What can businesses do with new types of actionable environmental intelligence, and how valuable is it? In 2021, here’s all you need to know about leveraging environmental data as a company.
As the effects on the environment become more critical, collecting and analysing ecological data becomes essential for making commercial and operational choices. Organisations may examine ways to remain environmentally compliant, become more efficient, and thus save money by looking at contaminants, emissions, and other waste emitted. Multiple agencies aid corporates with environmental data services to achieve the same.
What is Environmental Data?
Environmental intelligence/data is all measurements or information characterising environmental processes, locations, and situations; ecological or health effects and repercussions; environmental technology performance. The data can tell about the present environmental conditions or can be a prediction of future environmental conditions.
Environmental Intelligence (EI) is a technologically driven process that uses data, analytical tools, and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide enterprises with predictive modelling, real-time visualisations, and actionable insights. The EI industry is growing as one in which technology meets real-world challenges. It is poised to grow as issues like climate change, pollution, global warming, waste disposal, loss of biodiversity are dominating public attention.
Familiar Sources of Acquiring Environmental Data
Several national and international institutions collect and categorise a wide range of raw environmental data for public use. Ecological monitoring technologies are adopted by governments, agencies, and scientific groups to set emission limits, report on pollution levels, conservation efforts, sustainable water management, and even measure economic repercussions. The data may be collected from air pollution monitoring stations and pollen monitoring stations and by taking water & soil samples, monitoring wildlife species & vegetation, oceanography surveys, geological maps, and traffic observations.
What Data Should Be Monitored and Why?
All businesses should monitor their environmental performance in some way, whether it is a requirement of an Environmental Permit or effluent permit, a component of your Environmental Management System, or simply good practice. The resolution, frequency, and kind of data gathered will be determined by regulatory requirements and the purpose of data collection.
The creation of products and services necessitates energy and resources derived from the environment, such as metals, minerals, water, food, and fibre. The effects of resource extraction, production, transportation, usage, and waste creation are critical to understanding how economic activity influences environmental conditions and trends.
What are the Benefits of Monitoring Environmental Data?
Effective monitoring and analysing of environmental data include many benefits for the organisation, such as:
- Cost reduction and improved productivity
- Risk reduction
- Environmental performance
- Boosting brand image
Understanding the connections between economic activity, social well-being, and environmental deterioration is crucial for ensuring a sustainable future. Understanding how ecosystem alteration, resource extraction, production, consumption, and waste disposal influence the health and resilience of natural capital is vital.
According to research, Australia is developing a two-speed market. With many organisations unfamiliar with EI, Australia has the third-highest rate of employing EI and one of the highest adoption rates of sophisticated digital technologies in the area.
Conclusion
Australia is at the forefront of developing solutions and knowledge in EI. Addressing the absence or insufficiency of required skills in-house, and thus depending on technology suppliers with demonstrated scientific competence, is a significant growth area for Australia. It is here that environmental data services play a crucial role.
The power of digitising environmental management is enormous. Australia is at the vanguard of this relentless drive toward EI, with some of the world’s top brains working on new technologies and innovation.
