Big Data, Big Impact
The current capitalist system cannot continue to operate as it has done so for centuries. That is common knowledge to most folks but what is unclear is how businesses can adapt to sustainable practices. A common method is for businesses to determine its total operating footprint within the world. One might be quick to assume becoming sustainable is a matter of changing the practices of the business but in reality fail to realize the largest portions of a business’ environmental impact comes indirectly, or better known as externalities. The difficulty in calculating a business’ externalities are the difficulties in separating its own footprint from the rest and excluding other effected areas due to a long chain reaction. This is where the future of big data comes in. The idea is as data continues to accumulate companies may be able to effectively calculate any externalities. Then from the data gathered businesses can act accordingly and increase their accountability and eventually lead to a sustainable operating environment.
The notion of big data paving new roads for businesses to be sustainable is certainly intriguing. Undoubtedly the increase in data will help companies see the bigger picture of their operations and better plan for future operations. The problem may arise when there is too much data. If you’ve ever done any online research you’ll understand the challenges in finding the data you’re looking for (like finding a needle in a haystack). Furthermore consider that businesses may not know what they’re looking for which leads to a precarious situation of incorrectly analyzing data points. It is certain that big data will be an important factor in developing a more sustainable business operations but will continue to be a daunting task for many businesses.
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Hi Sidney!
A very interesting post on big data – as a BTM student I was instantly hooked by how you integrated technology and sustainability together. I think big data is a huge component of the bigger picture of data analytics. I love how you mention that the only thing with analytics and big data is that your outputs are only as good as your inputs – you really have to watch what kind of data you are pulling and how you are analyzing it. Definitely a daunting tasks for most businesses to tackle!
More specific to sustainability and business applications – I actually read about an interesting article last year about Ford:
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/10/28/ford-uses-big-data-to-drive-sustainability/
They are using big data and analytics to be able to understand more consumer behaviour as well as other notions such as the “greenest route” or how to use their resources more efficiently.
Hi Sidney, and Veronica,
This all sounds great, I just wonder what could motivate big business to actually put in the effort to wade through all this data to try to understand the indirect impacts they have on the environment. It takes a lot of work on their part and the benefits to the company are unclear to me. Do you think it makes them more appealing in the eyes of consumers? One of the articles Tamar posted discusses how consumers actually dislike companies who advocate for reduced use of their products – this isn’t quite the same, but the idea that a business is investing unnecessary effort in something that doesn’t benefit them directly might make consumers suspicious too – maybe it could backfire…