smarter routing powered by modern location intelligence can save time and money.

The key is to have access to the most accurate and up-to-date fundamental maps, and then sometimes follow unconventional routes. For example, a leading company that handles the daily delivery of 19 million packages discovered that just one mile can make a difference of $50 million.

By adding satellite imagery and other key data, executives can better understand raw material sources and determine if suppliers are operating sustainably. Knowing the chain of custody of a product, including the components that make it up, helps companies recover from supply chain disruptions and transparently show their impact on the environment.

This knowledge can extend to the journey of a product, including its reuse. Plastics are increasingly being recycled for new uses - including for packaging and the products themselves - but many tons of plastics still end up in landfills. Tracking plastic waste shipments from place to place, for example, can show where the plastics go and what happens to them.

Take almost any industry, add "precision", and chances are it uses