Digitisation and automation are empowering agriculture and manufacturing towards sustainability and greater operational efficiency, according to technology giant Siemens.
Joseph Kong, head of digital industries at Siemens Thailand, said the shift to sustainability is taking place now and companies as well as countries need to urgently follow this trend as regulations are changing to facilitate net-zero commitments.
Thailand set a goal to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
The focus on sustainability is also in response to the growing demand for clean energy and water from an increasing global population amid limited supply.
There is a major shift towards sustainable packaging and consumer trends from millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha (teenagers and children), who place high value on non-wasteful and healthy food, said Mr Kong.
He cited a study by global consultancy Accenture that found companies that pursue value driven by sustainability and digital technology are 2.5 times more likely to be among tomorrow's strongest businesses.
The industrial sector is the main producer of CO2 emissions, accounting for 30% of the total, while 38% of global energy is consumed by industries, but only 13% of all global waste is recycled.
"If we can reduce the industrial production carbon footprint by 1%, it means 70 million tonnes less of CO2 emissions per year. That is almost one-third of CO2 emissions from Thailand in 2022," said Mr Kong.
He said as the industrial sector faces economic volatility, supply chain disruptions and a skilled labour shortage, the adoption of digital technology is crucial to drive their operations and ensure a sustainable future in response to climate change.
The food and beverage industry is one of the key sectors facing production and environmental challenges because of the growing global population. Food production and packaging account for 30% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and consume about 70% of the world's freshwater supply, said Mr Kong.
In Thailand, the food and beverage industry plays a critical role in the economy. By combining the real and digital worlds via "digital twin" technology, industry can shift to digital transformation and overcome sustainability challenges, he said.
A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical product or process, used to understand and predict the physical counterpart's performance characteristics.
As part of digital twin technology, the Internet of Things will gather data from business operations and its information technology, while cloud computing and related software will enable the flow of information from the real world and the digital world to enable digital twin users to gain a holistic view of sustainability along their value chain, said Mr Kong.
"Global beverage and local liquor firms are among the top customers of the digital twin system in Thailand," he said.
Mr Kong said agriculture is shifting towards sustainability as climate change affects production yields. One trend is controlled-environment agriculture through vertical farming.
By growing food in high-tech, controlled-environment facilities, farmers can avoid some of the problems associated with traditional agriculture, such as high water usage, soil degradation and the impact of unpredictable weather conditions.
Vertical farming is revolutionising food production towards sustainability by minimising water usage (95% less water compared with traditional farming), maximising productivity (300 times more produce per square foot), reducing carbon footprint and generating less waste.
This solution operates on 100% renewable energy and eliminates the need for pesticides, according to Siemens.
Sascha Maennl, senior director for factory automation sales in Asia-Pacific at Siemens, said by using artificial intelligence, cloud and edge computing, and 5G wireless technology, companies can empower industrial automation and vertical farming.
The technologies can also solve the labour shortage in farming, while robot harvesting is in the pipeline, said Siemens.
