Opinion article authored by Leila Bagaço, R&D Analyst at KCS iT. Originally published in Green Savers.

Sustainability and Technology – Hand in Hand or Back to Back?

Sustainability and Technology are two concepts that, historically, seem incompatible to most of us. But are they really?

I'm often asked how it's possible to combine technology with sustainability, since, as a rule, technological progress is associated with greater resource consumption, higher energy use, and increased waste, which, in turn, generates pollution. And indeed, that does happen.

But what about technological advances that boost our planet's sustainable development and are already part of society? Think of solar panels, wind turbines, living technologies for wastewater treatment, or digital document management, to name just a few examples. All of these came about to serve as an alternative to products and services that already existed and that had a strong environmental footprint.

Through technology, a new purpose was built for materials that had a different kind of use, repurposing them into alternatives suited to market needs and the social and environmental concerns raised by society. The secret lies in rethinking priorities and goals and reflecting on our approach to the problems we face, the products we develop, and the services we offer.

More than ever, there's an urgent need to integrate the concept of sustainability into our daily lives, not only by changing our behaviors, but also through more conscious business management regarding pollution and resource consumption.

Technology should be seen as a tool that can be used for different purposes. The decision on how it's used rests with whoever uses it, which means there can indeed be an almost perfect marriage between technology and sustainability. Technology can play a fundamental role in creating as many services and products as possible that promote sustainability while still thinking within a market logic. And this happens because it's a more urgent topic than ever, with enormous demand from companies and citizens for innovative, effective, and sustainable solutions. It's time to set aside the antagonisms and focus on the synergies.