If you survey different industries today, it's almost impossible to find one that hasn't tested the power of AI. AI has pushed businesses towards a more innovative and sustainable future, from the fashion industry to healthcare. 

Because so many industries have such a significant carbon footprint, this digital solution is not only practical but absolutely essential in the fight against climate change.

Let’s look at how AI has helped make different industries more sustainable and what the future holds.

How AI Is Making These Industries More Sustainable

AI is helping push businesses in all industries towards a smarter and more sustainable future. Here are a few examples.

Technology

It makes sense that the industry that invented AI would be able to take great advantage of it. AI is used throughout the tech industry for all sorts of things. When it comes to sustainability, tech giants like Google are using AI to help them reduce energy consumption at their massive data storage centers. 

Data centers are responsible for storing, transferring, and processing huge quantities of information. All that server power uses a lot of energy. In fact, researchers project that 13% of the world’s energy consumption will come from data centers by 2030. So finding ways to reduce that consumption is essential for the environment. 

This is particularly important because AI itself can have a large carbon footprint if it runs off of data centers that use unclean energy sources like coal. So the more tech companies can use AI to reduce energy consumption and shift towards using green energy, the better and more sustainable AI itself will be! 

Fashion

The fashion industry has a serious impact on the environment. Statistics show that the fashion industry produces between 2 and 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And fashion accounts for 20% of the world’s wastewater. With such a big impact on the environment, many are looking for the fashion industry to clean up its act. That’s where AI comes in.

AI is helping make fashion more sustainable in several different ways.

Predicting trends to reduce waste

One of the best ways to reduce waste in the fashion industry is to be proactive instead of reactive. And the best way to do that is with trend forecasting. After all, if you have a better understanding of what people want to buy, you’ll spend less time, money, and resources creating products that don’t sell and end up in landfills. 

Fashion brands are using AI to help them make better predictions about what their target market will want for the next season and to help reduce waste on the production side by better forecasting quantities of fabric and materials needed at any given time. 

Helping customers shop second-hand

One of the best ways to combat fast fashion’s environmental impact is to shop second-hand, and AI is making big strides in the used clothing market. Thanks to apps like Depop, Thredup, and Vinted, shoppers have more second-hand shopping options than ever before without ever having to set foot in a thrift store. 

Many of these apps and websites use powerful AIs to help guide shoppers towards used clothing that suits their style. The more you shop, the better the AI’s recommendations become. This helps keep people choosing used options and helps keep perfectly good clothes and accessories out of landfills. 

Keeps supply chains sustainable

One of the most important parts of making any business more eco-friendly is reassessing your supply chain. You might be doing everything you can to run a sustainable business, but if your suppliers aren’t, it undermines your efforts. 

AI can help companies assess their suppliers’ and partners’ sustainability practices. For example, Prewave created a tool that uses AI and machine learning to monitor the internet for mentions of a company’s suppliers with an eye toward any sustainability violations. This gives brands an immediate alert system to help them keep their supply chain green. This tech has mostly been used by car giant Audi so far but could be used to great effect in the fashion industry.

Manufacturing

Just like in fashion, the manufacturing industry needs to stay on top of trend predictions — and AI can help. A McKinsey report suggests that using AI in the manufacturing industry can improve forecasting accuracy by 10-20%. AI has also proven to yield greater efficiencies, improved quality, lower costs, and reduced manufacturer downtime.

When combined with technology like computer vision and machine learning tools, managers in manufacturing plants can successfully develop efficient processes that decrease energy usage. In addition, manufacturing companies can also use AI to eliminate unnecessary steps in the production process. This can be done by re-engineering the existing processes.

Artificial intelligence also makes manufacturing more sustainable by monitoring and improving the safety of workers by using sensors to track employees, production lines, and machines. AI can help you automate your plant to send alerts to prevent injuries and keep track of existing stock to avoid over-production.

Insurance

The insurance industry can significantly benefit from incorporating sustainable AI into its processes. The results include reduced costs, increased profitability, and customer experience. Visual Intelligence solutions such as Bdeo’s can be used to great effect for both home and motor insurance. 

When used jointly with Visual Intelligence, AI helps insurance companies provide eco-friendly insurance and achieve a more sustainable environment by reducing onsite visits by insurance assessors. 

For example, Visual Intelligence allows policyholders to submit the necessary evidence to support their claims. The evidence is then analyzed digitally, which reduces onsite visits by insurance assessors, reducing emissions in the process.  

This AI can perform advanced weather predictions, which helps better protect our customers during extreme weather events such as floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes. This also allows insurers to assess the financial risk of any potential loss, creating an opportunity to make better-informed decisions. And AI can analyze data in real-time and send an advanced warning to policyholders about any potential hazards, helping them better prepare and stay safe.

Help create a more sustainable future with AI and VI-powered insurance

If we work together across industries, we can greatly improve sustainability across the board. At Bdeo, we believe that together, we can create a better environment through AI and VI. 

Get in touch with us today to request a demo of our technology!