In this week's seminar, we established a materiality matrix for the fictitious cacao drink company of our serious game/business simulation "The Triple Connection". In this context we talked about the role of a digital twin to simplify and support sustainability initiatives and their management. Digital twins are virtual models of physical assets, systems, or processes that can be used to simulate and test different scenarios without impacting the real-world system. By creating a digital twin of a physical system, sustainability initiatives can be modeled and tested before being implemented in the real world.
Somehow the business simulation "The Triple Connection" which we are using during the lectures acts like a digital twin: It shows departments, entities, nodes, and an overview of the entire value chain.
The use of digital twins and other digital technologies are increasingly important for companies in the food and chocolate industry to consider in their sustainability efforts. For example, digital twins could be used to optimize production processes for chocolate manufacturers, reducing waste and energy consumption while improving product quality. Additionally, digital product passports could be used to track the environmental impact of ingredients used in food and beverage products, allowing companies to make more informed decisions about their supply chains and sustainability initiatives.
To summarize, digital technologies play an important role in the efforts of German companies to combat climate change. More than three-quarters of companies report having reduced their CO2 emissions through the use of digital technologies and applications. This effect is particularly significant in the industry sector (86 percent), followed by trade (81 percent) and service providers (71 percent), according to a representative survey1 by Bitkom.
According to an Acatech study2, digital twins, data ecosystems, data analysis and system modeling tools, as well as digital product passports, have particularly good leverage effects for the environment. The digital twin also plays an important role in environmental protection. As an example, Coca-Cola used digital technology in Turkey to optimize the production process in its 26 bottling plants. Using a digital twin that simulates the physical processes in a digital model, 30 improvement opportunities were identified, reducing electricity consumption by 20 percent and water consumption by 9 percent. Because of the simulation possibilities, companies do not have to change ongoing operations, but can first try out the steps. The better the digital twin is, i.e., the more data is captured from the bottling plant, the less companies must intervene in ongoing operations before they know that the planned change works. This means that digital twins are an important lever for more sustainability.
In our next session, we will focus on bringing together all the lessons about supply chain management, sustainability, digital twins, and scenario planning, and draw a conclusion for my students.
SOURCES:
1Survey conducted by Bitkom, a German digital association, which found that more than three quarters of German companies have reduced their CO2 emissions through the use of digital technologies and applications. The survey results are available on the Bitkom website: https://www.bitkom.org/Presse/Presseinformation/Bitkom-Research-Mehrheit-der-Unternehmen-senkt-CO2-Ausstoss-durch-digitale-Technologien
2Study conducted by Acatech, the German National Academy of Science and Engineering, which identified digital twins, data ecosystems, data analysis and system modeling tools, and digital product passports as having particularly good leverage effects for the environment. The study is available on the Acatech website: https://www.acatech.de/publikation/digitalization-and-sustainability-opportunities-and-challenges/
