Harnessing IoT for a more sustainable future

The Internet of Things or IoT plays a vital role in helping businesses contribute to a more sustainable future.

Other digital technologies certainly play their part but the ability of IoT sensors and applications to collect, send and act on data received directly from the environment gives it a unique role because it enables a business to manage what they measure. Only by connecting devices with IoT can they be monitored, so that wasteful energy and resource consumption is identified and acted upon, leading to an increase in efficiency.

A report from Transforma Insights found that IoT applications will have the greatest impact on sustainability of all digital technologies. According to the report, within IoT there are eleven key areas, ranging from smart buildings, fleet operations and smart grids to smart cities, healthcare and agriculture that will account for between 97.8% and 99.4% of the total savings of electricity, (hydrocarbon) fuel, water, and CO2 emissions.

Sustainability for all

As the largest global provider of IoT, connecting more than 200 million devices in over 180 countries, Vodafone IoT supports carbon saving solutions across almost all sectors of the economy.

Energy and utilities

We provide the IoT connectivity for solar generation and the early detection of underground water leaks. We also manage tens of millions of smart meters for utility companies, reducing wastage and consumption, including fuel use due to engineer visits and call outs.

Manufacturing and logistics

We connect smart factories so they can benefit from improved productivity and reduced energy consumption. Our connected terminals can also facilitate predictive vehicle maintenance and identify the most fuel-efficient delivery routes while cold chain monitoring reduces pharmaceutical waste.

Mobility

By providing over-the-air updates, drivers of connected cars can save fuel through dynamic routing, adaptive cruise control and tyre pressure monitoring while usage-based insurance, encourages better driving behaviour, reducing fuel consumption and repair emissions. By connecting drivers of electric vehicles to charging points, we are also encouraging public and private eMobility.

Smart cities

IoT enables the control of streetlights, so they can be adapted to changing conditions, as well as connecting smart bins and trucks to optimise waste collection. IoT-enabled smart parking cuts traffic congestion, while our enabling of remote at-home patient monitoring improves patient care and reduces journeys to hospital.

Smart offices

With Vodafone’s Smart Office IoT solutions, businesses can monitor energy and floorspace use as well as the state of critical infrastructure on a single platform. This allows them to adjust room and energy use to meet emission targets and optimise maintenance scheduling to prevent costly disruption and repairs. Data can also be made visible to staff to increase awareness of their impact on the environment and drive a movement towards sustainability.

Agriculture and environmental monitoring

By connecting IoT devices and sensors, we help farmers to monitor their livestock, soil quality and crop health, reducing irrigation and fertilizer use, while other IoT connectivity solutions help protect the environment, including sensors that detect wildfires.

All these measures can make a big difference. For example, in the 2024 financial year alone, Vodafone IoT services helped our customers avoid around 32.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emission, and since 2020 we estimate that we have enabled our customers to avoid a cumulative 78.3m tCO2e.

Working together

Ahead of Earth Day 2025, Vodafone remains committed to helping our customers achieve greater sustainability, we are also committed to doing so ourselves. Since 2020, Vodafone has reduced its own emissions by 59% and aims to reach Net Zero by 2040 across all operations, as well as being awarded a platinum medal by EcoVadis in recognition of its sustainability achievements.

By adopting IoT, businesses can benefit from smarter resource management, reducing emissions, and enhancing operational efficiency – helping them to operate more sustainably. To find out more, why not visit: Enabling the green transition.