Collaboration for net zero - creating pathways for innovations to scale fast

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” is attributed to Albert Einstein.  Tackling climate change and accelerating progress towards net zero undoubtedly requires both different thinking and pathways for successful, innovative solutions to scale fast.

This is why CGI UK has launched our search for partners with innovative digital solutions that have meaningful positive impacts on climate change. We recognise that collaboration leads to better solutions to the most complex of challenges – and finding solutions to climate change is arguably the most complex challenge of our generation.

The complexity of the climate challenge can seem overwhelming for some, whilst others simply aren’t engaged in the challenge. Digital technologies have vital roles in abstracting that complexity. Digital automation means that those that aren’t engaged can still participate in solving climate change. Simplifying access to the benefits of doing the right thing for our planet and future generations, I believe, underpins a climate transition that is ‘just’.

The search builds on our established approach to working with SMEs who have digital solutions that complement our own products and services. We collaborate with our partners to create access to new markets and enable our clients to benefit from new thinking and solutions that will help them deliver on their net zero commitments.

The role digital technologies can play in making progress towards net zero was covered by the Royal Society in their report ‘Digital technology and the planet’. The report identified that nearly a third of the 50% carbon emissions reductions the UK needs to make by 2030 can be achieved through existing digital technology. 

The application of digital technologies to improving yields and reducing waste helps to cut embedded carbon emissions.

The energy sector is at the vanguard of the climate transition as all sectors look to reduce carbon emissions through electrification and decarbonisation of heat. Digital technology is intrinsic to the energy transition, recognised through the launch of the Energy Digitalisation Taskforce in May 2021. 

In a previous blog I discussed the importance of data in the race to achieve net zero. The visibility provided by access to the right data at the right time empowers each of us to take meaningful decisions about how we address our own carbon footprints. Digital technologies and the data that they generate doesn’t just help us act on climate change, but can also provide motivation. How many of us have been on diets to change our body shapes or get our BMIs back to a healthy level? Achieving that change is generally more successful when we have some way of tracking progress, be that a mirror or set of scales!

So, if you have a digital solution that delivers positive net zero outcomes and you’re looking to collaborate and create new pathways to scale and commercialise your product, then apply to join our digital climate tech ecosystem.

We are hosting the selection panels as part of the Leeds Digital Festival and successful applicants will be invited to join an expo in Glasgow during the first week of COP26.