Internet of Things and the Environment

Abstract

Abstract Along with the well-known attributes of mankind's future (sustainable, socially inclusive, environmentally-friendly), the last few years we was witnessing the appearance of a new digital attribute. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the ongoing digital revolution that attempts to put into practice all the benefits of explosive development of digital technologies and associated communication capabilities. The huge amount of information collected by computerized planning, production management, technology risk practice and health hazards monitoring has to serve both economic development, advanced management resources, financial profit, and a better protected environment. The IoT Revolution is in its early stages and its focus is on assuring the associated infrastructure as quickly as possible (hardware, BigData software, sensor systems, protected sensitive data, safe communications). The first results are expected in optimizing and streamlining technologies in the management of non-renewable resources. It is appreciated that by 2030, the value added by IoT will amount to about $14 trillion in industry alone. But it would be a mistake to stop the benefits of IoT there. The authors devise a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Traits) analysis, and evaluate the benefits and risks of aligning environmental/social policies to the IoT, proposing a brevity of measures to ensure that the sustainability is considered in the IoT implementation at all stages and at all levels: enterprise, industrial, geographical area, global region. The IoT vision and mission are presented in light of this approach, strategic objectives and important action directions. It also highlights the ethical issues related to the development of an interconnected world through IoT (where unrestrained access to information is stopped, who and for whose control this access has been made, etc.). The terms IoE (Internet of Environment) and IoS (Internet of Sustainability) are suggested.