As the world turns its eyes to Paris for the Olympic Games, a transformative shift is under way that will see sustainability take centre stage alongside athletic prowess.
The International Olympic Committee has committed to an ambitious sustainability strategy to reduce its direct and indirect emissions. This paves the way for Paris 2024 to be the first climate-positive Olympics, setting a new standard with 100 per cent renewable energy usage and the “reduce, repurpose and re-use” approach that will shape all future Games.
At the core of these sustainability efforts, and for the first time, cloud technology will play a pivotal role in measuring and analysing the electricity consumption across all 35 competition venues.
Leading this is Alibaba Cloud's Energy Expert platform, an AI-driven sustainability solution that aims to enable more accurate analysis of power consumption at competition venues and enable better-informed power consumption planning for future Olympic Games.
Energy Expert: a game-changer for sustainability
Energy Expert is not just another energy management tool; it's a comprehensive platform that brings together diverse datasets to provide actionable insights. By consolidating information on electricity consumption, power demand, venue capacity, competition schedules, and local weather conditions, the IOC can create a holistic view of energy usage. This data is then visualised on an integrated dashboard, offering organisers unprecedented clarity on their energy footprint.
The use of Energy Expert at Paris 2024 marks a significant shift in handling Games-related intelligence. Real-time electricity consumption will be gathered from a few chosen competition venues with 100 smart electric meters installed to collect comprehensive datasets. Moreover, electricity data from previous Games, including London 2012, PyeongChang 2018, and Tokyo 2020, will be analysed by Energy Expert. This move towards cloud-based intelligence centralisation and analysis allows for continuous improvement and benchmarking across different editions of the Olympics.
Energy Expert's AI-driven capabilities will also extend to temporary exhibition venues during the Games, offering tailored recommendations to optimise energy usage and reduce environmental impact. For example, the main structure from Alibaba Wonder Avenue in the Avenue des Champs-Elysees is constructed from sustainable wooden materials and recyclable steel to cut the carbon footprint. This approach ensures the temporary venues align with Paris 2024's commitment to reduce environmental impact and promote sustainable event management.
Real-world impact beyond Paris
The potential impact of Energy Expert extends far beyond a single event. Given the massive scale of sports events and the gathering of athletes, officials, and fans from around the world, energy management is imperative for the Olympics and the broader sports industry.
At Alibaba Cloud, we've already seen the transformative power of this technology across various sporting events and industries.
At the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore, Energy Expert provided critical insights into carbon emissions from temporary construction, helping reduce the carbon footprint through digital alternatives and material reuse.
During the Hangzhou Asian Games, an interactive sustainability web application introduced by Alibaba Cloud shows how technology can encourage environmentally responsible behaviour. By rewarding eco-friendly choices with tangible benefits, such as carbon points, the sports industry can foster a culture of sustainability among participants and spectators alike.
Energy Expert is even being implemented at Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou, the Xixi campus. The AI-driven system optimised temperature control and energy usage, cutting off-peak consumption by 30 per cent and reducing annual air-conditioning energy use by 17 per cent. These improvements reduced carbon emissions by 488 tonnes annually and saved 600,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.
Globally, the technology is helping more than 3,000 customers measure, analyse, and manage the carbon emissions of their business activities and products. This wide-ranging application demonstrates the versatility and scalability of cloud-based sustainability solutions.
A new era of sustainable sports
Looking to the future, it's clear that the intersection of technology and sustainability will redefine the sporting world. The deployment of Energy Expert at Paris 2024 is just the beginning. We envision a future where AI-driven analytics, cloud-based operations, and green incentives become standard in event management.
Imagine a world where organisers have real-time data to optimise energy use, can predict and adjust power consumption based on event schedules, and where the efficiency of every kilowatt is meticulously maximised. This is the future Alibaba Cloud is working towards and we believe Paris 2024 can serve as the catalyst for a new era in sustainable sports management.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
