Increasing urbanisation has increased the demand for consumption, production and energy. Asia’s urban population is expected to grow by another 50 per cent, or by an additional 1.2 billion people, by 2050.
At the crux of this growth, we see the impact on the region’s transport, housing, and energy infrastructures. The rise in cities brings major sustainability challenges, with cities consuming 75 percent of global energy and contributing 70 percent of global carbon emissions, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and UNEP.
The speed of urbanisation brings about major challenges to the region’s climate, such as rising temperatures, sea levels and extreme floods. This increasingly threatens infrastructure across cities, along with pollution, sanitation, and housing issues. The urgency of the matter lies in how Asia can continue to advance with its urbanisation ambitions, but at the same time, protect the quality of life of their citizens. In fact, according to the UN-Habitat, 1 billion urban residents across Asia may face high or extreme hazards by 2030.
To address Asia’s sustainability challenges and impact, we are seeing greater collaborations and initiatives driven by both the public and private sectors, ranging from regulatory and policy implementations led by the governments to investments and innovation commitments from the private sector. What aligns across these sectors is the role that technology increasingly plays in driving innovative and sustainable infrastructure solutions that make more efficient use of data, energy, space, budgets, and time.
Driving sustainability with optimising network operational efficiency
For Asia to continue its smart cities aspirations, the region will have to be built on ubiquitous, high-performance, reliable connectivity – the fourth utility that will power cities, infrastructures and buildings.
Central to driving sustainability in smart cities is having access to accurate, real-time energy consumption data. Enterprises and governments are equipped to take action if they know how, where, and when energy is used in buildings or facilities. Sensors deployed in buildings, enabled by the latest wired and wireless network infrastructure, can power that data gathering and be used to transform buildings into greener, more sustainable spaces.
Across Asia, as more people are moving into cities, we are also seeing the development of diverse sectors and economies as a result of urbanisation. For Asia to be better at responding to evolving sustainability challenges, reliable and robust connectivity has to be in place to support real-time data collection and smarter actions.
Enhance operational efficiency and productivity across manufacturing and logistics
Asia is home to the world's largest manufacturing hub, which, unfortunately, also contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. A large driver of its energy consumption can be attributed to its scale and complexity of processes and operations, synonymous with the manufacturing and logistics sector.
- Sanjiv Verma, Vice President, RUCKUS Networks, Asia Pacific, CommScope
In dynamic environments like warehouses and manufacturing plants, where conditions are constantly evolving, having reliable wireless connectivity can significantly enhance operational efficiency and productivity.
For instance, smart HVAC systems can automatically adjust temperature and airflow based on occupancy and operational demand, reducing resource consumption. Intelligent Wi-Fi networks can also dynamically allocate bandwidth and adjust coverage areas based on real-time needs, ensuring seamless connectivity for automated machinery and IoT devices while minimising unnecessary energy use.
Predictive maintenance by IoT sensors and data analytics can also help mitigate equipment failures. According to a study by Deloitte, companies that adopt predictive maintenance can reduce breakdowns by 70 per cent and maintenance costs by 25 per cent.
In the context of manufacturing, wireless is not just a convenience, but a necessity for connected workers. They need to be empowered with connectivity and mobility to proactively address issues, streamline workflows, and ultimately enhance overall operational performance.
Implementation of technologies to boost connectivity as part of the region’s sustainability efforts is inherently optimistic when taken together with Asia’s rising profile as a manufacturing hub and its emphasis on digitalisation.
Addressing complexity and diversity with AI-driven networks
Besides manufacturing, the rapid development and investment across key sectors such as education, healthcare and retail have also shaped Asia’s urbanisation efforts. These are inherently energy-intensive environments, with continuous operations and differing sources of energy consumption across varying facilities and infrastructures.
Today’s generation of education, healthcare and retail sectors has evolved and utilises fixed, wireless and cellular connectivity to give building users enhanced experiences. Running on these networks can be an array of IoT sensors, smart HVAC, biometric security controls and water management systems.
The big step forward has been in the addition of Artificial Intelligence (AI) monitoring and management of wireless networks. AI enables granular control of policy over all manner of connected technologies — Bluetooth, Zigbee, private 5G and other services.
The complexity of so many layered technologies is such that it has become virtually impossible for human management to do it alone, even with a large, highly trained IT staff, which would be hard to find and afford. What once required a human decision to turn services on or off, sometimes in person, can now be automated to read occupancy schedules and apply the optimal settings as needed.
One such example is water management. A small water leakage can amount to over 1,000 litres annually, and we have seen the implementation of smart water meters and rainwater harvesting systems to monitor and identify potential leaks and raise alerts when unusual water usage patterns are detected.
Driven by industrialisation and urbanisation, it is no surprise that Asia is leading the global smart water leakage sensors market. We are seeing commitments from the likes of the Singapore government announcing plans to integrate smart water sensors into the water distribution network, to the launch of a new smart water leakage sensor in Australia that will be able to detect leaks across both residential and commercial properties, by integrating with existing water metering systems.
Sensors deployed across schools, hospitals and malls can further optimise energy use by automating systems like lighting and HVAC in unoccupied or less frequently used spaces. AI-controlled Wi-Fi networks adjust power based on occupancy, ensuring energy is used efficiently.
For instance, Aeon Mall Ha Dong, one of Vietnam’s largest shopping malls, has achieved a 2 per cent reduction in total energy consumption by proactively monitoring energy consumption in real time and adjusting operations from chiller temperature to fan and optimising display cabinet operation times.
One of the pitfalls that comes with urbanisation is the increase in waste and the need for a robust waste management system. Traditionally, cities have developed static waste collection routes to empty every trash bin according to a predetermined schedule — usually once or twice a week. This often leads to trash cans being emptied when they are only 30 per cent full, or worse, when the trash cans are overflowing beyond capacity.
Countries like India, South Korea and Singapore have benefitted from IoT-enabled waste bins and smart recycling systems, which allow a savvier approach to monitoring waste levels in real-time and better deployment of resources.
Connecting to greater sustainability
AI can now deliver deeper insights into every phase of operation, from procurement to resource management to day-to-day operations. The value of AI in improving sustainable operations is clear - from optimising energy usage, predicting maintenance needs, and streamlining operations, leading to reduced emissions and resource conservation.
However, the effectiveness of these AI applications is dependent on robust wireless connectivity. Now more than ever, as sustainability becomes a higher boardroom priority and government agenda, enterprises have to ensure smarter, stronger, and more resilient networks to enable significant sustainability.
Sanjiv Verma is Vice President, RUCKUS Networks, Asia Pacific, CommScope.
