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Tech for Good: technology that looks beyond Covid-19
The global "Tech for Good" (or Tech4Good) movement is thriving. It aspires to channel new technologies towards sustainability and the common good.
Lombard Odier and France Digitale, long-established partners, held a webinar1 that aimed to look beyond the pandemic and contemplate the future of our economies, which are undergoing a transition in the sustainability and technology sectors.
Patrick Odier, our Senior Managing Partner, and Nicolas Brien, CEO of France Digitale, offered some interesting insights in a Q&A.
Discover more below.
Could you give us some examples of Tech for Good initiatives or businesses that were developed in 2020?
Nicolas Brien: The lockdowns in 2020 generated an unprecedented acceleration in digital technology that resulted in several digital initiatives springing up with the aim of contributing to the common good. At France Digitale, we have seen a coalition of 300 start-ups emerge from amongst our members, which provided concrete solutions to combat the effects of the pandemic. One example is a solution for remote consultations for certain psychiatric patients who no longer had regular support during the lockdowns. Some startups also made their computational skills available to the medical industry to model scientific analyses in order to help develop treatments for Covid-19. Another positive aspect I would like to emphasise is investors' growing interest in Tech for Good companies, with substantial capital being raised in 2020.
Patrick Odier: Tech for Good is clearly thriving. Aside from the health and environmental elements, I would also like to mention the social issues we wanted to address. We were particularly interested in inclusion from a collective point of view. Inclusion has been undermined during the pandemic and it is important to the stability of our societies. One example is financial inclusion for those who do not have access to bank accounts and are hampered by a certain degree of insecurity with limited access to benefits and employment. Another important topic for us is the vulnerable such as the elderly or individuals suffering from isolation. Finally, we want inclusion for people who are living with disabilities. Technologies such as GiveVision are helping those with impaired vision for example.
Political support for sustainability and Tech for Good has strengthened in recent months, despite the focus on crisis management. What is your opinion?
Nicolas Brien: There has been much talk of "the world of tomorrow" in the last few months. I am convinced that this “world of tomorrow” will consist of two overarching trends: the environmental transition and a digital transformation. And we will not get very far if these trends do not succeed. Thus I am very pleased that our lawmakers are heading in the right direction, for example the European Recovery Plan, which is largely based on digital technology and sustainability.
Patrick Odier: I agree with Nicolas' analysis. It is, of course, essential that the private sector gears up for sustainability and the common good. But politicians have a role to play too, just like international organisations – I'm thinking of the Sustainable Development Goals. Without interfering too much, politicians can help create frameworks, regulations and conditions that enable us all to speak the same language. I should mention here the adoption, some months ago of the EU's sustainable finance taxonomy regulation, is a good example. It should allow us to lay down a framework for sustainable finance and support more sustainable growth models.
Aside from companies and the political arena, what role can banks and the financial sector play?
Patrick Odier: For our part, we firmly believe that sustainability will be a major performance driver in the future, and that technology can act as an exceptional accelerator and facilitator. Our fiduciary responsibility is to take into account these aspects by identifying investment opportunities and, at the same time, managing portfolio risks, as some unsustainable activities are under threat.
It is also our responsibility to develop proven investment models in this area. This is why we are keen to forge partnerships with specialist companies, international investor groups and academic research centres, such as Oxford University and the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. This is vital, as financial management needs scientific accreditation for both its methodology and its data. This is the area where there is still scope for progress and innovation.
So what is your vision for measuring the impact and transparency for investors?
Nicolas Brien: The impact of digital technology today means that there are over 3.5 billion internet users. Every second, 400 people connect to the internet for the first time around the world! This means that there will be several thousand more by the time we finish this conversation. But we shouldn't worry too much about this, as many models of the environmental impact of digital technology are extrapolations and not actual measurements. The International Energy Agency (IEA) calculated that internet traffic has increased twelvefold since 2010. However, data centres' contribution to global power consumption has remained stable over the same period, at around 1%. It is encouraging that we can continue to guarantee access to the internet for as many people as possible while at the same time moving towards greater awareness.
Patrick Odier: As Nicolas says the first requirement is to obtain the appropriate data to measure the impact. In this area, we must encourage initiatives that make it possible to develop qualitative and quantitative data. I can mention, for example, one of our former managers, who created a company called Impaakt, which is becoming one of the leading providers of impact data. This data is necessary for decision-making and to assess a company or investment, not only in terms of its financial health but also with regard to the positive or negative impact it has on its environment.
We have developed a method of measuring the “temperature” trajectory of portfolios so that we can assess the extent to which they contribute to global warming, in line with the Paris Agreement. The concept seems simple, but the methodology is complex. There is still a long way to go before we can assess the impact more accurately and define indicators, for example, relating to nature or biodiversity. New technologies and big data analysis will certainly be able to help us with this in the future.
1 Event date was 16 December 2020
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