The challenge of change
One day last summer, I travelled by train to Zurich. The trip revealed beautiful scenery through the Alps. Stony peaks, verdant forests, sparkling azure rivers, and peaceful lakes – the view was seducing. A few passengers took a seat in my carriage. As our train reached a narrow valley, the weather suddenly became stormy. The wind bent trees to the ground, rain battered our windows – and we greatly appreciated the comfort of the train car.
“This looks like climate change!” one passenger exclaimed. It was the start of a conversation to which no one was indifferent. I heard worries about the recent catastrophic weather events, both close to and far from home as well as critics of “egotistical humans”. I heard resignation too: “There is nothing I can do about the climate crisis!” and “I cannot hear about it anymore!” – in a rejection of the notion that “everyone can connect, learn, and contribute”. Diverse opinions are obviously normal but the conversation became more than this; a kind of unexpected polarization. Emotions were rising in the train car… Until, after a while, the weather changed again. Under a few gently warming rays of sunshine, the mountain edges became sharp and colorful again, the sky blue – encouraging us, once again, to further reflection. It is logically obvious that we all need to join our efforts and skills to create a better world, for now and for future generations. We need to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Why is it so challenging to drive this change together?
The perspective of neuroscientists is helpful. In his recent book, Prof. Stefan Kölsch explains how the subconscious-driven behavior of humans has developed over an evolution of hundreds of thousands years. This is impacted by recent history and childhood experience. Despite the fact that they evolved to take control, especially in life-threatening moments, survival mechanisms influence our behavior more often than we imagine. Unconsciously, the fear of losing the status quo can trigger rapid, emotional, and illogical reactions. For too many people, our continuous exposure to this crisis hampers our perception of reality, blocks creativity, and drives negative thinking.
How should we cope with such a truly “dark side” of our brains? Neuroscientists have demonstrated that, more than ever, we need greater empathy, reflection, and intention in our daily lives. We must be more conscious in our behavior. We must make sure that we are not leaving anyone behind. Not easy, for sure! It is time to meet a role model for leading the change towards Net Zero.
A passion for change
Last autumn I participated in “climate week” events in New York City. It is always an amazing experience meeting so many people impassioned by climate action from all sectors of society around the globe – from private companies to public institutions and politics. One morning, at an event hosted at Jacob Javits Convention Center, I met Mary, a sustainability manager at a manufacturing company. You could easily feel her enthusiasm as she spoke about her role. We realized that we had the same route to walk to the World Economic Forum’s offices. Our way was easy to find on Manhattan’s grid map with its rectangular geometries. As we walked, I was curious to know more about the ongoing transformation Mary was leading.
Mary explained to me the journey on which her company has engaged. One decisive milestone is about to happen: its public commitment to decarbonization on the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) platform. From now on, everything should run smoothly. “Why are you so optimistic?” I asked her. “We achieved good alignment with our stakeholders. As we master digital transformation, we will master the green transition, too.”
Mary’s recipe for success? At every organization al level we must build on many ideas to reduce carbon emissions. With a green mindset, we aim to innovate products and processes, gaining flexibility across the entire value chain. We must continue to maximize production efficiency continuously. And we must take full ownership of energy flows through the entire plant, electrify processes, invest in renewable resources, and see reality with different eyes.
When it comes to leadership, a key challenge is to understand and mitigate objections of your team. These are not always based on logic but, rather, based on emotions and “fear of change”. Her comments reminded me of my stormy trip to Zürich. “We are getting better every day,” Mary continued with confidence. “We want to reach Net Zero earlier than 2050, so we defined milestones on the way which we believe are feasible. Significative reductions in our carbon footprint will happen in the next few years!” “How well can you predict the next 20 years?” I asked. “You cannot have absolute control,” Mary acknowledged. “But you leverage the experiences of your team and learn from other companies. As your plans get clearer, you also figure out the company’s capabilities and the tools you need to strengthen.”
Mary and I arrived at Bryant Park, a beautiful green oasis in the middle of Manhattan. We took a seat on a bench for a moment to admire the gracious architecture of the Grace Building.
“Mary, because you mentioned the digital transition at the same time as the green transition, it seems to me that your company adopted a ‘twin transition’ approach?” She quickly answered, “In my opinion, investing in digitalization makes sense only with a sustainability mindset. Emilian, I think this is your company’s business, isn’t it?”
I was eager to confirm; I couldn’t hide my enthusiasm for creating automation and digitalization technologies which serve people on their transformation journey. “What is your twin transition experience, Mary?” She remained thoughtful and quiet for a few moments. “You know, due to my past roles in manufacturing, I feel lucky to understand the challenges our automation and IT specialists are facing. When we discuss our green initiatives, they say that with the right budget we will solve those hurdles on the way. Then I see them fighting with all kinds of legacy systems, not designed with the twin transition in mind.”
Mary was generous in the examples she offered: too much rigidity – not only when you want to produce something new, replace packaging, or adapt processes, but even when you want to fix your existing machines. It takes too much time to integrate production equipment with other digital systems and acquire good data for improved awareness and public reporting. There are too few people available to program solutions for new ways to decarbonize and reduce the consumed energy. It’s too complicated to give more colleagues the access to the information they need. There are too many interdependencies in the bundles of hardware and software to easily modernize, if one element is outdated. Cybersecurity should also become more straightforward.
Mary concluded: “I think we must keep in mind our agile journey towards Net Zero when we implement technologies and solution concepts, rather than simply budgeting generously for any possible effort.”
Software for change
On this park bench in New York, I felt thankful to be party to Mary’s reflections about the heart of her company’s ongoing transition towards Net Zero. It is a journey of both pain and enlightenment.
For the remainder of our walk, we continued to muse on the idea of mastering change in a manufacturing plant. People are always essential. As neuroscientists explain, it helps to understand the nature of our brains, with their systemic components and functions. Leading a team means being sensitive to purpose, hopes, fears, frustrations, personalities… and more. As we become increasingly conscious in our behavior, we will more easily understand how to collaborate with greater impact to reach our common goals. At the same time, we must evolve our thinking about the manufacturing infrastructure, machines, equipment, and their components and functions. How can we cope with their human-like “immaturities”: stubbornness, communication issues, missing growth mindset, or wastefulness?
Mary and I alighted on the obvious answer that industrial software is not only critical but should play an even more impactful role. From the programmed code of a machine to larger plant solutions running on premises or in cloud, software “gives life”, “writes the brain”, and even “educates the character” of the various production systems. In the context of the twin transition, we need to view industrial software in a new light.
As we reached our destination, Mary insisted: “It’s vital to define the principles of development which can make an OT/IT software truly transformative!”.
Are you curious about our conclusion?
Here is a short summary which outlines the three key principles of OT/IT software which can streamline our collective twin transition.
- Empower people to deliver their decarbonization plan. This requires tools and superior experience for: situational awareness in realtime; operating and adapting processes; creating new products; generating renewable energy and materials; holistically managing energy flows; enabling innovation when optimizing production efficiency and material consumption; leveraging the power of data in analysis, reporting, and further technologies.
- Provide extensive support for the lean implementation of industrial solutions, such as: flexible automation; robust data infrastructure; reduced engineering time and skillset; agility from proof of concept to roll-out; interdisciplinary solution scopes; easy integration within the digital ecosystem.
- Ensure a future-oriented technology foundation – by design. This should include aspects such as: product and solution lifecycle; interoperability; standardization; modularity; integrated OT/IT architectures; cybersecurity.
Does this sound familiar to you? Now, it is your turn to contribute your feedback. What are your thoughts on the important moves towards the necessary twin transition? To find out more about how the zenon software platform can support these goals, please reach out and together we can take the next step forward. Learn more about our Sustainability Solutions.
