How Field Service Management can support a cleaner future
Undoubtedly, global warming is one of the most serious issues of our times. We are aware that field service has a serious impact on climate change. An internal analysis we conducted has shown that one field service intervention emits an average of 12 kg carbon dioxide, including on-site activities and administrative structures.
We have committed ourselves to be part of the solution and compensate every single intervention handled in our software by increasing our reforestation project at our nature reserve in Africa. Furthermore, we support various research projects and built an in-house research team that explores methods to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Research and Reforestation – The Power of Knowledge and Direct Action
The Olivine Project
Olivine is a natural mineral that can absorb CO₂. Used in certain technologies, Olivine could be an effective way to reduce atmospheric CO₂ levels. Our team of scientists is diligently working to expand and improve CO₂ absorption through our own research. To conduct additional advanced research in this field, we have also partnered up with “Carbon Drawdown Initiative Carbdown GmbH”, a German start-up, working in research and direct-action projects to reduce CO₂ emissions. Current research shows that there are two potential solutions to recover Olivine: either from mining waste of large mineral deposits, or from sources where Olivine is treated and abandoned as waste or as a by-product. Our combined efforts along with other scientific methods available in the future, will move our Olivine project forward to stabilize and reduce the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration significantly.
Direct Air Capture Project
Direct Air Capture (also called carbon capture storage) is our technology cooperation project with RMIT University in Melbourne. Through our collaboration, we seek to develop a technology that reverses the process of burning fossil resources. Carbon dioxide from the air is converted back into coal and can be safely returned to the ground, causing no additional emissions. Our goal is to enable the scaling of the output from currently just grams to tons in the future.
With this technology, we can reach our final goal of creating a cleaner environment much faster.
Reforestation in Zimbabwe
Reforestation increases the carbon stock bound in biomass and soil through planting trees. Moreover, the conservation of plant population creates new wildlife habitats.
Our 800 km² tree planting farm is located in Rifa, in the lower Zambesi Valley in Zimbabwe. The farm's main focus is climate protection and local community development through restoration on our own land. Through the diverse positions and responsibilities on our farm, we can create many opportunities that provide better living conditions to local communities. Our local colleagues handle tree planting, caring, and protecting plants and the wildlife on a full-time basis. Each intervention that is initiated through our software is compensated with the adequate number of trees to eliminate the emissions on our farm.
The innovative features within our FSM software can additionally reduce pollution and save costs. There are three important areas where FSM has a sustainable impact:
- Route optimization
Automated planning arranges routes in a specific order: our algorithm calculates the optimal variant in order to cover all waypoints with available resources in the most ideal/efficient order to minimize technicians' road time. That means: no empty or second trips, higher workloads, lower fuel costs, and less CO₂ emissions.
- Paperless office Digital solutions such as our dispatch application helps companies to almost eliminate paperwork. All types of documents, from work orders to photos, notes, signatures, and invoices can be utilized in a digital way. No printing necessary – an important contribution to environmental protection.
- Cloud service With cloud-based infrastructures, the time when field service management software had to be installed on fixed high-energy computer workstations is over. Technicians work with energy-efficient devices such as tablets where they have access to all relevant data, which is properly saved in the cloud. gathering related data like photos, notes, and signatures digitally almost eliminate paperwork.
Fieldcode Climate Positivity
We aim to provide a cleaner future by encouraging our clients to use field service in a more sustainable way. Moreover, we heavily invest in our research and direct action as well as the empowerment of local communities at our nature reserve to create carbon reduction through reforestation.