Sustainability is good for the planet and good for business. Committed to sustainability, the world’s leading industrial software provider, AVEVA, provides this sector in Africa with software solutions that support their ongoing digital transformation and enhance the sustainability of their operations.

Rob McGreevy, Chief Product Officer of AVEVA, highlighted at the X-Change User Conference hosted by IS³ and AVEVA held in the Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, that sustainability drivers are reshaping the industry landscape worldwide.

Water scarcity, emission regulations, supply chain disruptions and consumer demands for sustainable products are among the factors that are driving manufacturers and other industrial groups to change their business models. McGreevy illustrated this point with the example of a tyre manufacturing group that has expanded into transport services.

McGreevy said AVEVA’s software capabilities play an instrumental role in changing these companies’ business models. The Group’s range of innovative solutions enables businesses to test their designs and simulate their output, making these groups more agile in adapting their products based on results.

While AVEVA’s tools enable the power sector in the United States and Europe to be more cost effective, the same tools can be applied in African regions to ensure a safe and reliable power supply. “Predictive analytics identifies vulnerabilities and inefficiencies in the power plant before breakdowns occur, and they can also be used to forecast demand for power,” said McGreevy.

AVEVA is committed to a sustainable operational footprint and is building sustainability into the DNA of its software, but the group’s most significant contribution to sustainability is through its ‘handprint’ (the positive impact it has through its products and services). While the industrial sector is the biggest contributor to carbon emissions, AVEVA’s software can typically enable a manufacturer to reduce its electricity usage by 10% to 15%, reduce water usage by 20%-25%, and eliminate waste.

AVEVA has traditionally made a positive impact on the environment by enabling companies to reduce their carbon emissions and energy use, but it is increasingly making a positive difference by supporting responsible product design with its tools.

Advancing towards circular products

McGreevy said the next frontier in making the industrial sector more sustainable was achieving circularity. This implied that products are designed to be sustainable from the ‘cradle to the grave’, starting with the sourcing of sustainable materials, through using sustainable production equipment and transport, and ending with the upgrading or recycling of products at the end of their lifecycle.

“African industrial groups, currently at various stages of digitalization, have a unique chance to enhance their sustainability with IS³and AVEVA as they undergo digital transformation.”

*The XChange 2024 conference is presented by IS³, a business unit of Digital Industries. It is Africa's premier industrial software conference, offering businesses in the industrial sector the opportunity to modernise their environments through engagement with cutting-edge technologies, expertise, and partners.

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