Global Priorities: Environment - Frost & Sullivan Institute

The environment is the sole factor for the existence of life on Earth and human activities have had an undeniable impact on the environment, resulting in the rapid depletion of critical natural resources. Overuse has led to the loss of biodiversity and climate change, which are unprecedented environmental challenges facing our planet. In recent years, there has been a significant surge in natural disasters across different regions, leading to an extreme loss of life in natural environments. Shockingly, 27,000 species were threatened with extinction in 2019 alone. To tackle these environmental challenges, we need to modify our consumption model and develop a coordinated, comprehensive, and timely response. At FSI, we are dedicated to addressing these issues and working towards a sustainable future.

Many countries and governments are now taking action to save the planet by conserving their natural resources and repairing damages to reverse negative trends. Shockingly, the developed countries of the world, which make up only 18% of the world’s population, use about 88% of the world’s resources and produce around 75% of the world’s waste and pollution, according to the World Bank. Unfortunately, most of this waste ends up in landfills, generating significant amounts of methane. Forest fires, deforestation, and large-scale timber harvesting for commercial use are contributing to the alarming rate at which our forests are decreasing. At FSI, we believe that everyone has a responsibility to work towards a sustainable future and are committed to playing our part in this global effort.

We at FSI support various initiatives suggested by the government and implemented a few at our own offices. Our volunteers are also active participants of initiatives organized by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Our Energy and Environment research yields a lot of valuable details on Water & Waste Water Treatment, Waste Management, and Energy Management which can be used by governments, NGOs to focus on the grey areas that require attention.

Climate Change

Vulnerable Groups

Behavioral Change

International Governance

Waste Management

Climate Change

Vulnerable Groups

Behavioral Change

International Governance

Waste Management

Related Thought Leadership

Digital Water Initiatives to Drive Digital Twin Adoption in the Global Water Industry

This research aims to explore a company’s ‘Growth Zone’ in the water industry through digital twin opportunities. It analyses digital twin architecture, competitive landscape, evaluates potential OPEX savings, and pinpoints the key drivers and restraints influencing the market growth. The study presents a digital water index for 21 countries, highlights the top three strategic imperatives for participants in the water industry, and discusses competitors’ various solutions and projects. It also lists ten key growth opportunities for market participants to capitalize on in this high-growth market. The global water industry’s digital twin market was estimated at $415.7 million in 2019 and will grow at a CAGR of 32.0% until 2026. A digital twin is an emerging technology-based application in the water industry; however, its adoption has some barriers. One of the main obstacles that Frost & Sullivan identifies is the lack of concrete evidence about the state of water infrastructure in different countries from a technological standpoint. This makes it difficult for stakeholders to decide on geography-based future investments. Frost & Sullivan developed an indicator in the form of a Digital Water Index, which gauges the sustainability of a country’s water infrastructure and its adoption of transformative technologies such as AI, IoT, and cloud. The digital water index comprises two indexes: 1) Water Index and 2) Technology Index. The water index is evaluated based on three sub-indexes: 1) Resiliency; 2) Efficiency, and 3) Quality. • Resiliency is evaluated based on a country’s water resources, water-related disasters, risks, and vulnerabilities. • Efficiency covers water leakages, water metering and charges, service continuity, and water and wastewater reuse capabilities. • Quality considers water health, sanitation, water pollution, and environmental effects. The technology index is evaluated based on a country’s strengths and opportunities indicated by four categories and 12 indicators. #Artificial Intelligence #BIM #Digital Twin #Digital Water #Digital Water Index #Digitalization #GIS #IoT #SCADA #Smart Water #Sustainability

Assessment of Growth Opportunities in the Indian eWaste Management Market

The eWaste management market in India is expected to offer major opportunities for existing as well as new participants in the market. With current levels of installed capacity catering just to 25% of the total e-waste generated in 2019, capacity additions are highly likely during the study period. Frost & Sullivan predicts that the market will touch 11.5 million tonnes by 2025. The study delves into various insights on the current state of the eWaste management market in India and jots down the drivers and restraints to its growth. The increase in the number of dual-income families, the burgeoning electronics industry, the rapid growth of IT companies, and progressive policies that aim to improve the formal channel are the key growth drivers in the market. At the same time, the market growth is restrained by a general lack of awareness about proper eWaste management, the presence of a large unorganised channel and the capital-intensive nature of eWaste management market. It is also worth noting that the high level of capital expenditure is also a major barrier for entry into the market. #E-Waste Regulatory environment in India #E-Waste in India #Extended Producer Responsibility #Growth Opportunities in E-Waste Market #Indian E-Waste Market #Urban Mining

Growth Opportunities in the Medical Waste Management Market in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Forecast to 2024

The landscape for medical waste management across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific is in a time of uncertainty and turbulence. The COVID-19 global pandemic has brought a glut of medical waste, but at the same time, the postponement or cancellation of medical appointments and elective surgeries has tempered the impact in terms of absolute volume. Key medical waste management methods, incineration and autoclaving, will continue to lead in actual tons waste managed, but changing conditions create an opportunity for new services and treatment methods. These conditions include pressure from COVID-19, the global push for sustainable and circular economies, as well as growing regulation and its enforcement worldwide, but most specifically in developing economies. As a result, there is increasing interest in no-burn solutions, on-site solutions, and autoclave alternatives, such as microwave and ozone. The global medical waste management market, historically, has been led by aging populations. With older populations increasing their overall shares in North America and Europe, and future aging anticipated in Asia-Pacific, the need for greater capacity and more efficient medical waste management is clear. Available and affordable capacity to meet customer demand in their regions becomes crucial to meeting this demand. A mismatch between supply and demand, or regulation and enforcement, will result in uncaptured market revenues. Market participants must be informed of the various market landscapes to ensure they meet locations of market growth with globally leading capabilities, but a locally relevant value proposition. This research service investigates the medical waste management market in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, which is segmented into three main revenue categories: incineration, autoclave, and other treatment. With an evaluation of the growth environment and market revenues and forecast, the study further delivers visioning scenarios and a growth pipeline, which identifies opportunities in vision and strategy and brand and demand. The leading stakeholders in the market, including key service providers, regulators, and customers have contributed to this research. Data and primary research inputs have been aggregated and analyzed to determine key market opportunities over the forecasted period (2020-2024). #aging populations #autoclave #chemical waste #chlorine #healthcare #hospital #incineration #infectious waste #landfill #medical waste #microwave #ozone #pathological waste #pharmaceutical waste #sharps

COVID-19 Presenting Strong Growth Opportunities for Digital Grid Maintenance Solution Providers, 2020

The digital grid maintenance market is undergoing a period of further integration and technological changes. This study provides an overview of the aspects of software-enabled digital grid maintenance. The market, like many others, is not insulated from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, while the COVID-19 pandemic initially contributed to a market slowdown, the after-effects are expected to drive grid digitization, especially digital grid maintenance solutions, as utilities look to optimize the usage of their existing workforce, bring in predictive maintenance aspects, and reduce operational expenditures (OPEX). Some key strategic imperatives impacting the market include disruptive technologies, industry convergence, and innovative business models. These comprise digital sensor networks and digitized operational control, supported by advanced analytics, which help create the core of a comprehensive grid maintenance solution. The convergence of pure-play software companies with utilities and grid operation and maintenance (O&M) organizations is also present in the market. Organizations are increasingly looking at a solution-based approach to provide hardware monitoring, software, and services to customers. Some of the factors driving the market are: aging infrastructure combined with rising weather challenges, positive regulatory reforms, shortage of workforce and aging workforce in developed regions (creating a need for automation in grid maintenance), rising deployment of distributed energy resources (DER), and regional collaborations and consortiums. On the other hand, key factors that are expected to restrict market growth are: poor governance and political instability in many developing regions, investment constraints, and the negative macroeconomic effects of COVID-19. The market brings a number of growth opportunities, including the usage of digital twin simulations to enable optimization in grid O&M activities, AI-enabled maintenance supply chains, and various workforce augmentation initiatives, such as sensor-based asset health monitoring and the deployment of AR/VR technologies to effectively diagnose or support drone deployment. Making inroads into the DER ecosystem is also an opportunity for high growth. There is a fair amount of M&A activities in this market, given the number of established participants and the plethora of software-driven start-ups across regions. This is expected to continue in the near future. Aftersales support, upgrade support, and training initiatives will play a key role in driving sales for market participants. Support in the execution of digital grid maintenance projects and helping ensure continued savings will drive adoption rates in this rapidly evolving market. #DER #Digital Grids #Grid Analytics #Grid Asset Management #Grid COVID impact #Grid Maintenance #Grid O&M #Grid asset health #Utilities Software #predictive maintenance

Digital Sustainability to Drive Adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Digital Twin Solutions in the Built Environment

The purpose of this research is to explore your company’s ‘Growth Zone’ in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry through building information modelling (BIM) and digital twin opportunities. The study highlights market developments such as the evolution of the BIM and digital twin platform, impact of major technologies in the construction industry, important driving and restraining factors that influence market growth, top predictions, latest trends, market measurements at a global and regional level, competitive landscape, key company profiles, and growth opportunities and strategic imperatives for market participants to capitalise on in this high-growth market. BIM and digital twin is a technology-based software and services market that has evolved from the 2D and 3D design tools, which involved a lot of paperwork. BIM and digital twin, which is one of the modern digital construction tools, enable AEC industry professionals to proficiently plan, design, construct, operate, and manage buildings and infrastructure. The implementation of BIM and digital twin platform for construction projects has been increasing at an accelerated rate in the last 5 years. Both public and private sector stakeholders play a crucial role in bringing awareness and business interests in BIM and digital twin. The main drivers identified for BIM and digital twin adoption are increasing digitalisation in the private sector; increasing penetration of building Internet of Things (IoT); sustainable building techniques; governmental support for BIM implementation; business potential with increasing urbanization; and a higher level of collaboration between stakeholders in construction projects. The global BIM and digital twin market was estimated at $5,225.6 million in 2019, and will grow at a CAGR of 14.5% until 2026. #AEC #Architecture #Artificial intelligence #BIM #Climate Change #Construction #Digital Twin #Digitalization #Net-Zero Buildings #Smart Buildings #Sustainability

Growth Opportunities from Decarbonisation in the Global Power Market, 2019ÔÇô2030

Powered by a strong momentum behind renewable energy, the power market is heading into the 2020s having come many-a-mile from the last decade. The 2020s will be a critical decade for one and all in the power industry, as the transition toward renewable energy is expected to increase in volume, while coal will take a downturn in most developed markets. Simultaneously, the shift towards electric vehicles is expected to create numerous opportunities for emerging business models and collaborations and partnerships between incumbents in the energy and mobility ecosystem. This research and analysis centres on some of the most important market trends across 5 major geographies—North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, China, and India. The most significant trend observed across developed markets is the surge in need for flexibility, as system operators are coming under increasing pressure to manage the system with uncertain renewable output, declining coal output, and demand-side variability. As a result, technologies and solutions such as battery energy storage systems (BESS), gas engines, demand side response (DSR), and virtual power plants (VPP) are witnessing unprecedented adoption rates amongst utilities, solution providers, and end consumers, as these can also participate in flexible markets, including ancillary services. Moreover, the shift towards electric vehicles is expected to give rise to newer business models such as vehicle to grid (V2G), vehicle to home (V2H), and dynamic pricing, as consumers look to monetise their assets through market opportunities. Emerging countries, China and India, are expected to primarily depend on coal in the coming decade even though they continue to add renewable energy capacities to their respective grids. Coal plant utilisation, however, is likely to decline, especially during the day, as solar photovoltaic (PV) continues to penetrate in both markets. The Middle East, on the other hand, underpinned by the shift in energy policy, is starting to shift away from fossil fuels towards renewables, mainly solar PV and wind. Meanwhile, Latin America is set for a record decade, as electricity demand is forecast for above-average growth. Through various conversations with market incumbents, Frost & Sullivan opines that the following 3 factors are vital for industry participants across the globe: • Decentralization and Flexibility • Emerging Business Models • Collaborations and partnerships on various fronts such as digitisation, electric vehicles, and energy aggregation #coal #decentralised energy #demand response #distributed generation #flexibility #gas #grid management #nuclear #solar PV #wind

Global Renewable Energy Inverters Market, Forecast to 2026

The growing adoption of renewable energy (RE) generation across the globe is expected to drive the growth of the RE inverters market over the coming years. The continually declining prices of RE, coupled with country-specific clean energy targets and increasing corporate procurement, are driving the growth of the global RE inverters market. The market is expected to grow steadily with a slight decline over the medium term and long term. The growth will be driven mainly by solar photovoltaic (PV) installations with an increasing share of battery storage inverters spurred on by the growing popularity of RE storage solutions. Growth in the global renewable energy inverter market is driven by the installation of renewable energy systems. The RE inverters market is led by solar PV (PV constitutes 93.3% of the market), followed by battery storage (4.8%), small wind (1.1%), and fuel cell unit (0.8%) inverters. The global market is forecast to increase from $ 11.46 billion in 2019 to $ 15.23 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 4.1%, driven largely by increased investments in solar PV based generation and escalating popularity of solar plus storage solutions. The market for solar inverters is dominated by China and India, while the battery storage inverter market is led mainly by the United States, South Korea, Australia, and Japan. Key countries for the fuel cell inverter market are Japan and the United States whereas the small wind market is led by China, Italy, and the United States. Market trends have been analyzed for the study period covering 2016 through 2026, with the base year being 2019. The study covers North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Rest of the World (ROW). The global RE inverter market, particularly the solar inverter segment is witnessing consolidation and exits as competition intensifies amid increasing pricing pressures and declining profit margins. Key companies in this space include Huawei, Sungrow, ABB, SMA, SolarEdge, and Fronius. #Balance of System #Battery Storage #Clean Energy Targets #Corporate Procurement #Distributed Generation #Fuel Cell #LCOE #PPAs #Renewable Energy #Small Wind #Solar PV

Impact of COVID-19 on Global Homes and Buildings Industry, 2020

The homes and buildings (H&B) industry is driven by the penetration of Internet of Things (IoT) at the field level of buildings, the emerging adoption of AI-driven solutions at the management level, and cloud-based data analytics. These technologies are significantly impacting smart homes, LED lighting, building automation, and building energy management markets. The H&B industry is a combination of traditional and high-growth segments, with huge opportunities for both leading and emerging participants. Leading building technology participants are swiftly changing their value propositions toward improving the energy efficiency and sustainability of buildings, as well as occupants’ comfort, by integrating digital offerings in their solutions and through mergers and acquisitions. Emerging participants are innovating at a fast pace, by incorporating some of the cutting-edge technologies in their product offerings. This, sometimes, outsmarts the product offerings of incumbents. Therefore, it is necessary for market participants, investors, and stakeholders to know about the H&B ecosystem, key growth opportunities in different segments of the market during the COVID-19 crisis, target regions, technologies transforming the market, and best practices of companies to overcome the pandemic challenges. This deliverable will help participants understand the dynamics of the market with the COVID-19 impact in the short and long terms.

#fire #safety and security #smart homes

Waste Management Initiatives in Top Asian Cities, 2019

Waste management is one of the major problems impacting cities today. The rapid rate of urbanization in Asia has only exacerbated the issue. The main goal of this study is to explore the waste management initiatives of major population centers and economic hubs in Asia. For the purposes of this study, 14 Asian cities were selected based on a confluence of various factors, such as population, GDP per capita, progressiveness in development indices, waste generated per capita, and efficacy of waste management policies. #food waste #hazardous waste #industrial waste #municipal waste #recycling #reuse #scheduled waste #solid waste #upcycling #waste #waste management

Sustainable Solutions Create Growth Opportunities in the Global Food & Beverage Water and Wastewater Treatment Market

The food & beverage industry is one of the most sensitive in terms of economic shifts and consumer preferences. Turning water challenges into business opportunities is seen not only as a chance to improve water efficiency and save money but more significantly as a powerful marketing tool so consumers see a brand as sustainable and concerned about the environment. The industry is moving toward smart, highly connected, and collaborative plants with a focus on control and predictability of products, processing, and resources. The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects continue to reverberate throughout many industries in 2020, and might result in some major investments and upgrades being postponed or planned using a longer-term perspective. This study focuses on water sustainability in food & beverage processing and packaging. Water and wastewater treatment is analysed in six main segments: design and engineering services, water treatment technologies, wastewater treatment technologies, process control and management, treatment chemicals, and operation and maintenance services. Growth areas are related to closing the water loop, pursuing value chain excellence, incorporating digital solutions, and reducing the environmental footprint of operations (the food-energy-water nexus). #Membrane #beverage #conservation #dairy #distillery #environment #food #industrial #process #processing #production #stewardship #stress, sustainability #treatment #wastewater #water #winery