Tag: tech

Experts warn that climate change is one of the most significant threats of our time. As extreme weather events like major wildfires, epic floods, storms, heat waves, and droughts affect more and more people, pressing issues like water scarcity and deforestation become increasingly urgent. We are witnessing a degradation of natural systems and a drastic decline in biodiversity.

Tech has become a significant part of our lives, but the tech sector is one of the biggest pollutants on the planet. As electronic devices become an increasingly inseparable part of modern existence, so does our need to mitigate the e-waste that comes with them. The communication tech sector now makes up over 2% of global greenhouse emissions — and it’s forecast that it will constitute 15% of global emissions by 2040. And that’s just what’s in the air. On the ground, we’re talking an estimated 57.4 million tons of e-waste in 2021.

Companies are only just now starting to find solutions as the climate crisis becomes increasingly life-threatening. Yes, the challenges are immense and complex — but there is hope, as innovators (and their innovations) are helping make the world healthier and safer. The good news is that tech companies are also beginning to step in and lead the sustainability charge, making concrete efforts to drastically reduce their impact on the climate and protect the environment.

In honor of Earth Day, let’s take a peek at how 10 of today’s biggest tech companies are driving impactful eco-initiatives today and where they’ll be tomorrow, according to Technology Magazine and Sustainability Magazine:

Image: Google

Google

Google’s sustainability aims revolve around three key pillars: accelerating the transition to carbon-free energy, empowering individuals and communities to lessen their climate impact using innovative technology, and creating positive impacts for the people and places across the globe where Google operates.

Google first began purchasing renewable energy in 2010, and in 2017 it became the first major tech company to match 100% of its annual electricity usage with renewable energy purchases. By 2030, Google plans to operate all its data center and office campuses using carbon-free energy sources. It is investing heavily in sustainability research and development to create new technology that can help reduce waste and conserve natural resources, employing machine learning to discover ways to increase efficiencies, like using smart thermostats to cool its data centers.

Google is itself a major innovator in climate tech. Its Maps app is infused with sustainability features, like showing the most fuel-efficient routes, which help drivers make more ecological choices. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, created a $5.75 billion Sustainability Bond — 100% of the proceeds are dedicated to supporting environmentally and socially responsible projects. With these ambitious and innovative initiatives, Google sets an example of how a tech company can use its influence and resources to help address the climate crisis.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft’s sustainability efforts are on the ramp-up. In 2022, the company contracted to have 1.4 million metric tons of carbon removed from the environment. The tech giant is also strategically working to ensure it can secure renewably sourced energy for its global operations in the future by weaving sustainability into its purchasing strategy today.

That same year, the company launched Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, which offers a comprehensive set of enterprise-grade sustainability management tools geared to support other companies to lessen their climate impact. What’s more, Microsoft is significantly accelerating the development of new climate technologies through its Climate Innovation Fund with the goals of bolstering climate policy efforts, advocating for skills programs to expand a global green workforce, and developing a more dependable carbon accounting system for global use.

By 2030, Microsoft plans to achieve carbon negativity — in other words, removing more emissions than it has generated since its inception in 1975! With additional plans to achieve zero-waste and water-positive status by 2030, Microsoft is elevating the standard for sustainability strategy in big tech.

Image: Amazon

Amazon

Another major play, Amazon, is the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy and has set impressive sustainability goals for itself. These include achieving 100% renewable energy usage by 2025 — five years ahead of the company’s original target of 2030 — and plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

In fact, by 2022, 90% of Amazon’s electricity came from renewable sources, and the organization’s strong water reduction efforts resulted in 3.9 billion liters less water used from areas surrounding Amazon’s operations.

Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud computing division, also enables customers to build robust sustainability solutions. From waste reduction and energy conservation to carbon tracking, AWS data services are a powerful tool for clients to input, analyze, and manage complex sustainability initiatives and even track their success — effectively driving strong connections between sustainability and desired business outcomes.

Image: Apple

Apple

Sustainability has been a core part of Apple’s business, with strategic initiatives that encompass reducing its carbon footprint, increasing its use of recycled materials, and consuming renewable energy. A testament to this, since 2008, Apple has tweaked its product design, reducing the average energy use of its products by 70%! And in 2021, the company doubled the amount of recycled cobalt, tungsten, and other rare earth elements in its products.

Apple’s latest reports show significant progress toward its carbon reduction goal. Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, said in the company’s 2023 ESG report that Apple had reduced emissions by 45% since its 2015 baseline. In that same period, the tech juggernaut increased its revenue by 65%, ultimately proving that sustainability strategies can (and probably should) align with financial ones. “We demonstrated that the choice between a thriving business and a thriving planet is a false one,” said Jackson.

Today, about 20% of the materials Apple uses in its products are made from recycled content, and by 2034, the company plans to be carbon neutral. It’s clear that, in this case, going green means increasing both eco-friendliness and profits.

Image: Intel

Intel

In 2022, Intel made some incredible strides toward its 360 approach to reducing its climate impact across its entire operational footprint. That year, 67% of manufacturing waste was upcycled — showcasing a big win for Intel’s circular economic business approach. The company also increased its renewable energy to 100% within the United States, Europe, Malaysia, and Israel, bringing its global average of renewable energy use to 93%. And, with respect to water conservation, Intel saved about 9.6 billion gallons too.

Looking ahead, Intel also plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its worldwide operations by the year 2040, with 100% renewable energy use and zero waste to landfills. This ambitious goal certainly puts Intel on par with industry leaders.

Image: IBM

IBM

IBM is making moves as part of its sustainability strategy to drive ethical and equitable impact as it continues to support businesses entering the digital landscape. In 2022, it implemented conservation projects that saved 71,000 megawatt-hours of energy and 25,600 metric tons of carbon. The company is investing in research and development to create technology that can help reduce waste and conserve resources, to divert 90% of nonhazardous waste from landfills and incineration by 2025.

By 2030, the company plans to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and have optimized operational plans in places that further reduce pollution and minimize climate risk. With these goals in place, IBM is at the forefront of the tech industry’s eco-efforts.

Image: NVIDIA

NVIDIA

Tech multinational NVIDIA’s sustainability strategy is centered around its commitment to acquiring or producing renewable energy to offset its global electricity consumption. The company seeks sustainable solutions especially when building new or expanding existing data centers as part of its overall carbon prevention and efficiency process.

On top of this, NVIDIA’s core technology is part of a societal shift towards electric and AI-driven vehicles, helping to drive these sustainable initiatives forward. They believe that autonomy will allow greater efficiency via simplified transportation and that their chips allow the smartest integration into cars and other modes of transport, ultimately making a green impact that’s scalable and future-forward.

Image: Meta

Meta

Since 2010, Meta has had net-zero carbon emissions across its global operations, showing a reduction in operational emissions by 94% based on its 2017 baseline. They have even followed this up with 100% renewable energy implementation across all its data centers. In 2021, Meta supported carbon removal projects in Mexico and Kenya, representing more than 200,000 tons of carbon sequestration through forest and soil capture.

By the year 2030, Meta will support efforts to remove carbon equivalent to the amount they cannot reduce. With these initiatives, Meta shows its own involvement in the fight against climate change and its alignment with global efforts to restore the health of the planet.

Image: Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies

To mitigate the 57.4 million metric tons of e-waste currently being produced yearly, Dell Technologies is taking a quid pro quo type of approach. The company is planning to reuse or recycle an equivalent product for each new product a customer purchases. They have also set a goal of net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, while actively investing in research and development to create new technologies to meet these sustainability goals to drastically reduce waste and conserve natural resources. As the world moves towards a more digital and connected future, Dell Technologies is moving along with it, delivering sustainable solutions to meet the needs and expectations of its clients.

Image: HP

HP

Last but not least, HP is making sustainable changes of its own to match the competition. The company has set the target goal of zero waste by 2025 across all operations and is investing in sustainability research and development into new technologies that can help it achieve its aims. By 2025, HP will also use 100% renewable energy to power its global operations — and by 2040, it plans to be carbon neutral. The organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility across its supply chain and operations is set to drive positive change for the planet, people, and profits alike.

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Bottomline

Our society’s push for sustainability has become a centerpiece of American business culture that permeates organizational strategy from operations to product design. Just as companies continue to fall in line with consumer preferences and expectations, their business goals continue to fall in line with their desired economic outcomes. For the first time, the Department of Energy had a CES booth, where Jennifer Granholm, The United States Secretary of Energy, spoke about the Biden administration’s goals of achieving 100% renewable clean electricity for the nation’s grid by 2035 and a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

As large and small companies seek ways to become more sustainable to stay competitive, they will face challenges — finding a smarter path forward can require a lot of trial and error. If you’re at an eco-conscious crossroads or need help navigating this operational terrain, reach out to us at Creative Circle. We have systems experts and operational gurus who can help you transform your company into an eco-friendly powerhouse that’s prepared for what is to come.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the juggernaut conference that whips Vegas into a tech-infused froth every year. It’s a proving ground for innovative technologies, where brands come to do business, meet new partners, and flashily debut their latest releases and most visionary breakthroughs. CES began in the Big Apple back in 1967, with 250 exhibitors and 17,500 attendees — CES 2024 wrapped up on January 12th, with more than 135,000 people from 150 countries attending.

Produced and run by the Consumer Technology Association, CES is the only tradeshow that brings the entire tech landscape together at a singular event. From the early days of developers, manufacturers, and suppliers of hardware, software, and tech delivery systems, to today — we’re now seeing representation from across all parts of the consumer technology industry and business verticals. We’re talking everything from augmented and virtual reality, Web3, smart cities, adult entertainment, robotics, sports, medicine, and of course… artificial intelligence.

CES 2024 was steeped with AI. From general artificial intelligence that has been around for years (think virtual assistants and chatbots) to generative AI-infused products, AI was the hot-ticket item this year and was seemingly in everything, everywhere, all at once — revolutionizing user experience, increasing accessibility, and boosting efficiency. There were even separate AI-themed event tracks, from the Spoon: Food Tech Summit, which delves into how AI is transforming the food industry with tools like Chef Watson, to a track on AI-driven retail experiences.

Here’s a look at some of the more fascinating and creative ways today’s most innovative tech brands are using AI at this year’s consumer electronics tradeshow.

Photo: NuraLogix

NuraLogix’s “Magic” Mirror

Dreamed up by digital health company NuraLogix, the Anura MagicMirror is the first of its kind. It analyzes the blood flow in your face to monitor vitals like blood pressure and assess your risk of heart disease. It can guess your age based on your complexion and even gauge how stressed you may be. While it’s not directly accessible to consumers for home use (yet), you may see the MagicMirror in gyms, clinics, and other places where people are monitoring their health and well-being and where standard mirrors exist today. The device uses NuraLogix’s Affective AI technology, DeepAffex, which uses pattern recognition to inform its findings. As the use of AI broadens, devices like the MagicMirror will become less Jetsons and more Modern Family. To see it use, check out this video of CNET’s Nick Wolny giving it a go.

 

Photo: CNET

Volkswagen’s Enhanced EVs

AI is whipping Volkswagen EVs into shape by integrating ChatGPT into its line of electric vehicles, including the ID 3, ID 4, and ID 5. The AI chatbot is also coming to the fuel-powered Golf, Passat, and Tiguan, enabling drivers to ask their cars for restaurant recommendations, healthy pet food options, best face glitter, and more.

 

Photo: Dell

Dell’s AI-enabled Laptops

Dell’s new line of XPS laptops will feature a slew of built-in AI enhancements, including an additional processor for on-device AI computing and a dedicated Microsoft Copilot key. Copilot is Microsoft’s generative AI assistant, which can help you search the web, summarize documents, or create generative images — all part of Microsoft’s aim to be a leader in artificial intelligence. This line of AI-souped up laptops is slated to hit stores soon, though for those chomping at the bit, it may not be soon enough.

 

Photo: Baracoda

Baracoda’s Wellness-minded Mirror

AI-infused mirrors were truly shining at CES 2024. Healthtech pioneer Baracoda unveiled BMind, the world’s first smart mirror for mental well-being, which acts as a health companion that’s able to identify mood and help you users manage stress. It provides personalized recommendations and experiences based on your mental state by harnessing cutting-edge generative AI with Computer Vision and Large Learning Models (LLM) to interpret language, expressions, and gestures. BMind gathers information without the use of any invasive tech, helping curb drab moods and feelings of loneliness through immersive experiences, including light, sound, visuals, and coaching. The product actually won a CES Innovation Award this year in the smart home category.

 

Photo: CNET

Capella’s Subscription-based Parenting App

Welcome to the brave new world of parenting, where a smartphone app can “translate” your little one’s cries, telling you whether they’re tired, uncomfortable, hungry, or in need of a diaper change via technology that can decipher a baby’s needs using AI. Cappella says its technology is about 95% accurate, versus roughly 30% for humans who try to discern their babies’ needs on their own. The Capella app costs $10 a month — and, don’t fret, the company is working on using AI to soothe and comfort your baby, too.

 

Photo: Seergrills

Seergrills’s Perfectly Timed Grill

Say hello to the Perfecta Grill, which uses AI to grill your steak to perfection. It’s essentially a $3,500 toaster for steak that promises that perfect sizzling meat in two minutes. Utilizing an unusual vertical infrared oven, this high-tech grill reaches temperatures over 1,000 degrees, cooking thick steaks and chops in mere minutes. While the price tag keeps the Perfecta in the land of the .1%, it shows a growing trend towards more in-home AI innovation.

 

Photo: CNET

Oclean’s “Ultra” Smart Brush

AI has arrived for your teeth, too! The Oclean X Ultra S uses AI to make you a better brusher by providing real-time feedback on your brushing activity. Using bone conduction technology, an AI voice guide then offers tips on upleveling your brushing technique and offer tips to help improve it. The toothbrush will tell you if you’re using too much (or too little) pressure or favoring one side, all via spoken directions only you can hear. What’s more, the built-in display gives instant feedback on any missed spots, along with a brushing score. Already available in Europe, the Oclean X Ultra will have its US launch this fall, with a $100+ price tag.

 

Photo: Business Insider

Samsung’s Image-enhancing TV

Samsung’s 8K QLED TV models can use AI to upscale imagery, converting standard definition, or SD, content up, up, up to an 8K resolution — an industry first, according to the company. These televisions will also be able to create AI-generated imagery and automatically switch TV modes depending on the type of content being played. In short, this new AI-powered TV can bring your favorite old school TV shows like I Dream of Jeanie or I Love Lucy into the 21st century by dramatically improving their resolution.

 

Photo: WNHub

Replica Studios & SAG-AFTRA’s Historic AI Voice Agreement

The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, the world’s largest labor union representing performers, and Replica Studios, an AI voice technology company, made a huge joint announcement at CES. The two entities entered into an agreement, which will pay voice actors for the licensing of digital replicas of their voices for use in video games. This agreement is the very first time an organization like SAG-AFTRA has worked to codify consent and compensation for AI replicas of actor and performer voices. AI was one of the thornier issues debated at length between the actors’ and screenwriters’ unions and television studio executives during last year’s major strikes, with Hollywood screenwriters securing significant guardrails against artificial intelligence themselves — one of the first major labor wars about generative AI in the creative workplace.

 

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Takeaway

CES 2024 gave us a taste of how artificial intelligence tech is being infused into future products—and what that means for us all as consumers, marketers, and more. The future is coming, and it appears AI is an increasingly large part of it, from food to entertainment to home products and more.

Generative AI has the potential to scale cross-medium creation while improving efficiencies throughout the process, making new innovations like those we’ve seen at CES 2024 possible — and it’s no longer just in the workplace. If you want to quickly augment your organization’s AI prowess, partner with talent who has the hard skills to produce high-quality content and results using the AI tools, prompts, and methods to power the brands and products of tomorrow.

If you want to see what generative AI can do for your business, let Creative Circle be your guide.

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It’s been a tough year for the tech industry. Nearly 200,000 employees from about 700 tech companies have been laid off, glutting the market with top-tier talent, now available at a potentially reduced cost. Companies are at a turning point, and they know it.

According to a survey conducted by Blind, 56% of tech workers would take lower or equal pay when accepting a comparable or lower salary for a new position, with 45% of respondents citing current job market conditions as their rationale. While tech workers may be willing to lower salary expectations, the flip side is that there’s a “newly heightened emphasis on non-monetary benefits like career growth, work-life balance, and company culture,” according to the Blind survey.

Yes, it’s been a tough year for tech, but the good news is that things may not be so bad — one door closes and another opens. While the lay of the tech job market is more complex than it once was, opportunity is still knocking — just in different ways than before.

While the layoff headwinds from earlier in the year are still being felt, hiring is still happening, though the employment structure has increasingly shifted from classic full-time opportunities to more project-based ones.

Role-based versus Project-based — The Tech Paradigm Is Shifting

Traditionally, most tech jobs have been full-time “roles,” where career growth is characterized by leapfrogging from one role up the rung to the next in search of better-paying and more rewarding opportunities. But in today’s recruiting world, particularly in tech, a new model is gaining traction: project-based work, where workers focus on one specific project for a number of weeks or months until it’s finished.

The emergence of two distinct models — role-based and project-based — epitomizes a shift in the structure of tech work that impacts both employers and employees. For jobseekers and hiring managers, understanding which model works best is critical to getting the job done right, as well as in a way that aligns with work style and career goals.

Increasingly, tech companies are looking at their budgets through a more project-based lens instead of focusing on full-time headcount like they traditionally have, allocating budgets for discrete projects instead of for roles. It’s too early to tell if the future of tech jobs will be role-based or project-based, but things are fast evolving. Each approach has pluses and minuses for all involved, but from the tech employer side, recasting work into discrete projects can be economically beneficial. And for some workers, it may be, as well.

Project-Based Work in Tech: Is It the Beginning of a New Era?

The pandemic accelerated an increased demand for flexibility by workers. Project-based work is flexible by nature, which may help explain its rise in popularity with tech workers. If a project fails, finding a new one is more straightforward than getting an entirely new full-time role. Many tech workers and executives feel burned out, are anxious about layoffs, and want opportunities that offer more flexibility, more fun, and more choice about what they work on.

And it works for employers as well. Suppose your company is launching a new product or needs a new strategic direction or restructuring; looking for project-based talent engagement may be an innovative, forward-thinking solution.

A project-based approach makes companies nimbler, allowing for more optimized adaptation to fast-changing market shifts. An enduring reality is that despite market shifts, competition for tech talent remains tight, and many tech companies are still hiring for full-time roles — just more slowly, with project-based opportunities filling in for what was once a more traditional full-time hire.

An intelligent approach may be to embrace a middle way, by taking the best components of each employment model and allowing companies to fine-tune what will best work for them today. Interestingly, this shift toward more project-based work has also infiltrated the C-Suite with the rise of fractional executives.

The Rise of the Fractional Executive

Let’s say you need a top-tier, deeply experienced executive for your team — a CEO, CMO, or CCO — but don’t have the capital to craft a compelling comp package to get someone like that to come on board full-time. Say hello to the world of fractional executives, experienced professionals who serve in a strategic capacity for a company — but in a project-based or part-time way. They might work a few days a week or perhaps just a few days a month — all based on the organization’s needs.

While the concept may seem foreign when taken to the upper echelons of management, it’s proving to be a game-changer for many businesses, who can now access top-level, seasoned leaders that would otherwise be out of reach. Here are some top reasons why going fractional may be shrewd.

  1. Budget Conscious — Executive comp packages can be sizeable and out of reach for start-ups or companies needing restructuring. Going fractional lets companies get the benefit of top-tier business leaders without the sky-high cost of compensating them for full-time engagement.
  2. Dial engagement up or down as needed — Companies can let business needs guide whether they ramp fractional executives’ engagement up or down. If they need support during a product launch, they’re there. But companies can ramp down their time if they need less help during less busy times. Fractional executives can mold themselves to what is required.
  3. Access to best-in-class expertise — You can access the wealth of knowledge these seasoned industry experts bring, gaining invaluable insights that can quickly catapult your business forward.
  4. Out-of-the-box thinking — Fractional executives are not mired in the day-to-day details or internal political struggles, which lets them bring a fresh perspective to the table while letting them focus on the big picture and strategic growth initiatives. Fractional is a significant paradigm shift across the board for companies of all sizes — start-ups can leverage top-tier expertise without breaking the bank, and larger organizations can harness fractional execs for specific strategic initiatives and high-impact projects.

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Takeaway

The traditional 9-to-5 employment model is constantly changing, and the rise of project-based engagements is a testament to this ever-changing environment. The beauty of thinking more project-based or fractional, for whatever level of worker, is versatility, which can benefit many types of businesses — especially in tech. If you think your company could benefit from a more project-based approach, Creative Circle’s offers a full suite of solutions that can help and a top-notch line-up of creatives and technologists to make the magic happen.

The best way to make work “work” better is to capitalize on your people’s strengths, building a company that lets them thrive while giving employers the flexibility to adapt to a fast-changing world in the most cohesive way possible. Here’s to the power of change!

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