Last year the UK government declared a climate emergency, announcing ambitious, legally-binding targets to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. Since then, an awareness of the damage being done to the planet and the benefits of reducing our negative impact on the planet, have continued to become of high priority amongst all sections of society. We are witnessing the continued rise of school strikes, continually ambitious targets set by governments to transition to a low-carbon economy, and even the recent announcements by some of the corporate heavyweights to act on the climate crisis (Jeff Bezos’ $10bn climate fund, Microsoft’s pledge to become carbon negative by 2030 for example). It is now a priority to ensure our urban environment benefits people and the planet both now and in the future. 

How does the smart city fit into all of this? The word smart is the ‘adjective of the moment’, as we discussed recently here. Smart can mean a variety of things - be it the use of new technologies; the use of creative problem-solving to overcome existing and emerging problems; the bringing together of multiple sectors, schools of thought and technologies to find a solution...we could debate the exact definition for millennia, but what is important to note is that a smarter city is not necessarily a tech-filled city. In our work at DG Cities, we look to use new technology to benefit people and the planet. Therefore, a main focus for the company is exploring how the smart city concept can help to address the ongoing climate crisis. 

So what exactly could the role of a smart city be in moving forward from this planetary emergency we now live in? In this blog, we explore just a few of the ways that new technologies - employed in an intelligent, innovative manner - could help to ensure our city is happy and healthy, both now and in the future. 

Improving the efficiency of services

One technology which could help improve services, making them run more efficiently and responding to real-time fluctuations in demand, is 5G digital connectivity. What does this mean? Well it could mean digital services being continuously connected, data being transferred and processed in split-seconds and the opportunities for new innovations to develop as a result. Take for example the company Leaksters - whose use of super-fast digital connectivity enables their hardware and software to identify and understand water leaks in pipes in real-time - enabling water loss to be reduced efficiently and accurately. Water loss results in a considerable waste of resources - including energy- and resource-intensive treatment and cleaning of water so that it is fit for consumption. Technologies like this could subsequently bring real changes within this sector. 

5G and improved digital connectivity are also a massive component of Mobility as a Service (MaaS), enabling multiple modes of transport to be taken by the user in an integrated and on-demand format. For example, a single app that suggests combining autonomous ride-share journeys with bus, train or electric bike routes. This would aid in providing a shared, electric, connected mobility ecosystem, enabling people to move around the urban environment efficiently and with a reduced environmental impact. This is one of the goals of the Smart Mobility Living Lab: London. We're exploring ways in which MaaS can be harnessed to improve physical connectivity, social accessibility and sustainability, through novel technologies and ideas, such as autonomous rideshare vehicles and V2X communication.

Smarter management of our energy

It's the truth we are less keen to acknowledge, but if we are to reduce our carbon emissions, we must not only transition to greener energy, but reduce our overall energy consumption. This ultimately means using what energy is available, more efficiently, which is where smart technology can really help. Smart metering and technologies like Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) can help to balance energy supply and demand, reducing power supply to certain systems during peak demand and using otherwise underused assets in energy storage to balance supply. Within the home, smart metering has been shown to help reduce energy use by 11% already - imagine how much more could be done if this technology was deployed at scale?! 

One way we’re looking at using tech to better manage energy is through our Birchmere EV project - DG Cities has been commissioned to help the Royal Borough of Greenwich understand how they might electrify their fleet, having the third largest fleet amongst the London boroughs at around 550 vehicles. We’re working with Imperial College London and using modelling and digital simulation techniques to understand how EV utilisation can be increased, whilst being mindful of grid capacity and spatial constraints at the depot. 

Encouraging green and shared transport

Finally, technologies don’t have to be glitzy and novel to have a profound impact on helping our city address the ongoing climate crisis in a ‘smart’ manner. The eRCV II project is an excellent example of this - repowering an end-of-life diesel 26-tonne refuse collection vehicle to be fully electric. Yes, it is a bin lorry - not the most glamorous of projects - but considering how many trundle up and down residential streets every day, projects like these are of supreme importance. As well as reducing carbon emissions and local air and noise pollution, the eRCV also reduces resource consumption by utilising an otherwise end-of-life asset - a win for society and a double win for the environment. Technologies like this can also be deployed elsewhere within the urban environment, delivering benefits to society and the environment at scale - smart! 

So, can smart technologies and innovations fix our climate crisis? The answer: definitely not in isolation. But the use of them in intelligent ways to drive efficiency, inspire further innovation and encourage greener, more sustainable lifestyles is vital if we are to move our cities into a climate-friendly world.

If we are to truly tackle this crisis that we live in, all sectors within society must actively look to collaborate, innovate and think differently from ‘Business as Usual’ in order to ensure we prioritise people and planet, as well as profit, moving forward. This isn’t easy, but if smart cities can show us anything, they can inspire us as to what can be achieved with the right technology, used in the right places, with the right motives. We can move forwards from the present climate and ecological crisis if we can learn how to think smartly and use innovative ‘smart’ technologies to maximise benefits to society and the environment. 

Are you grappling with how technology and data could help tackle the climate emergency?  We’d love to hear from you.  Drop us a line at [email protected].