The so-called fourth industrial revolution must at this point be much more than the digitalization or automation of processes with the use of intelligent systems. It must also be the way to promote a new, more competitive economic model that puts people and caring for the planet at the center. Sustainability is the only answer to guarantee the future of new generations. You have to act quickly because time is running out.
Either we change or we change, there is no other option,” stressed Bernat Martínez, head of Business Development at The Overview Effect, the company accelerated by Minsait (Indra) that promotes the power of organizations to create solutions to the planet’s great challenges. Bernat Martínez was one of the speakers at a new session of ‘Dialogues in La Vanguardia’ on digitalization as a lever to promote sustainability, held in collaboration with Minsait, in which Maria Tarrés, head of Seat’s Sustainability Strategy, also participated. ; Carles Navarro, general director of the Iberia Region of BASF and president of the Sustainability Excellence Club, and Sira Martínez, Global IT
Technology, digitalization and sustainability are the three pillars of the future of companies, highlighted the person responsible for The Overview Effect, in a scenario in which two major trends have caused changes in known paradigms. On the one hand, planetary limits, which force us to change the way we understand the economy, processes and value chains. On the other hand, the covid pandemic, which in addition to putting emphasis on the social part of sustainability, led to a new way of working and selling.
“The current system of producing and consuming does not allow us to maintain the quality of life and the shared prosperity of this generation and the following ones,” said Carles Navarro, so, in his opinion, “we must change the system and do it urgently”, because time is running out.
Technology is the great ally to drive this new model along axes such as “decarbonization, circularity and regeneration,” summarized Bernat Martínez. Technology and digitalization, explained Maria Tarrés, are tools that allow processes to be made more efficient, to better monitor what is happening or to measure consumption to achieve the set objectives.
In this scenario, data is key, highlighted Sira Martínez. Companies are going to consume and process more and more data, which will allow traceability of the value chain or compare metrics between companies, which will help advance sustainability. Although this is the positive part, Esteve’s digital transformation director also recalled that there is a negative part and that is the high energy consumption required by these massive data analysis technologies. “We have to consider how to continue using these technologies, but improving this negative impact on sustainability, she concluded.
The Internet of Things (IoT), which has revolutionized factories, and artificial intelligence (AI) are other technologies that help on the path towards the necessary sustainability. Regarding AI, the speakers agreed that it has a long way to go and that it is unstoppable, which is why they advocated for regulation so that it is used correctly. “It has undeniable practical aspects, we use it every day, but we are in the hands of four or five companies that no one monitors or controls. And that is a risk,” said the BASF manager.
Sustainability is a path that companies are already taking. “It is no longer discussed, companies see that it adds value,” said Bernat Martínez, who also added that sustainability “generates opportunities and new business models.” Tarrés spoke in similar terms and, in reference to the automotive sector, in the midst of disruption, indicated that “the transformation towards electric mobility is a great opportunity to move towards more sustainable processes and achieve the desired goal of zero emissions.”
Although new generations declare themselves more aware of sustainability, they are not always willing, for example, to pay more for a sustainable product. In this sense, Navarro announced that BASF and Inditex have announced the launch of a Zara jacket made entirely of polyamide that comes exclusively from recycled polyamide of textile origin. “It will be the first in the world that has this feature. “It is perfect circularity,” he added. “What is going to happen with this product in the market? “Are consumers going to see that it is something that benefits them as a society or not?” He then noted. “Companies innovate and markets decide,” he concluded.
BASF, Seat and Esteve are decisively committed to sustainability, both in environmental, social and good governance matters with plans that affect the entire organization and its value chain. “The greater your impact on the carbon footprint and resource consumption, the more obligation you have to be committed to the solution,” said the BASF manager, while the head of Seat’s Sustainability Strategy highlighted the commitment to electrification of the company as the main lever for decarbonization. For her part, Esteve’s representative assured that her company has an advantage because its purpose has always been to “improve people’s lives, which conceptually is already a sustainable objective.”
The success of sustainability within companies is only possible if the entire organization is impregnated with the strategy. “The purchasing manager has to know about sustainability, just like the factory manager,” said Bernat Martínez, but not before stating that the task is not entirely simple because not everyone knows what sustainability is. “And it is understood, because it is a word that is saturated,” he reflected. Hence he advocated using the more understandable concept of “positive impact.” In his opinion, one way to enroll the organization is to “empower” the workers, involve them in the plans and give them a voice, something that Tarrés also agreed on. The person responsible for Seat’s Sustainability Strategy highlighted “the need to involve all people in this transformation process to achieve the objectives” and the importance of communication to raise awareness among the entire workforce. In Navarro’s opinion, CEOs must be clear about the company’s purpose. “Purpose is like a superpower; The moment it is clearly formulated, people believe it and act with unthinkable energy and capabilities. And this must be taken to the base of the company,” she stated.
Legislation also plays an important role. “Regulations push us,” said Sira Martínez, to remember that the pharmaceutical industry is a highly regulated sector. However, and despite highlighting this catalytic role of regulations, the speakers demanded clear regulation that listens to the different sectors. “For change to happen, there must be solid regulation. We also require stability and generate regulations based on technical, scientific and social criteria that avoid uncertainty,” commented Tarrés, who highlighted the need to have favorable regulation to accelerate electrification.
For his part, Navarro highlighted that the chemical industry, due to its characteristic of managing assets that have a certain risk, is subject to very strong scrutiny and, specifically, many regulations come from the EU that can constitute a true tsunami. Following this reflection, he recalled that the CEO of BASF comments on many occasions that in Europe there are 14,000 pages of regulation of the chemical industry, which will increase to 20,000 due to a new initiative of the European Green Deal. “And they are also standards that are not always based on technical or scientific criteria, perhaps because the European Commission itself does not have these specialists and they propose things that sometimes do not make sense,” he added, which is why he asked that they talk to the sector to make the changes hand in hand, without losing competitiveness and without jumping into the void.
The challenge is so great that, as Bernat Martínez stressed, companies cannot do it alone. Strategic alliances are essential, whether with companies in the value chain itself, from the same ecosystem or competitors. Or, as Esteve’s CIO highlighted, with startups. “Without the spirit of SDG 17, that of alliances, it is impossible to carry out things that really change the world,” Navarro concluded. “A clear example is the Future: Fast Forward project, led by Seat and the Volkswagen Group, in which we collaborate with more than 50 companies to make Spain a European electromobility hub,” highlighted Tarrés.
All speakers agreed that the direction to achieve the goal of sustainability is “good”, but “not the speed”. “Companies are making many efforts and large investments to transform ourselves. Perhaps the change seems very slow, but this process will accelerate and the measures we take now will have a great impact in the future,” said Tarrés. Navarro also assumed that there will be an exponential increase in speed, but warned that “these are incommensurable.” Either we all push in the same direction and all cross the finish line at the same time or the equation is going to become unbalanced. That is why we talk about a just transition,” concluded the president of the Club of Excellence in Sustainability.c
