This year’s Environment Analyst Global Business Summit in Chicago, IL, brought 150+ sustainability consulting leaders, clients and stakeholders together to:
- Explore how sustainability and ESG drivers are impacting the North American market
- Develop strategies to fully integrate ESG within your business and showcase real action
BST Global President and Chief Technology Officer Carlos A. Baldor Jr. presented during a session titled “Digital Impact & Transformation: Leveraging Data & Digital Innovation to Provide New Solutions, Add Real Value & Achieve Sustainability Goals.” His presentation focused on how AI and machine learning are changing the AEC industry, and the opportunity this presents for firms to move forward on the road to digital transformation.
Carlos stressed that firms today need to become more data-driven and addressed some of the challenges in doing so. “It’s not just about having a lot of data,” he noted. “An interesting anecdote to this point is that, of all the data generated in our day-to-day operations, only about 10% of it is actually unique — the rest is replicated. That means the other 90% is just creating more noise that you have to cut through to find meaning in your data.” He went on to explain that meaningful data must be:
- Unified — Identifiy data from across your data landscape that is relevant to a specific objective and strategically apply it to see a clearer picture of how to achieve the desired outcome
- Secure — Ensure that your data collection, storage and usage processes adhere to all applicable privacy and security regulations
- Smart — Adopt a data strategy that applies the right tools, like machine learning, to make your data more valuable
Next, Carlos discussed how AI and machine learning are changing the way AEC firms work. He shared that advancements in these technologies allow many administrative tasks and processes to be automated, and touched on how the strategic application of breakthrough technologies like ChatGPT can help more human-led tasks be completed faster.
After his presentation, Carlos sat down with AECOM’s Vice President & ESG Implementation Lead, Robert M. Beinstein, to discuss the implications for ESG efforts and answer audience questions. Among other topics, Carlos cited an example of AI and machine learning in action as electric companies in California are applying these technologies creatively in an effort to more effectively stop the spread of wildfires. He discusses this further in an interview published recently by Environment Analyst, where he also shares his thoughts around ChatGPT, and how digital technologies can be applied to answer challenges such as the ongoing skills shortage and reducing a company’s carbon footprint. Read the full interview for more details.
BST Global appreciates the opportunity to participate in events like the Environment Analyst Global Business Summit, and looks forward to future engagements. Check out our Events page to find out where else we’ll be — we’d love to see you at some of our sessions!
