Irish AI platform to help combat climate change
An Irish-developed AI platform has been launched with the aim of giving businesses and individuals the tools to map their impact on the environment.
Created by software entrepreneur Donal Daly and sustainability supply chain expert Ingrid De Doncker, Future Planet is a cloud-based platform maps out, and builds, a company’s sustainability journey, defining target outcomes and enabling an actionable plan.
Traditionally, sustainability consultancy firms take on average six weeks to deliver in-depth analysis. However, Future Planet said it will reduce this to less than a day – saving time and resources.
The team have also launched a free personal carbon footprint app for the general public and employees working from home to assess their own CO2 emissions. This will mean companies can include their team’s homeworking in their emissions calculations.
With the country’s first carbon budget due to be announced and the gathering of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), major changes are imminent to everyday lives to bring climate change under control. Ireland has made a commitment to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a 51% reduction by 2030. This requires a reduction of at least 7% per annum.
“Businesses have a crucial role in meeting the net-zero target by reducing their own emissions,” said Daly. “Almost 70 of Ireland’s largest companies have publicly signed The Low Carbon Pledge, committing to recording and reducing their carbon footprint. This is an encouraging start, but more need to get onboard. Tighter mandatory restrictions for businesses on emissions are inevitable. If not outlined at the upcoming COP26, they will be developed in the near future.
“The stakes are real for companies. Outside of climate change being a collective crisis for humankind, failure to have carbon targets in place can impact access to capital, the ability to attract new investors, retain customer loyalty and also affect attracting top talent. However, the challenge for many businesses is that they see corporate climate action as being both costly and complicated. Our mission is to be part of the solution, making it easier for companies to build a clear roadmap that will help them define and achieve their sustainability targets while delivering their commercial goals.”
The software has synthesised 30 main sustainability challenges that companies face into an easily understood structure. It incorporates knowledge relating to the main reference bodies and ratings agencies such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and other key global standards.
De Doncker added: “The software dramatically removes barriers for responsible business leaders who are trying to deliver sustainability projects but who struggle because of a lack of time or knowledge. Through assessment, individual journeys, and reporting, the platform discovers a company’s sustainability maturity, calculates a score, and builds an instant report to create a transformation plan. This lets all stakeholders know the actions they need to take to improve and meet their targets.”
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