Advanced technologies for industry : AT watch : technology focus on the Internet of Things.
Date: 2021-03-31
Institutions: Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Subjects: Internet of Things, advanced technology industry, automation, circular economy, environmental monitoring, health care, intelligent transport system, motor vehicle, report, social impact, sustainable development, traffic control

March 2021 

Advanced Technologies  
for Industry – AT WATCH 

Technology Focus on the Internet of Things 

 
  
  
 
 
  
  
AT WATCH: Technology Focus on IoT – European Commission  

This report was prepared by John Gole, Marta Muñoz Méndez-Villamil, Giorgio Micheletti and Irene 
Magnani (IDC). 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EASME) 
Unit A.1.2 – COSME 
E-mail: EASME-COSME-ENQUIRIES@ec.europa.eu  

Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs 
Unit D.2 – Industrial forum, alliances, clusters 
E-mail: GROW-ATI@ec.europa.eu 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

LEGAL NOTICE 

The information and views set out in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official 
opinion of EASME or of the Commission. Neither EASME nor the Commission can guarantee the accuracy of the data 
included  in  this  study.  Neither  EASME  nor  the  Commission  or  any  person  acting  on  their  behalf  may  be  held 
responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained herein. 

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://www.europa.eu). 

PDF 

ISBN 978-92-9460-563-4 

doi: 10.2826/925666 

EA-01-21-112-EN-N 

© European Union, 2021 

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AT WATCH: Technology Focus on IoT – European Commission  

Section 1 
Table of Contents 

Section 1 ............................................................................................................................... 3 

1 

Introduction .................................................................................................................... 4 

1.1  The Advanced Technologies for Industry Landscape ................................................. 5 

Section 2 ............................................................................................................................. 10 

2  Technology Focus: Internet of Things ........................................................................... 10 

2.1  Definition and Scope ............................................................................................... 10 

2.1.1 

Benefits of the Internet of Things ........................................................................... 11 

2.2  Market Potential ..................................................................................................... 13 

2.2.1 

Adoption ............................................................................................................. 13 

2.2.2  Demand Trends ................................................................................................... 17 

2.2.3 

The Main Challenges ............................................................................................ 19 

2.2.4 

Enabling Technologies .......................................................................................... 21 

2.2.5 

IoT Use Cases ..................................................................................................... 23 

2.3  Social and Sustainability Impacts of the Internet of Things .................................... 25 

2.3.1 

Sustainability Drivers ........................................................................................... 25 

2.3.2 

Technology as part of the solution – IoT Use Cases .................................................. 27 

2.3.3 

The Circular Economy ........................................................................................... 35 

2.3.4 

IoT for Social Good .............................................................................................. 36 

2.4  Policy Implications.................................................................................................. 38 

3  Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 42 

Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 43 

Sitography ........................................................................................................................... 44 

Appendix A: Advanced Technology Uptake .......................................................................... 48 

About the ‘Advanced Technologies for Industry’ Project ..................................................... 49 

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1  Introduction 

This  Advanced  Technology  Watch  report  has  been  developed  in  the  framework  of  the  Advanced 
Technologies for Industry (ATI) project, initiated by the European Commission, Directorate General for 
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-
Sized Enterprises.  

As a part of a series of analytical reports on trends in advanced technologies, this report represents the 
second issue of a comprehensive monitoring tool endowing policymakers, industry players, researchers 
and other relevant stakeholders with regularly updatable research. The ATI Watch report series is meant 
to play a complementary role to the  other  analytical, policy  and  statistical  reports of the project,  by 
focusing  on  the  market,  business  and  socioeconomic  trends  driven  by  technology  innovation.  This 
Advanced Technology Watch therefore encompasses a whole set of advanced technologies that are a 
priority  for  European  industrial  policy.  These  technologies  enable  process,  product  and  service 
innovation throughout the economy, thus fostering industrial modernisation.  

The  qualitative  and  quantitative  analysis  included  in  this  Advanced  Technology  Watch  report  is 
specifically  designed  to  provide  novel  insight  and  up-to-date  content  to  technology  users  across  all 
European industries, with the aim of revealing potential opportunities emerging from the most recent 
applications of advanced technologies.  

The ATI Watch report series targets: 

•  A  primary  audience  of  industry  stakeholders,  including  SMEs  and  industry  associations 

interested in learning about upcoming technology trends and business opportunities 

•  A complementary audience of national, regional and local policy makers interested in supporting 
industry  in  the exploitation of technology innovation and  emerging business opportunities by 
removing barriers and creating favourable market conditions 

•  A complementary audience of research and technology stakeholders interested in the applied 

research challenges to be solved to capture emerging business opportunities 

Each report is thus structured using two main sections: 

•  A  brief  overview  of  the  uptake  of  all  advanced  technologies  and  demand  trends  by  industry 

(Section 1: Technology Landscape)  

•  A more in-depth analysis of one advanced technology, selected because of its relevance in terms 
of emerging business opportunities and disruptive potential (Section 2: Technology Focus).  

This  report  focuses  on  the  evolution  of  IoT  (Internet  of  Things),  which  is  being  transformed  by 
technology innovation and evolving supply-and-demand dynamics.  

The targeted audience of this report is threefold: 

• 

European  IoT  service  providers:  the  market  trends  discussed  in  this  report  open  new 
opportunities for these industry stakeholders 

•  Regional  and  local  policy  makers  interested  in  supporting  IoT  industry  in  the  exploitation  of 

technology innovation 

• 

European IoT users: users should be aware of technology and evolving supply trends to make 
the best choices for the IoT initiatives which could support their digital transformation initiatives. 

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1.1  The Advanced Technologies for Industry Landscape 

The digitisation and industry modernisation process in Europe is progressing at different speeds across 
all industry sectors, driven by a whole set of changing priorities, challenges and use cases. Advanced 
technology adoption has been impacted by the pandemic, resulting in a slowdown necessary to allow 
companies to focus on more business contingency related initiatives. At the same time, the COVID-19 
has sped up  the adoption of  some specific technologies through forced digitisation of customers and 
supply-chains  interactions  and  all  the  related  internal  processes.  These  technologies  are  acting  as 
‘return-to-growth’ accelerators, making businesses and organisations as a whole more resilient for the 
future scenario. However, throughout the path to recovery, the focus will be more on safe bets than big 
bets. 

The different mix of advanced technologies adopted by each industry is visualised in Figure 1. The figure 
shows  the  percentage  share  of  enterprises  in  each  industry  adopting  or  planning  to  adopt  each 
technology (the size of bubbles corresponds to the level of uptake, with the highest value being 85%). 
The data is based on the Advanced Technologies for Industry Survey (November 2020)1 and on a sample 
of European enterprises from 7 Member States, representing more than 60% of the EU GDP in 2020. 
This is an updated version of last year  the ATI Survey conducted in July 2019. 

Figure 1: Advanced Technologies Uptake by European Industries, 2020 

Source: Advanced Technologies for Industry Survey November 2020, (N=1 547).  

Note: Bubble size represents the % of enterprises in the industry adopting the technology in the same row. The maximum value  is 
85%.2 Technologies are ordered top-down based on the total sample average adoption.  

The  visualisation  highlights  how  a  distinct  group  of  technologies  features  a  marked  horizontal 
diffusion  across  all  industries  (general  purpose  technologies  Connectivity,  Security,  Public  Cloud, 
Mobile solutions, Big Data & Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Digital Platform): they 
represent  the  technology  portfolio  necessary  (but  not  sufficient)  for  digital  transformation.  Other 
technologies  clearly  display  a  niche  or  industry-specific  orientation.  However,  this  does  not 
mean that they do not provide opportunities for investments outside their main industry niche. Robotics 
is a very interesting example: the technology was initially developed in manufacturing, where it served 
as a substitute to human workforce in several time-consuming tasks, helping human to save time and 
speed  up  production.  New  areas  of  applications  are  now  emerging  and  multiple  novel  use  cases 
proliferate in order to drive business value in other industries. For instance, in manufacturing, Robotics 
is  used  for  a  wide  variety  of  tasks,  from  shop  floor  production  automation  to  warehouse  inventory 

1 The survey interviewed a sample of 1,547 enterprises with more than 10 employees in DK, DE, FR, ES, IT, PL, SE.  
2 The ATI technology definitions can be found in the methodological report at https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/eu-reports/advanced-
technologies-industry-methodological-report 

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management. Similarly, Robotics exhibits a great potential in the healthcare sector where it can be used 
to support the medical personnel enhancing procedures’ safety, reducing operative costs, disinfecting 
rooms, preparing and storing medications and much more. Compared to the previous survey, industries 
show  some  similar  technological  patterns:  connectivity,  public  cloud  and  security  technologies  are 
among  the  most  adopted  technologies,  with  small  differences  across  industries,  while  advanced 
materials,  nanotechnologies  and  industrial  biotechnology  represent  a  niche  of  few  sectors,  such  as 
manufacturing and healthcare. Compared to 2019 results, IoT and AI show an interesting increasing 
pattern in Transport and Healthcare, while  B2B industrial digital platform is quickly taking ground in 
manufacturing and agriculture. Firms in the finance sector are more and more interested in Robotics, 
which represent the highest increase in adoption rate across industries, proving the high potential this 
technology  can  provide  to  the  sector.  Referring  to  Robotics,  respondents  mainly  referred  to  Robotic 
Process  Automation  (RPA),  which  finds  very  fertile  ground  in  this  sector.  On  the  other  side,  some 
technologies are slowing down: while industrial biotechnology is increasingly adopted in manufacturing, 
it is decelerating in utilities. A similar trend is shown for the public cloud in healthcare and retail.  

When looking at the European industries in more detail, we observe that:  

• 

• 

The  operational  excellence  that  the  manufacturing  industry  is  looking  for  will  be  achieved 
through  the  adoption  of  advanced  technologies.  This  operational  improvement  will  be  of 
paramount  importance  in  ensuring  performance  during  the  next  normal.  In  fact,  COVID-19 
impact on trade caught many firms unprepared, with negative consequences on supply chains. 
This event drastically changed the focus from  a low-cost country sourcing mantra to  a  more 
resilient and simpler network. Implementing new technologies is turning supply chain processes 
and activities towards  less uncertainty  and complexity. Technologies like  Robotics,  AI,  IoT, 
Blockchain and Edge Computing are the key drivers to achieve these goals, together with 
efficiency  benefits  and  zero-touch  production  (ZTP)  processes,  the  latter  being  pushed 
significantly during the pandemic and becoming a strategic asset for the future of enterprises. 
Efficiency is also fostered by ARVR solutions that allow experts to provide remote support to 
on-field operators and guide them through step-by-step instructions. B2B digital platform is 
also  a  key  trend  in  the  manufacturing  industry,  pushing  for  a  more  collaborative  relation 
between  colleagues,  peers  and  employees.  This  opportunity  is  deeply  connected  to  Big 
Data/analytics technology, which allows to track and analyse processes, improve operational 
visibility and understand improvements and trends. 3D printing has shown its huge potential 
in creating and modifying manufacturing and healthcare products during the pandemic, proving 
to be a key trend in the next years. Product innovation is also driving the adoption of Advanced 
Materials, micro and nanoelectronics, nanotechnologies and photonics with the aim to 
improve products and reduce costs.  

In finance, besides operational efficiency, the other main business goal driving investments in 
advanced technologies is the need to attract and retain customers. This is pushing the industry 
towards  piloting  new  service  delivery  models.  AI,  Big  Data  and  Blockchain  are  among  the 
most promising technologies for the industry as they enable automation of internal operations, 
improve  customer  service  and  enhance  protection  against  security  threats.  To  counter  the 
uncertainty of the new reality and improve loan portfolio health, Advanced Analytics is making 
it possible to analyse every payment that a corporate or small business makes and receives. 
Key  AI  trends  in  the  industry  include  automation  of  IT  operations  and  opening  new  digital 
channels to improve customer experience  leveraging  voice  banking and chatbots.  Blockchain 
main  applications  include  for  example  cross-border  payments  and  settlements.  Robotics, 
mainly in the form of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), is changing how banking and finance 
companies carry out business through fraud detection, auditing and reducing time-consuming 
workloads. To keep pace with the information security risks, Security Technology represents 
a key element for the financial sector. The industry has also been central to the emergence of 
a new digital economy, the open banking, which is connected to the European payment services 
directive (PSD23). Customers will therefore look for more suitable and personalised products 
and services, not being obliged to use what the traditional financial institutions provide to them 
and will drive the next wave of growth of the fintech sector. 

• 

For  telecom  and  media  providers,  new  technologies  and  new  customer  behaviours  are 
generating several opportunities to boost  current income sources  and  generate new revenue 
streams.  5G  technologies,  for  example,  are  expected  to  provide  many  monetisation 
opportunities for telco, although the pandemic has led to a delay in the technology’s rollout as 
a  result  of  the  post-crisis  economic  condition.  Robotic  and  Blockchain  reduce  error  rates, 
enhance data quality, improve customer service, ensure transparency and efficiency, while also 

3 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/payment-services-psd-2-directive-eu-2015-2366_en 

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significantly reducing operational costs. The provision of the necessary network infrastructure 
and  connectivity  for  voice,  data,  media  and  other  related  services  will  become  even  more 
important in next years given that businesses have become more distributed than ever after 
the  COVID-19  pandemic.  To  ensure  that  their  infrastructure  will  meet  the  need  for  digital 
initiatives in the coming decade, enterprises and service providers are reconsidering how their 
networks  are  architected.  The  increasing  volume  of  personal  data  gathered  in  this  sector  is 
pushing towards more and more sophisticated Security solutions, making it a real priority even 
among other high-risk industries. Interesting pockets of growth can be found also in investment 
in other advanced technologies, such as Photonics which are supporting the development of 
fibre  optic  network  communications.  As  said  at  the  beginning,  media  transformation  process 
had been driven by changing customer needs and behaviours: innovation  in the industry has 
been driven by new channels and platforms for distributing, accessing and producing content. 
Streaming,  content-as-a  service  and  new  technologies  for  creating  engaging  entertainment 
experiences, such as wearables and AR/VR technologies, are major trends under the spotlight.  

•  Utilities and Oil&Gas show interesting opportunities in terms of many advanced technologies, 
but the pandemic outbreak inevitably cooled down European utilities' IT spending ambitions. In 
this context, Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity competencies are more requested than 
ever as a fundamental asset to come out of the current crisis and be ready for the next normal. 
Hot  spots  in  the  industry  are  the  e-mobility  revolution  and  AI-powered  home  energy 
management.  Electric  vehicles  are  expected  to  be  a  mass-market  revolution,  driven  by 
increasing sustainability concerns and blurring industry boundaries between power distribution 
and retail, transportation and automotive. The quest for alternative and sustainable energy 
sources is also paving the way to the use of advanced technologies such as  photonics and 
nanotechnologies  for  power  generation  and  for  new  and  more  efficient  lighting  solutions. 
Robotics  and  IoT  are  quickly  spreading  in  these  sectors,  increasing  productivity,  lowering 
labour costs and, most importantly, keeping workers safe for dangerous tasks, providing a high 
degree  of  accuracy  and  efficiency.  The  second  mass-market  revolution  is  the  smart  home 
ecosystem where utilities can play a big role in providing advanced home energy management 
solutions  and  automation functionalities  using  devices  such  as  smart  plugs,  thermostats  and 
smart lighting for optimising energy consumption but also for getting insights into consumers' 
habits. 

• 

The  healthcare  industry  shows  some  interesting  investments  in  AI,  Robotics,  AR/VR, 
Nanotechnology  and  Advanced  Materials,  compared  to  the  other  industries.  Uptake  of 
advanced technology in the industry is strictly linked to the need to innovate and improve patient 
care,  providing  integrated  and  personalised  services.  The  outbreak  of  COVID-19  has  put 
enormous  pressure  on  many  European  healthcare  systems  but  triggered  an  unprecedented 
demand  for  digital  health  technology  solutions  at  the  same  time.  AI,  Automation  and 
advanced  analytics  are  not  just  solutions  to  put  on  top  of  a  technology  stack,  but  the 
intelligent  core  of  a  new  enterprise  platform.  Robots,  especially  for  surgery  and  logistics 
purposes, are becoming more affordable and hospitals will start to invest more significantly in 
the  upcoming  years.  Investments  in  wearables,  IoT  and  AI  are  growing  with  the  need  to 
monitor patient behaviour and accidents for elderly people with medical conditions to provide 
prompt emergency help. AR/VR devices are helping doctors improve surgery and diagnosis and 
are also used for therapeutic purposes (e.g. rehabilitation). 

•  COVID-19 has disrupted the retail sector, with different impacts depending on several variables 
(brick-and-mortar versus online shops, essential versus non-essential stores, small versus large 
retailers).  Overall,  the  industry  impact  has  been  significant  although  advanced  technologies 
played  a  key  role  in  supporting  organisations  in  the  industry  along  their  COVID  reaction 
initiatives. The e-commerce channel, where consumers can finalise their purchases using their 
PCs  or  mobile  phones,  remains  a  priority  for  retailers  and  a  successful  strategy  during  the 
COVID-19  pandemic  crisis.  A  key  focus  of  retailers  as  an  immediate  crisis  response  was 
accelerating  the  implementation  of  retail  commerce  platform  capabilities,  providing  retailers 
with the foundations for the execution of new commerce everywhere business models. As more 
customers  are  switching  to  mobile  commerce,  customer  assistance  and  support  are  also 
changing.  Through  AI-enabled  chatbots,  customers  can  contact  companies  on  social 
platforms to track shipments, request product refunds or raise complaints. COVID-19 will have 
a long-lasting effect on customer experience and in the years to come, it will push retailers to 
permanently  integrate  contactless  solutions  into  their  customer  experience  road  maps.  A 

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• 

growing opportunity in the industry is represented by real-time contextual personalisation 
for the customer, which allows retailers to shape the customer experience in relation to multiple 
parameters  such  as  demographics,  location,  day/time,  weather  and  purchasing  patterns. 
Advanced  Analytics  and  Big  Data  are  crucial  to  achieve  this  degree  of  personalisation. 
Photonics is also gaining ground compared to the other industries, helping for example retailers 
of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and customers to judge the ripeness of fruit and vegetables 
and so reduce the percentage of discarded food, or through more dynamic use of displays. 

The  pattern  of  technology  adoption  by  Government  and  Education  is  influenced  by  the 
national context and the coronavirus crisis. Public sectors of all countries tried to cope at their 
best with the current downturn, through massive injection of resources to support the economy 
and  by  putting  in  place  multiple  advanced  technology-enabled  emergency  solutions. 
Governments are working to streamline internal bureaucratic processes through automation 
to speed up critical government work, resulting in more agile access services. AI solutions will 
support citizens with the right level of speed, quality and personalisation, while it will provide 
remote  management  of  the  workforce.  After  the  emergency-driven  experience  of  distance 
learning  during  the  lockdown  period,  Education  institutions  in  Europe  are  prioritising 
investments  in  mobile  solutions,  for  example  investing  in  the  provision  of  mobile  devices. 
Lesson are carried out via distance learning, with the development of online platforms and e-
learning apps for students. At the same time, some changes accelerated by COVID-19 are likely 
to become permanent: governments are moving towards permanent remote working, where 
secure  remote  access  to  data  and  applications  and  collaborative  tools  enable  them  to  work 
across  departmental  silos.  Smart  city  projects,  combining  mobile,  IoT  and  Big 
Data/Analytics solutions, are expected to push investments in technology, especially for safety 
purposes (such as video surveillance) and for public transport optimisation. Security of digital 
services is therefore a top priority so that both citizens and civil servants can trust their reliability 
and the stewardship of sensitive data. Another driving trend in the industry is represented by 
the  open  data  portals, with the aim  to  improve transparency,  openness and interaction by 
sharing public data with citizens.  

•  Although the pandemic has significantly tested Professional Services firms, they reacted with 
agility,  evolving  their  services  and  business  models  to  cope  with  the  changing  environment. 
Despite  considerable  challenges,  this  sector  performed  quite  well,  mainly  when  they  had  an 
adequate  technological  infrastructure  that  allowed  to  continue  their  daily  business  processes 
and operations. Professional services are carrying out their activities in a more agile and flexible 
way,  such  as  working  from  home,  which  is  supporting  investments  in  devices  (laptops, 
smartphones,  tablets),  collaborative  apps,  video  linking,  cloud  and  content  sharing.  Tech 
providers in this industry will also be on high pressure to provide strong digital platforms and 
will be required to enhance their existing cloud solutions. As a data-intensive vertical sector, 
an  important  share  of  Professional  services’  investments  in  security  will  be  driven  by  the 
implementation  of  GDPR (General Data Protection  Regulation). This will drive the industry to 
raise technology barriers to protect client sensitive information and avoid data breaches. The 
pandemic  has  changed  the  relation  between  customers  and  services  providers  but  Big 
Data/analytics  together  with  AI  and  machine  learning  are  providing  deep  analysis  of 
customers, leading to more accurate customers intention prediction and competitive advantage. 
Digital technologies are changing the industry in their client-facing and back-end activities. For 
example, advanced technologies will be able to automatically process documents such as legal, 
shareholder and market reports, impacting positively on timing and freeing staff from tasks that 
can be automated. 

•  Transport has been one of the main affected industries from the pandemic, squeezed between 
safeguarding  its  workforce  health  and  keeping  a  core  transportation  system  operational. 
However, this crisis is expected to accelerate the digitisation of mobility. Cloud computing and 
Big  Data/Analytics  are  playing  a  crucial  role  in  collecting,  sharing  and  analysing  real-time 
data, providing an effective way to identify and quantify disruption. These data will also allow 
restoring adequate transport services accordingly to the increasing demand as we move towards 
a new normal.  Mobility as a Service  is offering people  an available alternative to get around 
safely during the pandemic. Other technologies, such as IoT and AI will keep playing a key role 
in supporting industry companies to regulate traffic flows, streamline security checkpoints with 
biometrics such as facial recognition and reduce the number of lost bags using electronic luggage 
tags. In logistics, heavy workloads can be eased by introducing solutions to create collaborative 

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environments  in  which  humans  coexist  with  robots,  with  the  latter  taking  over  heavy, 
repetitive and time-consuming tasks.  

•  The  pandemic  has  exacerbated  the  challenges  agriculture  was  already  facing,  including 
increasing demand for food and lack of workers. This is the reason why this sector has to rely 
even  more  on  advanced  technologies,  which  will  increasingly  play  a  fundamental  role  in 
addressing these issues. Data-driven innovation is transforming farm management through 
the  so-called  precision  agriculture  approach.  By  leveraging  satellites,  drones  and  IoT 
sensors4  in  farm  equipment  (such  as  tractors),  an  unprecedented  amount  of  data  can  be 
collected to monitor the conditions of the crops, soil and other key elements for cultivation, as 
well as cattle. Cloud computing – that is finally taking ground in this sector, especially among 
large players - will help aggregating all the data gathered, allowing farmers to manage irrigation, 
fertilisation and all the farming processes in a scientific way, minimising costs and the use of 
pesticides and maximising  outputs.  Without a solid  Connectivity  infrastructure,  a successful 
application  of  all  these  innovations  is  unthinkable.  The  digitisation  of  the  farming  processes 
represents  also  the  first  step  for  the  emerging  food  track-and-tracing  systems  developed  to 
guarantee quality and safety, highly appreciated in the food-agriculture value chain. Advanced 
technologies show interesting uses also in fighting climate change and related risks (such 
as  the  loss  of  arable  land  and  increased  urbanisation).  For  example,  a  growing  trend  is 
represented by urban or vertical farms, leveraging technologies to minimise the use of natural 
resources such as soil, water and energy. This is done by using IoT and Photonics to manage 
parameters  such  as  humidity,  light  and  irrigation  to  get  the  most  out  of  crops.  Industrial 
biotechnology shows also interesting promises for obtaining alternative healthy, protein-rich 
and  nutritionally  balanced  food  raw  material  responding  to  increasing  population  and  food 
demand.  

This overall picture of advanced technologies’ deployment in the European industry is to a certain extent 
reflected by the analysis of the demand and supply of advanced technologies’ skills carried out in the 
report on the General Findings within the framework of the present project5. In terms of skills supply 
and  based  on  the  profile  of  registered  users  on  LinkedIn,  the  share  of  advanced  technology  skilled 
professionals (vis-à-vis the total number of professionals) in selected industries reveals that Europe’s 
manufacturing industry absorbs the highest number of skilled professionals. This is particularly true for 
the  Automotive  sector  where  technologies  such  as  Advanced  Manufacturing  and  IoT  are  clearly 
instrumental for the development of Industry 4.0 strategies.  

Other industries such as Electronics and, to a lesser extent, Chemicals, employ a large amount of skilled 
professionals,  especially  for  technologies  like  Advanced  Manufacturing  and  IoT  (in  Electronics)  and 
Advanced  Materials  and Industrial  Biotech  (in  Chemicals),  confirming  that manufacturing  as  a  whole 
remains at the forefront of the the digital transformation and modernisation processes in the European 
Union.  

In terms of skills demand, manufacturing exhibits high levels of hiring positions measured by the number 
of online job advertisement requiring specific skills. Again, the Automotive sector requires specific skills 
in Advanced Manufacturing, AI and Robotics, just like the Electrical & Electronics exhibits strong demand 
of skills in Advanced Materials, Micro-nanoelectronics, nanotechnologies and Robotics. The prominence 
of  the  Manufacturing  industry  is  challenged  only  by  the  Finance  sector  where,  both  in  Banking  and 
Financial Services, specialised skills for Big Data, Blockchain, Cloud Computing and cybersecurity are 
very much in demand across the European Union. 

4  ATI  Product  Watch  (D3.6)  “Satellites  and  drones 
https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/product-watch/satellites-and-drones-less-intensive-farming-and-arable-crops 

intensive 

less 

for 

farming  and  arable  crops”,  January  2021, 

5  ATI  General  findings  (D3.4),  Section  5,  June  2020,  https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/eu-reports/report-technology-trends-
technology-uptake-investment-and-skills-advanced. An updated version of this report including the AT skills analysis will be published 
this year (2021). 

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Section 2 

2  Technology Focus: Internet of Things 

2.1  Definition and Scope 

In a narrow sense, the Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of uniquely identifiable endpoints 
(or ‘things’) that autonomously connect bidirectionally using IP connectivity.6 But in a broader sense, 
IoT refers to “an ecosystem in which applications and services are driven by data collected from devices 
that sense and interface with the physical world.7” This ecosystem establishes end-to-end solutions that 
leverage those  connected devices  and  the data they generate to  obtain new insights, transform and 
automate systems and processes, provide new products and services and bring a host of benefits to 
users, organisations, economies and societies. 

The  Internet  of  Things  is  an  evolution  of  the  Internet  and  the  IT  industry,  in  which  IP  networks 
interconnected  virtually  all  personal  computing  devices  and  enterprise  IT  systems  since  the  1990s. 
Already during the 1990s there were some discussions of widespread connection of things to the Internet 
and  the  term  was  reportedly  coined  by  Kevin  Ashton  in  19998.  During  the  2010s,  the  term  became 
widely used and was embraced by technology vendors aiming to position themselves in this emerging 
space.  

IoT’s emergence happened in parallel to developments in industrial control systems. Industrial control 
systems have long utilised remote data collection on physical devices that sent data over a network to 
a  control  room.  Such  data  changed  from  analog  to  digital  and  gradually  incorporated  elements  of 
automation,  including  SCADA  systems  in  the  20th  century  and  modern  computing  technology  with 
programmable logic controllers (PLCs) since the 1960s.9 However, industrial control systems and IP-
based  information  technology  systems  remained  largely  separate  ecosystems  until  recently.  Only  in 
recent years are industrial control systems incorporating IP networks, integrating with IT systems and 
becoming Industrial IoT. 

The European Commission has supported IoT development for more than a decade. Already in 2009, 
the  Commission  produced  a  communication,  called  ‘Internet  of  Things:  An  Action  Plan  for  Europe’.10 
This document noted that a major next step in the Internet’s development was “to progressively evolve 
from a network of interconnected computers to a network of interconnected objects, from books to cars, 
from electrical appliances to food and thus create an ‘Internet of things’ (IoT).”11 The action plan laid 
out several policy priorities needed to enable the development of IoT, including providing guidance on 
security,  privacy,  research  and  development,  standardisation  and  other  concerns.  The  document 
concluded that “By adopting a proactive approach, Europe could play a leading role in shaping how IoT 
works  and  reap  the  associated  benefits  in  terms  of  economic  growth  and  individual  well-being,  thus 
making the Internet of things an Internet of things for people.”12  

In support of those aims, the Commission committed to investing nearly  €500 million between 2014 
and 2020 in IoT development as part of the Horizon 2020 programme.13 This programme invested in 
development of IoT platforms under the IoT European Platform Initiative (IoT-EPI)14, large-scale pilots 
of  various  IoT  environments  and  security  and  privacy  solutions.15  Additionally,  the  Commission 
supported the launch in 2015 of the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI)16, which aimed 
to  unite  the  various  industries  with  a  role  in  IoT  to  stimulate  and  accelerate  IoT  innovation.  The 

6 IDC’s Worldwide Internet of Things Spending Guide Taxonomy, 2020, IDC#US46291215, June 2020, p2 
7 OECD, The Internet Of Things: Seizing The Benefits And Addressing The Challenges, Background report for Ministerial Panel 
2.2,https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/ICCP/CISP(2015)3/FINAL&docLanguag
e=En 
8 https://www.smart-industry.net/interview-with-iot-inventor-kevin-ashton-iot-is-driven-by-the-users/  
9 https://ics.sans.org/media/An-Abbreviated-History-of-Automation-and-ICS-Cybersecurity.pdf 
10  COM(2009)  278  Final, 
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0278:FIN:EN:PDF 
11 Ibid, p2 
12 Ibid, p11 
13 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/research-innovation-iot 
14 https://iot-epi.eu/ 
15 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/research-innovation-iot 
16 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/launch-alliance-internet-things-innovation 

Internet  of  Things  —  An  action  plan 

for  Europe,  18.6.2009,  https://eur-

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Commission then produced a staff working document in 2016, called ’Advancing The Internet of Things 
in Europe’17 which expanded on the policies needed to enable and stimulate IoT development in Europe.  

2.1.1  Benefits of the Internet of Things 

IoT brings benefits at the macroeconomic level to societies and industries. In a staff working document 
in 2016, the European Commission claimed that the development of IoT “…  is expected to bring vast 
economic benefits,  whereby  the  IoT significantly  reshapes industry  structures, with borders between 
products  and  services,  as  well  as  borders  between  industrial  sectors  becoming  less  obvious  than 
today.”18 The document explained how practical developments at the microeconomic level would drive 
these wider benefits, noting that “This may materialise through, for example new innovative IoT services 
or applications; improved products thanks to the addition of new services or applications coming from 
connectivity; increased efficiency in processes; reduced consumption of resources and energy; better 
understanding of customers' needs; increased flexibility and possibility for sharing and co-creation.”19 

A recent survey20 inquired about what benefits European organisations seek from IoT. Though the IoT 
market is fragmented across hundreds of individual use cases, there are several general benefits that 
are common across most IoT projects. The figure below shows the top reasons European organisations 
stated for investing in IoT. 

Figure 2: Reasons for Investing in IoT Projects 

Source: IDC European IoT Decision-Maker Survey, October 2020, (N=964) 

It is worth exploring several of these benefits and discussing some examples. 

• 

Increased productivity and efficiency: These are the most commonly sought benefits. For 
example,  a  key  benefit  of  utility  smart  meters  is  that  they  drastically  cut  the  cost  of  meter 
reading. Likewise, smart garbage cans allow increased efficiency by routing garbage collection 
only to the bins that are full. Smart lighting cuts energy costs. Asset tracking increases utilisation 
rates  while  reducing  loss  and  theft.  Smart  vending  machines  increase  efficiency  by  notifying 
when stock must be replenished. Agricultural field monitoring increases efficiency and yield by 
optimising water, fertilizer and harvesting operations. Warehouse automation reduces staffing 

17 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/staff-working-document-advancing-internet-things-europe 
18 Ibid, section 1.2 
19 Ibid, section 1.2 
20 https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=EUR144673419 

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requirements. Fleet management systems can increase efficiency in routing and save costs on 
fuel. 

• 

• 

Improved customer experience: Many use cases include improved customer experience as 
one of their aims. Manufacturers add connectivity to appliances to enable remote management. 
Logistics  companies  track  packages  to  reduce  delays  and  losses,  which  results  in  happier 
customers.  Healthcare  providers  use  remote  health  monitoring  to  deliver  high-quality  health 
results at lower cost and trouble to the patient.  

Improved product quality: IoT improves the quality of products and services in many ways. 
Auto  manufacturers  use  IoT  systems  for  quality  assurance.  Manufacturers  add  device 
connectivity  to  add  new  features  and  to  enable  predictive  maintenance,  thus  reducing 
maintenance costs and downtime.  

•  Reduce  operational  and  maintenance  costs: For example,  manufacturers use  production 
asset  management  to  monitor  assets  and  conduct  predictive  maintenance  before  they  break 
down and require more expensive repairs. 

•  Competitive  differentiation:  Many  companies  embrace  some  IoT  solutions  for  competitive 
differentiation.  For  example,  many  appliance  vendors  add  connectivity  as  a  differentiating 
feature  for  high-end  models  and  automobile  manufacturers  feature  their  connected  car 
platforms as a key selling point and differentiator. Similarly, automobile insurance companies 
differentiate  their  offerings  with  insurance  telematics  services,  often  called  usage-based 
insurance, in which the insurer uses a device to monitor the vehicle’s usage to understand how 
much the vehicle is in use and potentially how safely it is driven or whether speed limits are 
violated.  The insurer can then offer lower fees for those who drive safely or infrequently.  

•  New revenue streams: By adding connectivity to products, many vendors aim to add features 
and services that can generate further revenue. These include selling maintenance services and 
reordering  consumed  supplies.  For  some  companies,  these  new  services  may  change  the 
business model, resulting in selling their products as a service. Rolls Royce is one of the earliest 
examples, as the  company has offered  aircraft engines as  ‘Power-by-the-Hour’  since  196221. 
Modern IoT systems create the opportunity for far more businesses to adopt a similar product-
as-a-service model. Sierra Wireless, an IoT module maker, has promoted a similar use case for 
industrial washing machine companies to offer their products as a service22. 

• 

• 

Improved  physical  security:  Home  and  building  security  systems  are  among  the  most 
popular  IoT  use  cases  and  they  clearly  focus  on  physical  security.  Others  focused  on  this 
objective include  public safety and  emergency response  services  using surveillance  cameras, 
body cameras and vehicle cameras; vehicle safety systems; roadside infrastructure; and various 
industrial safety systems.  

Improved employee safety: In industrial settings, employees must often work in dangerous 
environments, such as working on construction sites, electricity networks, factory floors or oil 
rigs. In such environments, numerous automated systems can enhance safety. For example, 
they can ensure workers have cleared space around an industrial machine; they can manage 
traffic  around  emergency  response  or  road  construction  workers;  and  they  can  monitor  and 
control air quality and temperature. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has led to new safety use 
cases to ensure physical distancing (see more on COVID-19 below). 

One  may  note  that  the  various  benefits  of  IoT  often  overlap.  For  example,  improved  customer 
experience  and  product  quality  are  often  competitive  differentiators.  Many  use  cases  bring  multiple 
benefits in terms of efficiency, product quality, customer satisfaction and others.  The French retailer 
Decathlon presents a useful example. The company switched to inventory tracking and checkout using 
radio-frequency  identification  (RFID).23  That  allowed  faster  checkout,  saving  employee  costs  and 
increasing customer satisfaction. It allowed full-store inventory to be checked as frequently as weekly, 
reducing  lost  and  misplaced  products,  driving  increased  sales  and  reducing  logistics  costs.24  And  in 
2019,  the  company  announced  it  is  adding  scan-and-go  checkout  allowing  customers  to  avoid  the 
checkout line entirely.25 

While  the  benefits  of  IoT  for  individual  organisations  are  substantial,  the  cumulative  impact  of  such 
projects promises to bring substantial benefits to European economies and societies as a whole. IoT will 

21 https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/press-releases-archive/yr-2012/121030-the-hour.aspx 
22 https://www.sierrawireless.com/applications/industrial/iot-enabled-washing-machines/ 
23 https://www.rfidjournal.com/decathlon-scores-a-big-win-with-rfid-2 
24 http://www.tageos.com/assets/2016-04-25-Tageos-Case-Study-Decathlon.pdf 
25 https://mishipay.com/blogs/mishipay-decathlon-scan-and-go 

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play a  key  part in ensuring  that  the  European industry  remains  competitive globally.  It will increase 
productivity in such areas as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare and public services. It will improve 
safety  on  the  roads  and  in  public  transportation.  It  will  enable  monitoring  and  improvement  of 
environmental  conditions.  And  it  will  enable  new  connected  services  to  proliferate  throughout  the 
economy. 

2.2  Market Potential 

2.2.1  Adoption 

IoT adoption is moving into the mainstream. In a recent survey26 of European organisations with more 
than 100 employees, 49% of respondents have already launched an IoT project and 38% are planning 
to extend those projects. Furthermore, more than three quarters of all respondents were planning to 
invest in IoT over the next two years, whether deploying new projects or extending current ones (see 
figure).  These  results  show  that  IoT  is  no  longer  a  niche  topic,  but  rather  it  has  been  adopted  as  a 
standard part of most organisations’ technology strategies. 

Figure 3: IoT Deployment and Plans in Europe 

Source: IDC European IoT Decision-Maker Survey, October 2020, (N=964) 

Across different industries, IoT adoption varies. Utilities have lower-than-average rates of adoption, due 
in  part  to  longer  technology  investment  cycles  and  the  sensitive  nature  of  managing  critical 
infrastructure.  Government  organisations  also  have  lower-than-average  adoption.  In  their  case,  the 
reason  is  likely  a  combination  of  slower  decision-making  and  more  complex  organisational 
considerations. For example, many governmental use cases, such as smart city initiatives, can involve 
multiple  budgets,  complex  integration  to  serve  different  public  organisations  and  potentially  political 
and community approval. 

26 https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=EUR144673419 

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Figure 4: IoT Adoption Across European Industries 

Source: IDC European IoT Decision-Maker Survey27, October 2020, (N=964) 

By  contrast,  life  sciences,  transport  and  logistics  companies  have  higher-than-average  rates  of  IoT 
adoption.  In  these  fields,  there  are  several  use  cases  that  are  well  established  and  relatively 
standardised, making deployment faster and more affordable than less mature use cases. For example, 
transport and logistics companies often depend on fleet management and freight monitoring systems, 
which are mature use cases that are readily available from multiple vendors. The life sciences industry 
benefits from IoT in several ways.28 For example, benefits are seen in research and development, where 
IoT  aids  in  automation  and  increased  accuracy  of  measurements.  They  are  also  observed  in  digital 
manufacturing, where connected production lines can ensure the highest quality and integrity of drugs. 
The supply chain also benefits, as IoT can ensure end-to-end traceability of products, ensure appropriate 
conditions and safety and avoid counterfeiting. Finally, patients benefit as well, because IoT can reduce 
the  administrative  burden  on  patients  and  ensure  patient  compliance  and  adherence  to  treatment 
schedules.29  

27 Survey of IT and business decision-makers with good knowledge of IoT. Organisations with more than 100 employees. 
Countries  covered:  Austria,  France,  Germany,  Hungary,  Italy,  Nordics  (Denmark,  Sweden,  Finland),  Russia,  Spain, 
Switzerland, United Kingdom. 

28  Capgemini,  “The  Internet  of  Things  (IoT)  Is  The  Perfect  Playground  for  Life  Sciences”,  April  17,  2020 
https://www.capgemini.com/2020/04/the-internet-of-things-iot-is-the-perfect-playground-for-life-
sciences/#:~:text=benefit%20from%20IoT%3F-
,IoT%20can%20provide%20substantial%20value%20across%20the%20entire%20life%20sciences,direct%20connectivity
%2C%20and%20digital%20platforms. 
29 Ibidem 

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Figure 5: The Roles for IoT in Life Sciences 

Source: Capgemini, ‘The Internet of Things (IoT) Is The Perfect Playground for Life Sciences’, April 17, 2020 

Supply  chain  management—and  especially  cold-chain  management—gained  particular  prominence  in 
December  2020,  as  the  first  COVID-19  vaccines  began  deployment.  In  the  article,  ’Why  cold  chain 
tracking  and  IoT  sensors are  vital to the  success of  a  COVID-19  vaccine’,  in Supply  Chain  Dive,  the 
author noted that “Vaccines often travel by truck and airplane, with stops and storage at the distributor 
before arrival at the terminal point, where they once again go into cold  storage. The last mile to the 
healthcare provider could be  a van delivery to a nearby  town.”30  As a result of  the varied steps and 
complex  distribution,  the  International  Air  Transport  Association’s  (IATA)  Center  of  Excellence  for 
Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics noted prior to COVID-19 in Q1 2019 that 25% of 
vaccines reach their destination degraded because of incorrect shipping, making the vaccines ineffective 
or  potentially  dangerous  to  patients.31  Crucially,  IoT  sensors  can  be  used  to  monitor  temperatures 
throughout transport, allowing supply chain problems to be identified and eliminated and ensuring the 
efficacy and safety of the vaccines. 

Although IoT adoption is now widespread, the technology is still far from mature. The most common 
stage for IoT projects presently is still the planning phase. Many more are limited to proofs of concept 
or limited trials. Many projects are progressing to being deployed within departments or even company-
wide, but these are still the minority (see figure 6). 

30 https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/coronavirus-vaccine-cold-chain-tracking-iot-sensor-technology/583168/ 
31https://www.iata.org/contentassets/494bc14afd934b0193735e9a47091d72/iata_ceiv-
pharma_how20to20become20ceiv20pharma20certified.pdf 

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Figure 6: IoT Project Maturity 

Source: IDC European IoT Decision-Maker Survey, October 2020, (N=964) 

One reason that so many IoT projects are at early phases of development is that European organisations 
have  embraced  IoT  as  a  technology  concept  that  is  relevant  to  their  core  activities.  While  there  are 
many IoT use cases that are stand-alone systems that can be deployed with only moderate impact on 
existing  operations,  that  is  not  the  focus  of  European  organisations.  Instead,  nearly  two  thirds  of 
respondents  indicated  that  they  are  deploying  or  planning  IoT  projects  that  are  part  of  their  core 
operations  and  are  fully  integrated  into  those  operations.  Deploying  solutions  in  the  core  operations 
poses  significantly  more  challenges  and  risks  than  standalone  systems,  but  it  also  presents  greater 
opportunities for benefits.  

Figure 7: IoT Project Complexity 

Note: Multiple responses per respondent are possible, reflecting the status of different IoT projects. 

Source: IDC European IoT Decision-Maker Survey, October 2020, (N=964) 

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2.2.2  Demand Trends 

As  noted  above,  IoT  is  now  widely  embraced  across  European  organisations,  but  many  more 
organisations plan to adopt IoT and most projects have substantial room for expansion. Similarly, in the 
consumer  segment,  IoT  is  also  still  far  from  saturated.  Adoption  of  the  major  consumer  use  case 
categories will continue to grow rapidly for several years. As a result, IoT spending is forecast to grow 
rapidly over the next several years. IoT will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12%32, from 
$159 billion (approximately €131 bn) in 2019 to $278 billion (approximately €230 bn) in 2024. 

Figure 8: European IoT Spending Forecast in € bn 

Source: IDC Worldwide Internet of Things Spending Guide, May 2020 

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken economies and technology planning across  Europe. As a result, 
41.5% of organisations surveyed in October 2020 agreed with the statement that as a result of COVID-
19 and its effects, they have cut their IoT budgets in 2020. However, many organisations see IoT as 
part of the solution to the COVID crisis, both in the short term and the long term. In the short term, 
46.9%  of  organisations  stated  that  they  have  added/are  adding  IoT  projects  because  of  COVID-19. 
Furthermore,  European  organisations  are  also  looking  beyond  the  pandemic  and  they  envision  an 
important role for IoT in the future. More than half  of the respondents agreed that IoT will be a core 
part of their digitalisation strategies as they position themselves for the post-COVID era (see figure 9).  

32 IDC forecasts – IDC Worldwide Internet of Things Spending Guide, May 2020 

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Figure 9: Changes to IoT Planning as a Result of The COVID-19 Disruption 

Source: IDC Worldwide Internet of Things Spending Guide, May 2020 

There are many ways that IoT can help organisations cope with the challenges presented by COVID-19. 
For example, McKinsey and Company identified several IoT use cases that directly address industrial 
needs  during  the  pandemic.  These  include  workforce  tracking  devices  to  enforce  physical  distancing 
requirements; vision-based systems to detect fevers and remote asset control systems for use when 
public-health restrictions prevent presence on-site.33  

Figure 10: Industrial IoT Use Cases to Address COVID-19 Challenges 

Source: McKinsey and Company, 202034 

33 https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/advanced-electronics/our-insights/coronavirus-industrial-iot-in-challenging-times 

34 https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/advanced-electronics/our-insights/coronavirus-industrial-iot-in-challenging-times 

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2.2.3  The Main Challenges 

IoT remains a relatively new technology space, with an emerging ecosystem that is working to develop 
and simplify the technology, integrate components, develop best practices and standardise solutions for 
key  use  cases.  While  this  maturation  process  is  underway,  there  remain  multiple  challenges  and 
implementation  barriers.  To  obtain  concrete  business  benefits,  enterprises  must  be  aware  of  these 
challenges and the steps they can take to overcome them. 

According to a recent IDC survey, the most common challenges cited by European organisations were 
costs, deployment complexity and security (see figure). 

Figure 11: Challenges Inhibiting Faster IoT Deployment 

Source: IDC European IoT Decision-Maker Survey, October 2020, (N=964) 

These challenges are discussed in more detail below.  

•  Cost:  IoT  costs  include  the  technology  components,  application  development,  deployment, 
maintenance  and  lifecycle  management.  Where  new  solutions  must  be  heavily  customised, 
solution development often requires much greater amounts of time and costs.  

•  Complexity:  Complexity  is  a  common  challenge,  because  most  IoT  use  cases  still  require 
extensive customisation. Furthermore, IoT solutions incorporate a wide range of hardware and 
software technologies and protocols, requiring diverse skillsets. Organisations often must make 
a wide range of technology choices; develop applications; determine how to manage IoT-specific 
devices, connectivity, analytics models and applications;  provide new kinds of connectivity to 
new  kinds  of  devices  that  are  often  located  off-site  or  are  mobile;  and  resolve  many  other 
complex challenges.  

•  Security: IoT presents new security challenges for an organisation. In addition to utilising new 
technologies and solutions, each with their own risk profiles, the nature of connected devices 
presents  new  “physical  consequences  in  addition  to  affecting  other  aspects  such  as  an 
organisation’s  finance  and  reputation.”35  When  an  IoT  device  is  hacked,  injury  or  death  can 
ensue. This potentiality was famously highlighted when two security consultants demonstrated 
vulnerabilities  that  allowed  them  to  remotely  hack  a  moving  Jeep  and  take  over  some  of  its 
controls.36  

The risks of physical infrastructure being hacked have been known in the industrial world prior 
to the emergence of IoT. For example, Kim Zetter documents the history of industrial control 
systems  and  security  vulnerabilities  in  the  book  Countdown  to  Zero  Day,  culminating  in  the 
Stuxnet virus that sabotaged uranium processing machinery in Iran.37 The OECD documented 
several  other  examples  of  security  incidents  with  physical  consequences  including  a  sewage 

35OECD,  The  Internet  Of  Things:  Seizing  The  Benefits  And  Addressing  The  Challenges,  24  May  2016,  box  5,    page  20,  
https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/ICCP/CISP(2015)3/FINAL&docLanguage=E
n 
36 https://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway/ 
37 Zetter, Kim, Countdown to Zero Day, Penguin Random House, 1 September 2015 

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treatment plant, a nuclear power plant, a tram line and a steel mill.38 As more and more physical 
environments move online with IoT functionality, it opens up many more chances for security 
threats to cause physical damage.  

Another key concern about IoT security is that many manufacturers of connected devices have 
failed  to  employ  basic  cybersecurity  best  practices.  In  one  example,  a  medicine  pump 
manufacturer left basic security holes that would allow the devices to easily be remotely taken 
over, changing  medicine quantities or disabling  the  device  entirely.39  Unsecured devices  also 
can be utilised by botnets to wage  distributed denial-of-service  (DDoS)  or similar attacks on 
other  targets  or  infrastructure.  Trend  Micro  documented  several  IoT  botnets  over  the  past 
decade, most famously the Mirai botnet.40 As organisations add connectivity and automation to 
industrial  and  other  devices,  they  must  ensure  that  they  apply  appropriate  cybersecurity 
practices. 

•  Privacy: IoT raises some important privacy challenges that must be considered by consumer 
users, enterprise users, IoT device and solution providers and policymakers. Privacy implications 
vary between use cases, but in some cases, these concerns can be significant. Some use cases 
record data of a private nature, such as cameras and microphones in the home. Reports of baby 
monitors allowing hackers to view inside the home and even threaten residents present a clear 
example.41 In another case, the  Electronic Frontier Foundation raised privacy concerns about 
Amazon’s Ring doorbells, which record video that can be accessed with the owner’s permission 
by police departments in the US.42  

One  problem  for  managing  privacy  is  that  there  is  little  regulation  of  this  emerging  space.43 
Since 2018, the European Union’s GDPR policy provides legal guidance that addresses some but 
not all of the risks. PWC advises companies not just to comply with the letter of the law but also 
to  think  more  broadly  about  data  ethics  and  evaluate  the  issue  at  a  high  level  in  the 
organisation.44  

•  Limitations  of  current  infrastructure:  Many  IoT  projects  generate  large  amounts  of  new 
data  that  must  be  transferred,  stored  and  analysed.  Existing  data  centres  and  enterprise 
networks may be insufficient, requiring much wider upgrades and greater costs than anticipated. 
Similarly, many IoT use cases include devices in new locations, such as in parking garages, on 
pipelines  and  on  portable  freight.  These  devices  may  require  new  network  coverage  and 
connectivity solutions.  

•  Unclear  return  on  investment:  In  some  use  cases,  return  on  investment  may  be  easy  to 
identify  and  calculate.  For  example,  smart  utility  meters  require  measurable  costs  for 
deployment and they then save specific operating costs once in use. However, some use cases 
bring benefits that are more difficult to measure. For example, the benefits of a retail use case 
that is intended to improve customer experience may be hard to measure. They may indirectly 
increase  sales,  increase  customer  loyalty  or  impact  the  brand,  but  measuring  these  changes 
and to what extent an IoT use case was the cause can be difficult. Organisations need to identify 
how  to  measure  success  of  their  projects,  whether  that  be  lower  cost,  increased  revenues, 
improved net promoter score, reduced down-time, reduced injuries, or other measures. 

•  Management buy-in: Many IoT projects bridge multiple departments, such as IT, operations 
and  lines  of  business,  or  they  require  significant  changes  to  established  business  processes. 
Having  executive  management  support  is  often  critical  to  ensure  the  project  can  overcome 
pockets of resistance and progress efficiently. 

•  Skills availability: Companies rarely have all the skills needed to develop, deploy and manage 
a complex custom  IoT project. They  may  not have  internal experience  with the types of IoT 
devices  that  they  need,  or  the  connectivity  solutions,  software  platforms,  edge  computing, 

38 OECD, The Internet Of Things: Seizing The Benefits And Addressing The Challenges, 24 May 2016, box 5,  page 20 
39 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33063345 
40https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/internet-of-things/into-the-battlefield-a-security-guide-to-iot-
botnets 
41https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/12/20/nest-cam-baby-monitor-hacked-kidnap-threat-came-device-
parents-say/ 
42 https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/amazons-ring-perfect-storm-privacy-threats 
43https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/cybersecurity/library/broader-perspectives/solving-iot-privacy-
problem.html 
44https://www.pwc.co.uk/issues/data-protection/insights/the-internet-of-things-is-it-just-about-gdpr.html#content-free-1-
f468 

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application development, security,  analytics or  other skills. In such cases, they must acquire 
those skills through training, recruitment or consultants. 

•  Lack  of  holistic  offers:  Comprehensive  packaged  offers  greatly  reduce  cost  and  time  to 
deployment, but with the massive fragmentation of the IoT market into thousands of use cases 
it is difficult to create fully packaged solutions that can be resold to a wide audience. Instead, 
with so many niche requirements, it is still necessary to customise most solutions. Nonetheless, 
the industry is progressing in simplifying many of the most common use cases, standardising 
some  of  the  most  common  components  of  the  value  chain  and  improving  the  Application 
Programming Interfaces (APIs) and integration across components. 

The various challenges facing IoT development are key factors slowing adoption and achievement of 
the full value that can be gained from IoT. However, there is no simple fix. Because IoT spans hundreds 
of use cases with unique solutions and a wide range of technology components, the entire IoT ecosystem 
must continue investing, innovating and collaborating to steadily overcome challenges. Steady progress 
will allow the gradual digital transformation of European economies, while delays will cause Europe to 
fall behind the progress being achieved especially in North America and Asia. 

2.2.4  Enabling Technologies 

IoT  solutions  are  comprised  of  and  dependent  upon  a  wide  range  of  technologies  across  hardware, 
software, services  and communications.  Rapid  development is occurring across these  categories and 
enabling IoT solutions to be deployed more rapidly, cost-effectively and at lower risk.  

IoT solutions typically combine sensors to collect data, connectivity to transmit it, analytics to process 
it and gain insights, an  application  to  use  it  and computing infrastructure to run the application and 
store the data.  

Among the key technologies enabling IoT are the following: 

•  Modules  and  sensors:  Modules  and  sensors  include  communicating  and  computing  device 
modules as well as communication hubs or controllers, sensors or other such wired or wirelessly 
connected  IoT  devices.  These  components  collect  data  and  transmit  it  to  an  application  that 
typically analyses and stores the data. These devices may also have computing capabilities to 
do some local analytics for faster response and reducing the volume of data that must be sent 
across the network and stored centrally. Several of the leading module makers have integrated 
their  modules  with  global  connectivity  services  to  simplify  deployment,  management  and 
integration. 

•  Connectivity:  IoT  devices  are  connected  via  many  kinds  of  wired  and  wireless  networks. 
Wireless  connectivity  is  most  popular,  due  to  the  ease  of  establishing  new  connections  in 
challenging,  remote  or  mobile  locations.  It  is  also  increasingly  preferred  for  the  flexibility  of 
reconfiguring  systems,  such  as  production  lines.  The  most  common  wireless  connectivity  is 
short-range  radio,  which  enables  local  connectivity  over  unlicensed  frequencies.  Examples 
include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee.  

Long-range wireless connectivity includes cellular networks, such as 2G GSM, 3G UMTS, 4G LTE 
and now 5G. The earlier generations before 5G were neither designed nor optimised for IoT, but 
the extensive  coverage,  economies of  scale  and  mobility  have  made  these  networks  popular 
choices for many IoT use cases, particular those that involve portable or mobile devices, or that 
are widely distributed geograpically. 

5G networks will enable connectivity to be tailored for different use cases. Those that need to 
send  high  data  volumes  can  do  so,  while  those  that  need  huge  volumes  of  devices  in  close 
proximity will also be supported. And finally, those that need the highest reliability and ultra-
low latency for critical communications will also be supported. However, these features of 5G 
will only come online over the next few years. 

A  newer  front  in  the  connectivity  battle  is  low-power  wide-area  networks  (LPWAN).  These 
networks  are  designed  to  support  low-power  IoT  devices  sending  low  data  volumes  while 

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operating with long battery life of five years or more. LoRaWAN is one popular choice in this 
space.  It  can  be  deployed  and  run  by  the  enterprise  user,  or  operated  by  a  mobile  network 
operator or other service provider. Sigfox is a second option, operated by the French company 
Sigfox  and  its  partners  providing  a  global  network  that  allows  the  sending  of  very  low  data 
volumes very cheaply, thus enabling  new low-cost use  cases, such  as sensors on  disposable 
courier  envelopes.  The  mobile  communications  industry  has  developed  its  own  LPWAN 
standards, NB-IoT and LTE-M. The mobile industry association, the GSMA, notes that these are 
“standardised, secure operator managed IoT networks in licensed spectrum” and that they are 
“designed for IoT applications that are low cost, use low data rates, require long battery lives 
and often operate in remote and hard to reach locations.”45 

•  Cloud  computing:  IoT  has  emerged  in  parallel  with  cloud  computing.  Cloud  computing 
specialists have developed IoT platforms to facilitate easy IoT data ingestion and management, 
as well as solution development, deployment and management. Cloud computing also provides 
virtually  unlimited  scaling  to  suit  expanding  IoT  needs.  The  distributed  nature  of  cloud 
computing aligns with the fact that many IoT use cases are geographically distributed across 
company locations, partners, suppliers, customer premises and mobile locations.  

•  Edge computing: IoT devices are creating and using data in new locations far from the core 
corporate  data  centre  or  cloud.  Edge  computing  is  the  notion  of  moving  some  computing 
resources from the core out to the edge close to those devices. Putting computing power closer 
to  the  devices  can  reduce  the  amount  of  data  that  must  be  sent  to  the  core,  saving  on 
connectivity  and  core  computing  costs.  It  can  also  enable  faster  response  time  for  critical 
applications.   

There are many ways of delivering edge computing. For example, gateway vendors are putting 
computing power on their devices.  Mobile network  infrastructure  vendors,  such as  Ericsson46 
and Nokia47, are promoting Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), in which mobile operators put edge 
computing in their infrastructure or the customer’s premises and deliver it as a service. Cloud 
service  providers  are  trying  to  bring  parts  of  their  clouds  closer  to  the  edge.  For  example, 
Amazon is partnering with mobile operators to put their cloud servers on the 5G mobile edge 
infrastructure, while also providing hardware devices that can be shipped out to the edge and 
operated offline.48 49  

• 

IoT platforms: IoT platforms are software products that offer a range of functionality enabling 
organisations to develop, deploy and manage their IoT applications. Common features include 
device management, connectivity management, data ingestion and management, analytics and 
application development. In many cases, the vendors providing individual parts of the IoT value 
chain created a platform to improve management of that component. This market is a key set 
of enabling technologies that is facilitating easier and faster IoT adoption. 

•  Analytics:  Analytics is a  crucial enabler  of IoT solutions.  Analytics serves  many  functions in 
IoT. A simple usage is in descriptive analysis, in which it triggers an alert when device readings 
move  outside  the  acceptable  range.  More  advanced  analytics  can  diagnose  the  cause  of  the 
event, predict events (such as predictive maintenance), or prescribe responses to predictive or 
actual  events.  Analytics  tools  increasingly  use  machine  learning  technology.  For  example,  in 
automobile manufacturing, producers use machine learning for image analysis as part of quality 
control  systems  that  ensure  that  painting  was  completed  correctly  or  that  the  correct 
components were installed at each station. 

45 https://www.gsma.com/iot/mobile-iot/ 

46https://www.ericsson.com/en/digital-services/edge-computing?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqo3-
BRDoARIsAE5vnaLu0v9DFV6fMna5uIYUhx53b3MoMhyCGwRYeF6ogq6DcRgatizV7qoaAjnNEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds 
47 https://www.nokia.com/networks/solutions/edge-cloud/ 
48https://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/digest/major-operators-partner-with-amazon-for-edge-5g-
play/#:~:text=Verizon%2C%20Vodafone%20Group%2C%20SK%20Telecom,computing%20services%20on%205G%20ne
tworks. 
49https://aws.amazon.com/snowcone/?whats-new-cards.sort-by=item.additionalFields.postDateTime&whats-new-
cards.sort-order=desc 

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2.2.5  IoT Use Cases 

While  IoT  projects  use  many  common  components,  the  actual  use  cases  vary  greatly  and  require 
substantially different implementations. Each  industry sector is developing unique use cases that are 
tailored to the specific needs of that sector. At the same time, there are also many use cases relevant 
across industries. This section discusses some of the common use cases in selected industries. 

•  Consumer  segment:  Consumer  IoT  is  particularly  prominent  in  managing  the  household, 

motor vehicles and the consumer’s health and wellness.  

o  Motor  vehicles  are  increasingly  connected  devices,  providing  a  range  of  services  and 
functions. They deliver information, navigation and entertainment content to those in 
the vehicle; report accidents to emergency services; provide security  monitoring and 
location tracking; utilise data from the vehicle, network and roadside infrastructure to 
enhance safety; and assess vehicle data for predictive maintenance, so that the vehicle 
can be serviced before breaking down.  

o 

In the consumer’s home, several categories of use cases are emerging. Home security 
systems detect movement, perimeter breaches or emergency conditions (such as a fire 
or  flood)  and  notify  a  response  service  and  the  residents  remotely.  Many  home 
appliances offer connectivity to reduce maintenance costs, allow remote management 
and to automate resupply of consumables, such as washing powder or coffee grounds. 
More comprehensive home automation allows residents to monitor and control several 
aspects  of  the  living  space  (temperature,  lighting,  sound,  air  quality,  locks,  energy 
consumption and others), often through a central control system or application. 

o  Health and wellness use cases include wearable technology (wrist wear, eyewear, ear 
wear,  headwear,  other)  on  individuals  for  personal  monitoring  of  basic  health-  and 
wellness-related  data  (blood  pressure,  sleep  monitoring,  body  weight)  as  well  as 
activity-related data (exercise, walking distances). Similar technology is also used for 
more overtly medical purposes to remotely monitor patients’ chronic illnesses, such as 
asthma, hypertension or diabetes.  

•  Manufacturing: Manufacturers are incorporating a variety of IoT use cases into many aspects 

of production and other parts of their operations. These include: 

o  Quality and compliance: This use case refers to the use of IoT sensors to monitor end 
products'  quality  level,  while  automating  final  products'  compliance-related  activities. 
The objectives are higher levels of design effectiveness, lower cost of adverse quality 
and lower engineering change costs. 

o  Autonomic operations: The system makes a real-time assessment of current demand 
and capacity availability and intelligently re-sequences work on the factory shop floor. 
The factory can function autonomously on its own based on a multitude of data collected 
through  sensors  and  analysed  through  cognitive  computing  systems.  This  results  in 
lower energy costs, attainment of sustainability goals, greater optimisation of resources, 
higher-throughput levels due to lower factory unit costs, higher customer satisfaction 
and lower capital requirements. 

o  Root cause analysis: This use case refers to the use of IoT sensors to monitor production 
systems and machinery and automatically detect or predict and anticipate production 
deadlocks  and  failures,  understanding  those  root  causes  behind.  These  include 
autonomic operations, quality and compliance, root cause analysis and production asset 
management.  

o  Production  asset  management:  IoT  helps  a  company  remotely  track,  monitor  and 
maintain industrial manufacturing devices that are part of the production value chain. 
This  entails  regularly  assessing the  equipment  conditions  and  being  able to  remotely 
diagnose an equipment failure before it happens by  analysing the live stream of data 
produced by the machine (predictive maintenance). 

•  Utilities: Utilities are deploying smart meters and smart grid technology. Smart meters increase 
accuracy and efficiency in collection of user consumption data. Smart grids include devices for 
leak detection and pressure sensing in gas and water networks, while electricity distributors use 

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smart grid technology to control and optimise power flow to ensure efficient, safe and reliable 
service. 

•  Healthcare: Healthcare providers are implementing bedside telemetry, which uses IoT systems 
to support hospitalised patients whose physiological status requires close attention. The patients 
can be constantly monitored using IoT-driven, non-invasive monitoring. Additionally, healthcare 
providers  are  using  hospital  asset  tracking  systems  to  locate  and  track  medical  assets  using 
radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, beacons and Wi-Fi. Once patients head home, their 
condition can still be monitored with remote health monitoring systems.  

•  City  Governments:  City  governments  have  embraced  the  notion  of  ‘smart  cities’  and  are 
deploying IoT to improve safety, efficiency, reliability and quality of public services. The OECD 
noted that “In the context of smart cities, a municipality can control, administer and plan public 
infrastructures,  utilities  and  services  by  means  of  the  IoT  so  that  cities  are  managed  more 
efficiently  and  in  a  more  environmentally  friendly  way.”50  For  example,  smart  transportation 
systems  include  traffic  management,  parking  management  and  automated  public  transit 
systems,  while  public  infrastructure  and  asset  management  systems  include  smart  lighting, 
smart garbage bins, highway management systems and monitoring of bridges and tunnels. 

•  Transportation:  In  the  transportation  vertical,  fleet  management  and  freight  monitoring 
systems use connected devices to track and monitor conditions of vehicles and freight using a 
mix of connectivity standards. Additionally, transport hubs, such as ports and airports can track 
the vehicles and freight moving through their facilities, as well as the increasingly automated 
equipment used for the operation of those facilities. 

•  Cross-industry use cases: There are also many use cases employed across verticals. Many of 
these are  smart building use  cases, in  which  IoT-enabled systems monitor and  control office 
environments  (temperature,  air  quality,  lighting),  elevators,  security  (cameras,  entry 
monitoring) and staff identification. Other common use cases include connected vehicles and 
fleet management (in wholesale, retail, telecommunications, utilities, government and others).  

50 OECD, The Internet Of Things: Seizing The Benefits And Addressing The Challenges, 24 May 2016, p16 

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2.3  Social and Sustainability Impacts of the Internet of Things 

2.3.1  Sustainability Drivers 

According to the United Nations, the world's population has grown from 2.6 bn in 1950 to nearly 7.8 bn 
in 2020. If this trend is set to continue, the total population on the planet will reach 9.7 bn by 2050. 
Yet, natural resources on the planet are not being regenerated at a rate even remotely similar. The 
combination  of  this  population  growth  with  factors  such  as  excessive  exploitation  of  farmlands, 
deforestation  and  the  multiple  effects  of  climate  change  (such  as  water  scarcity,  increasing 
temperatures,  extreme  weather  conditions,  etc.)  is  posing  increasing  focus  on  sustainability  related 
issues and actions. 

These are some of the most obvious, most visible reasons driving a call for Sustainable Development 
across individuals, organisations and governments around the world. Sustainability is gaining support 
within senior executives in many organisations. According to a survey amongst nearly 700 organisations 
in  Europe  conducted  by  IDC51,  almost  two-thirds  of  European  businesses  pointed  out  that 
sustainability was a very or extremely important business priority for 2020. The impact of the 
COVID-19  pandemic  has  only  exacerbated  this  belief,  with  many  organisations’  supply  chains  and 
operations  being  challenged  at  an  unprecedented  level  during  the  worst  of  the  lockdowns  and 
governments  having  to  confront  the  social  inequalities  aggravated  by  the  slowdown  in  the  global 
economic activity. 

Technologies like the Internet of Things are enabling some types of technology usage that facilitate and 
implement  sustainable  use  cases.  Applications  such  as  the  ability  for  corporations  to  monitor  and 
manage their energy consumption  (through smart building, smart office  solutions,  for example); the 
use of drones and sensors to manage crops in order to reduce the need for irrigation or pesticides; or 
even the possibility to gain visibility of complex supply chains in order to guarantee and adhere to ethical 
sourcing  and  labour  practices  are  some  examples  of  how  the  Internet  of  Things  can  facilitate  more 
sustainable ecosystems.  

There are, however, other drivers that are currently converging in order to make sustainability a key 
focus area for individuals, organisations and governments as shown in Figure 12: 

Figure 12: Sustainability Drivers  

Source: IDC, The Sustainable Enterprise: How Technology Can Help Achieve Sustainability in a COVID Reality, Nov 2020 

•  Customer  demands:  thanks  partly  to the  ‘Greta  Thunberg effect’,  individuals  have  become 
more aware of the impact of their actions on their communities and ecosystems. Customers (as 
consumers, employees and taxpayers) have an increasing expectation on businesses, regulators 

51 IDC's 2019 IT Services Survey, https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=EUR246144520  

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and governments to place purpose and a moral set of values at the centre of their activities and 
objectives. According to recent news, demand for organic food across Europe appears to have 
increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with specific olive oil producers in Spain seeing 
increases in online demand of over 40% and the country experiencing an increase of 12% in 
organically  produce  consumption  during  the  months  of  March  and  April  2020  52.  In  addition, 
source-to-table applications for enabling food traceability are becoming increasingly popular. 

•  Regulatory Environment: regulatory focus on sustainability has been particularly noticeable 
in  Europe.  The  COVID-19  stimulus  packages  from  the  EU  are  strongly  related  to  a  green 
recovery; and the European Green Deal, is central to many environment and sustainability plans 
in the region. The goals of this far-reaching set of initiatives include transforming Europe into 
the globe's first carbon-neutral continent by 2050 amongst other ambitious objectives such as 
sustainable industry or biodiversity. 

• 

Investment Community Support: support from large management investment and pension 
funds, as well as other financial institutions is proving key to  channel efforts towards a more 
sustainable growth. Larry Fink, CEO to one of the world's largest Asset Managers, Blackrock, 
announced  in  January  its  intention  to  begin  to  exit  certain  investments  that  “present  a  high 
sustainability-related risk53”. As a result of this announcement, the company announced that it 
was placing 244 companies ‘on watch’ for insufficient progress on climate issues, taking voting 
action  at  the  annual  meetings  of  53  companies  over  climate  issues.  Companies  punished 
included German carmaker Daimler and Fortum, the Finnish electricity company. It is estimated 
that a total of $263 bn (approximately €218 bn) of green bond debt was sold last year, up from 
less than $1 bn (approximately €0.8 bn) a decade ago54. Germany, France, Poland, Ireland and 
the Netherlands have all issued green bonds and companies like Alphabet have been following 
suit55. It, therefore, came to no surprise that sustainable funds outperformed the market during 
the worst of the pandemic months earlier this year56.  

•  Ultimately,  it  all  comes  down  to  a  matter  of  Trust  and  Reputation:  company  malpractices 
around human rights, conflict minerals, discriminatory amongst employees etc. can ultimately 
affect  the  entire  organisation,  with  serious  consequences  on  customer  brand  perception  and 
financial objectives. On September 2020, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, the Rio Tinto CEO and two 
other  senior  executives  were  forced  to  step  down  after  pressure  from  investors  over  their 
decision to destroy an aboriginal historical site in Australia57. UK Retailer Boohoo saw its market 
valuation  drop  18%  with  more  than  £500  m  wiped  out  after  a  scandal  related  to  inhumane 
treatment  of  staff  by  some  of  its  suppliers  during  the  lockdowns  in  March  in  the  UK58.  The 
Reputational  damage  of  non-sustainable  actions  can  have  serious  implications  in  today's 
society.  

• 

Finally,  the  availability  of  current  Advanced  Technologies  such  as  IoT,  AI,  blockchain  and 
others to help solve some of these challenges is certainly a driver encouraging organisations 
across Europe to take a more cohesive and permanent approach to sustainability. For example, 
Schneider  Electric has been  conducting  research  and  pilots  on  how  to  use  excess  heat  from 
Datacenters in order to channel it to surrounding buildings to help reuse energy waste59. Google 
Cloud  recently  announced  its  innovation  to  enable  ’chasing  the  sun’  workloads,  by shifting 
flexible computing tasks to times when power on the grid is cleanest60; and technologies like AI 
or IoT  have  become  essential tools  to  monitor light, temperature, humidity  and   many  other 
indicators to facilitate a safe return to the workplace during COVID times and beyond.    

52 Demand for organic food in Spain: https://www.euronews.com/2020/09/10/covid-19-might-give-unexpected-boost-to-
spain-s-organic-sector  

53 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/business/dealbook/larry-fink-blackrock-climate-change.html 
54 https://www.ft.com/content/7a893f6d-08c9-426c-8f19-aa19d434b018 
55 https://blog.google/alphabet/alphabet-issues-sustainability-bonds-support-environmental-and-social-initiatives/ 
56 https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jun/13/ethical-investments-are-outperforming-traditional-funds 
57https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/11/rio-tinto-ceo-senior-executives-resign-juukan-gorge-debacle-caves 
58  https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/13/boohoo-shares-drop-18-as-new-leicester-factory-reports-threaten-
sales 
59 https://www.se.com/ww/en/work/campaign/life-is-on/case-study/ecodatacenter.jsp 
60 https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/inside-google-cloud/announcing-round-the-clock-clean-energy-for-cloud 

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2.3.2  Technology as part of the solution – IoT Use Cases 

By  allowing  users  and organisations  to  track  and  trace  the  status  of  supply  chain  stocks,  purchased 
goods or even monitor the lifecycle of products the IoT becomes a crucial tool to enable sustainable 
use cases. In addition, the Internet of Things has the ability to help operationalise one key concept of 
the current EU's sustainability pillars: The Circular Economy61. 

IoT-enabled use cases such as Smart Buildings, Smart Meters and Smart Factories can lead to a more 
energy  efficient  process.  Digital  Twins  can  allow  city  governments  and  manufacturing  executives  to 
create  digital  models  of  their  projects  and  products  without  the  need  for  physical  prototypes,  hence 
reducing the need for materials and avoiding waste significantly. Waste management applications such 
as those provided by UK firm Topolytics62 "help map the generation, movement and fate of industrial 
and commercial waste, enabling waste producers and recycling companies to achieve better commercial, 
environmental and investment outcomes". The list of applications is endless. 

On the other hand, the ICT industry and its IoT providers need to take proactive approches when tackling 
the problem of excessive electronic waste, potentially generated by the various sensors, gateways and 
network equipment required to enable these IoT solutions.  

IDC IoT Use Cases and Sustainability 

While the number of applications and use cases that IoT enables is countless, it is important to identify 
the cases that would have a greater impact on enabling sustainability, both in the short-term and the 
long-term.  IDC's  Worldwide  Internet  of  Things  Spending  Guide63  is  produced  with  the  goal  to 
provide the latest market developments through an accurate and quality forecast. It provides spending 
forecasts for a number of IoT Use Cases. While many of those can have an indirect link on sustainability 
(both social and environmental), below is a list of some key use cases that IDC believes can have a 
considerable impact on Sustainability.

61 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/fs_20_437 
62 https://topolytics.com/ 

63 https://www.idccustomerinsights.com/technology/WW_IoT_SG/info/taxonomy 

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Table 1 Iot Sustainable Use Cases table 

Industry 

Use Case 

Use Case Detail 

Definition 

Federal/central 
government 

Environmental 
monitoring detection 

Health and Wellness 

Meteorological,  chemical,  biological,  radiological,  nuclear  and  explosive  sensors  are 
used to make informed decisions— including stopping or diverting traffic, limiting access 
to certain geographical areas, or triggering immediate actions if harmful substances are 
detected  in  certain  areas  so  that  inspectors  can  go  out  and  identify  the  source  of 
pollution to put  in place  remediation or  to plan for emergency services  if there is an 
immediate  or  future  danger.  Analysing  long  series  of  data  from  meteorological, 
chemical,  biological,  radiological,  nuclear  and  explosive  detectors  provides  valuable 
information for long-term planning. 

The  health  and  wellness  use  case  bridges  healthcare  payer  and  consumers  with  IoT 
technology that monitors an individual's physical condition. By allowing access to health 
indicators such as heart rate, glucose levels, blood oxygen concentration or movement 
(e.g.  footsteps),  healthcare  payers  incentivise  participants  (e.g.  increasing  price 
discounts/lower monthly insurance premiums). Devices can be activity-based wearables 
such as fitness trackers or smart watches, or devices can be medically oriented such as 
mobile  glucose  monitors,  Continuous  positive  airway  pressure  (CPAP)  machines  or 
pacemakers/auto-defibrillators that are internet connected. Health coaching empowers 
citizens to better manage their health and make healthy decisions involving exercise, 
diet, personal care and lifestyle choices. As part of this industry, this use case includes 
federal/central  government  organisations'  spending  on  these  solutions  for  providing 
these devices to citizens as part of health and welfare campaigns to have healthier and 
more  active  population.  It  differs  from  remote  health  monitoring  (federal/central 
government) as it excludes devices for chronic diseases. 

Intelligent 
transportation 
systems 

Traffic Management  Closed- and open-loop networked traffic control systems are used for road vehicle traffic 
management, especially public road traffic lights. A series of traffic lights are typically 
connected  and  controlled  centrally  for  optimal  traffic  flow  to  minimise  congestion. 
Components include I/O controllers operated by SCADA systems, local and wide area 
networks, video monitors, road sensors and management software providing situational 
awareness and optimisation capabilities. 

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Industry 

Use Case 

Use Case Detail 

Definition 

Public 
asset management 

infrastructure 

General 
infrastructure 

Public 
asset management 

infrastructure 

Smart 
lighting 

street 

Sensors  (e.g.  accelerometers,  loop  detectors),  cameras,  transponders  and  other 
systems allow government agencies to track the structural health and use of highways, 
streets  and  roads,  tunnels,  bridges  and  other  surface  transportation  infrastructure 
(excluding rail, ports, airports) and to communicate about these resources to citizens 
and government workers. This includes the IoT for intersections, signals, tolls, parking 
and transportation  management systems as  well as  sensors that track  the structural 
integrity of the infrastructure itself. This technology includes Geographical Information 
Systems (GIS systems), providing the opportunity to capture and analyze geographical 
and spatial data. 

Outdoor  IP-connected  lighting  is  remotely  programmed,  controlled  and  optimised 
through regular information communication of energy consumption and billing. Smart 
street lighting is intelligently managed to improve municipal operational costs, citizen 
safety and road infrastructure management. Benefits include lower power consumption 
through LED lighting, intelligent dimming and reduced field maintenance with long-life 
lights. Network-equipped lights are an essential element for high-functioning systems. 
Examples  include  signaling  lights  to  indicate  road  conditions  (e.g.  blinking)  or 
emergency public safety (e.g. flashing red), which are available to operators through 
management  software.  These  systems  can  be  interfaced  with  enterprise  systems 
including traffic management, emergency response systems, weather and other  data 
feeds.  This  use  case  also  includes  utility  buyers  funded  with  municipal  contracts  for 
bundled multiyear energy purchase agreements. Light pole–based sensors and solutions 
collecting content information on the area (e.g. weather, noise, citizen movements) are 
excluded  from  this  use  case,  as  these  are  already  considered  in  other  IoT  Spending 
Guide  use  cases,  such  as  environmental  monitoring  detection.  Analogously,  mobile 
broadband connectivity provided through city lighting is excluded from this use case. 
Outdoor  lighting  includes  city-or  utility-owned  lighting  infrastructure  on  streets, 
highways,  bike  or  pedestrian  paths  and  other  roadways  in  cities.  Municipal  parking, 
facilities, public parks and other municipal outdoor lighting are excluded. Indoor lighting 
in homes, factories and other public or commercial buildings are excluded from this use 
case. Note that poles and luminaires are excluded from the hardware component of this 
use cases. Bulbs, if embedding sensors, are instead considered. 

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AT WATCH: Technology Focus on IoT – European Commission  

Industry 

Use Case 

Use Case Detail 

Definition 

Remote 
monitoring 

health 

Discrete 
Manufacturing 

Production 
Management 

Asset 

Production 
Management 

Asset 

Healthcare 
provider 

Hospital 
tracking 

asset 

Process 
manufacturing 

Food traceability 

March 2021 

30 

Home or remote healthcare uses the IoT technology platform to improve quality of life 
and  care  through  accurate  and  focused  medical  home/remote  monitoring  for  chronic 
diseases  (e.g.  asthma,  diabetes).  Typical  devices  considered  are  glucometers,  blood 
press  cuffs,  oximeters,  heart  monitors  and  data  gateways.  These  devices  provide 
patients  with  remote  clinical  support  via  coaching  and  intervention  when  necessary. 
This use case differs from personal wellness and health and wellness use cases, as it 
specifically focuses on devices monitoring chronic diseases.  

IoT  helps  a  company  remotely  track,  monitor  and  maintain  industrial  manufacturing 
devices that are part of the production value chain. This entails regularly assessing the 
equipment conditions and being able to remotely diagnose an equipment failure before 
it happens by analysing the live stream of data produced by the machine (predictive 
maintenance).  Manufacturers  can  reduce  the  probability  of  facing  ’dangerous’ 
situations, since the equipment under consideration is likely to be maintained before a 
possible  failure  or  an  all-out  breakdown  occurs.  At  the  same  time,  it  increases  the 
chance  of  using  the  equipment  longer  and  more  effectively  than  under  traditional 
maintenance mechanisms: the latter are based on average usage conditions predefined 
by  the  equipment  vendors,  whereas  the  actual  usage  conditions  within  a  specific 
manufacturing  process  may  be  different.  Predictive  maintenance  can  easily  adapt  to 
these  "real-life  conditions,"  rather  than  rely  on  theoretical  usage  assumptions.  This 
improves  uptime  and  eliminates  unnecessary  maintenance,  with  the  end  goal  of 
improving process efficiency and reliability for manufacturers. 

Hospital  asset  tracking  is  a  solution  that  locates  high-value  medical  assets  within  a 
medical facility enabled by pervasive wireless LAN (WLAN) networking and beacons or 
active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)  associated with each piece of equipment, 
person or tracked item (i.e. high-value inventory such as medicine or even a baby). The 
solution  typically  integrates  with  ERP,  hospital  inventory  management  and  work 
management. Capabilities are used to create intelligence for the central maintenance 
and tracking (audit) of high-value assets to improve quality of patient care, reduce costs 
and improve service quality. Active tags can integrate any number of sensors to produce 
info on temperature, humidity, equipment orientation, movement and general time in 
operation through built-in analytics software capabilities. 

IoT technology tracks the production, processing and delivery of food across the entire 
supply chain, from point of harvest to point of sale. These processes are automated to 
improve efficiency, safeguard public health, increase customer satisfaction and provide 
the  means  to  comply  with  government  mandates.  IoT  will  offer  real-time  access  to 
inventory, production and shipment histories and removes manual errors and mitigates 
the risk associated with major quality issues. 

 
  
  
  
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Industry 

Use Case 

Use Case Detail 

Definition 

Maintenance and field 
service 

Manufacturing 
operations 

Autonomic 
operations 

Professional 
services 

Smart buildings 

Infrastructure 

Smart buildings 

Smart elevators 

March 2021 

31 

IoT  technologies  are  transforming  field  service  operations  by  automating  the 
measurement, recording, transferring and formatting of service data remotely from the 
field.  IoT  for  maintenance  and  field  service  will  also  plug  readings  into  the  proper 
enterprise databases and give technicians access to real-time and historical data while 
in the field. 

Real-time  assessment  of  current  demand  and  capacity  availability  continuously  and 
intelligently resequences work on the factory shop floor. The factory is able to function 
autonomously on its own based on a multitude of data collected through sensors and 
analysed  through  cognitive  computing  systems.  This  results  in  lower  energy  costs, 
attainment of sustainability goals, greater optimisation of resources, higher throughput 
levels  due  to lower  factory  unit  costs,  higher  customer  satisfaction  and  lower  capital 
requirements.  

Operating commercial buildings is a significant expense that enterprises want to control 
better.  Smart  buildings  ensure  occupant  satisfaction  and  safety,  command  higher 
property  valuation  and  operate  on  a  smaller  staffing  footprint  over  conventionally 
operated buildings. Smart buildings can also monetise building assets. Building owners 
are deploying IoT technology that utilises advanced automation and building systems 
integration  to  measure,  monitor,  control  and  optimise  operations.  The  end  goal  is 
optimisation — the deployment of a set of building systems capable of adapting in real 
time to both internal policies and external signals. These systems manage how building 
equipment  operates  to  use  energy  in  the  most  efficient  and  cost-effective  way.  The 
technology infrastructure of such an optimised smart building is defined by integrated 
control systems that automatically change settings and operational parameters utilising 
information technology architecture. Analytics and data management are also essential 
components of smart  building technologies.  These  tools accommodate the increasing 
volume  of  data  associated  with  the  instrumented  and  connected  equipment  in  the 
facility and make this data understandable and actionable. 

Smart elevators autonomously adapt to the varying passenger volumes and frequency 
to move people efficiently and seamlessly as building occupants. The basic capabilities 
improve operational efficiency and while advanced implementations provide occupants 
with  greater  convenience  and  environmental  experiences.  Smart  elevators  include 
freight elevators (cargo, equipment, cars) as well as subsegments including escalators 
and people mover  belts. By  streamlining elevator operations, building owners reduce 
elevator  downtime,  lower  operational  cost,  decrease  scheduled  maintenance  and 
improve passenger experience. Smart elevators can be realised as OEM equipment at 
the time of building construction or retrofitted to existing elevator infrastructure. The 
IoT  technology  includes  outfitting  lift  mechanisation  (pulleys,  fly  wheels)  and motors 
with controllers and sensors. Cars and corridors are outfitted with occupancy sensors 

 
  
AT WATCH: Technology Focus on IoT – European Commission  

Industry 

Use Case 

Use Case Detail 

Definition 

and  video  analytics;  integration  is  made  to  a  master  building  visitor  schedule  and 
security systems including occupant guests and garages. 

This  use  case  optimises  lighting  systems  for  commercial  buildings  to  provide  high 
energy-efficient outcomes using sensors and software. Lights/ballasts are connected to 
IP-based networks and controlled/monitored remotely by building management system, 
application,  business  rules  to  controller,  or  other  means.  Integrating/analysing  data 
(e.g. natural light cycles, room traffic, work schedules) allows lights to be tuned to meet 
specific objectives.  

IoT  technology  uses  sensors  and  tags  to  locate  and  identify  animals  grazing  in  open 
pastures, count their numbers, determine theft or determine their location in paddocks, 
large stables and/or distributed environments. 

This  use  case  advances  the  state-of-the-art  technology  that  supports  farming  and 
permanent  crop  cultivation  through  soil  management.  Improved  crop  yield,  pest 
management  and  soil  management  are  direct  benefits  of  this  technology.  In  its 
application, precision irrigation and fertilisation and fungal control are enabled through 
a  series  of  soil  probes  monitored  by  analytics  software.  The  use  case  is  focused  on 
creating a virtuous loop of information that acts on environmental condition predictions 
with automated system management of control devices, such as water irrigation and 
fertilizer  applicators.  It  provides  information  and  data  that  can  assist  in  the  overall 
management and optimisation of crop and farm care. 

IoT  system  tracks  transportation  assets  (trucks,  railroad  cars,  ships)  and 
determines/controls optimal routes. These systems can monitor both vehicle condition 
and driver behavior. They typically offer route guidance, track idle or stopped time, offer 
geofencing and can include remote diagnostics for engine and other systems. 

Commercial  electric  vehicle  charging  stations  provide  electric  utility  grid  power  for 
scheduled  and  unscheduled  charging  events.  Charging  services  can  be  provided  by 
utility  direct  or  through  third-party  service  providers.  Stations  are  network 
communications enabled, allowing scheduled reservations, real-time availability, charge 
notifications,  automated  billing  and  value-added  and  marketing  services.  Advanced 
implementations  interface  to  utility  grid  management  capabilities  including  auxiliary 
power  services,  power  storage  and  grid  balancing.  Private  charging  stations  not 
available for commercial services are excluded. Commercial stations purchased by non-

Smart lighting 

Resource 
industries/ 

Agriculture 

Agriculture 
tagging 

animal 

Agriculture 
monitoring 

field 

Transportation 

Fleet management 

Utilities 

Electric 
charging 

vehicle 

Electric 
charging 

vehicle 

March 2021 

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Industry 

Use Case 

Use Case Detail 

Definition 

Smart 
(electricity) 

grid 

Smart 
(electricity) 

meters 

utility  entities  are  counted  in  this  use  case  (e.g.  Tesla  super-chargers,  Walgreens, 
GridPoint) as long as they are connected to grid power and networked. 

Smart metering systems use solid-state meters for billing, technical and non-technical 
loss,  power  quality  and  power  outage  purposes.  Components  include  processor, 
memory, communication network module(s), device management software and meter 
data management software. Private communications network infrastructure is included 
in this use case. 

Smart meters (gas)  Flow meters are used for measuring gas usage for billing, leakage detection and non-
technical  loss  purposes.  Components  include  processor,  memory,  communication 
network  module(s),  device  management  software  and  meter  data  management 
software. Private communications network infrastructure is included in this use case. 

Smart 
(water) 

meters 

The  smart  water  use  case  applies  networked  sensors  and  connected  equipment  for 
easing challenges and reducing costs related to waterstress, systemic inefficiency and 
technical  and  non-technical  water  loss  while  improving  asset  management  and 
customer  services.  Smart  meters  quantify  the  investments  made  to  realise  more 
accurate  billing,  faster  cash  conversion  cycles,  real-time  network  status  and  remote 
service  provisioning.  IoT-enabling  technology  components  build  on  smart  meters, 
wireless communications networks, data management and advanced analytics. 

Source: IDC Worldwide Internet of Things Spending Guide, May 2020

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Some of the immediate quantifiable impacts of many of these applications  can be seen as the direct 
energy  efficiencies they provide. Smart buildings (including their variants on smart lighting, smart 
elevators  etc.)  and  smart  meters,  for  example,  can  offer  direct  insights  into  energy  consumption, 
enabling  organisations  and  citizens  to  rationalise  their  energy  consumption,  with  the  consequent 
reduction in CO2 emmissions (for fosil fuel based energy provisioning).  

Smart agriculture applications can help enable more sustainable, longer term agricultural practices 
such  as  improved  crop  yield,  pest  management  and  soil  management.  Precision  irrigation  and 
fertilisation  and  fungal  control  are  enabled  through  a  series  of  soil  probes  monitored  by  analytics 
software while collecting data and insights to feed into existing models in order to create virtuous loops 
when combined with external data sources such as weather conditions, chemicals information and so 
on.  

Equally applications enabling Asset Management64 become a key piece in the puzzle, by allowing not 
only  traceability  of  those  assets  but  also  remote  and  predictive  maintenance.  This  is  a  particularly 
important application, as preditive maintenance enables the adoption of more circular models into the 
business and a servitisation of the economy by transitioning to an as a Service model65. Ultimately, IoT 
becomes  a  key  tool  in  order  to  assess  the  status  of  different  goods  and  products  throughout  their 
lifecycle, as well as traceability of raw materials. These assets can include IT and electronic equipment, 
medical  equipment,  white  goods,  elevators  or  larger  infrastructure  assets  such  as  road  monitoring 
systems  for  example.  The  ability  to  remotely  maintain  and  prolong  the  life  of  these  assets  can  help 
reduce  waste  volumes  and  even  monitor  their  location  and  state  when  these  assets  are  eventually 
repurposed at the end of life, for recycling and further remanufacturing activities. 

COVID-19 Response IoT use cases 

Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed substantial challenges on governments, organisations 
and individuals around the world in order to achieve the UN's 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). 
According  to  the  Gates  Foundation's  Annual  Goalkeepers  Report,  COVID-19  has  stalled  20  years  of 
progress,  derailing  achievement  of  the  UN  SDGs.  The  report  shows  data  indicating  that  worldwide 
extreme  poverty  has  increased  by  7%  and  the  economic  damage  of  the  pandemic  is  reinforcing 
inequalities particularly on women, racial and ethnic minorities communities 66. 

Technology like the IoT can become an integral part of the solutions to a number of the UN SDGs related 
challenges that have emerged as a result of the pandemic.  

Figure 13: UN's 17 SDGs 

Source: United Nations 

64 Towards Circular Economy in the Household Appliance industry: An Overview of Cases 
65 Circular Economy Business Models with a Focus on Servitization  
66 Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Report, 2020 

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Below  are  some  of  the  IoT-enabled  solutions  that  we  have  seen  emerge  since  the  beginning  of  the 
pandemic67: 

•  Good  health  and  well-being  (SDG  #3).  Solutions  such  as  IoT-based  remote  health 
monitoring, bedside  telemetry, robots and drones used68  in quarantined  hospitals and areas, 
which help alleviate the burden on medical staff (carrying equipment, carrying out sterilisation 
tasks, etc.), can provide welcome support to those in hospitals and at home. Equally, we have 
seen examples of digital epidemiology  — the scientific discipline using digital tools from data 
collection  to  data  analysis  —  put  into  use  to  help  trace  those  infected.  Sensors  to  enable 
temperature monitoring and distance for a safe return to the workplace are some of the many 
IoT applications currently being deployed across European organisations. 

•  Responsible consumption and production (SDG #12). The COVID-19 crisis is forcing many 
retailers  and  manufacturers  to  rethink  their  current  supply  chains69,  both  upstream  and 
downstream. For  many manufacturers, resource  efficiency and sourcing will become  a major 
area to reassess once the worst of this crisis is over. Circular Economy principles enabling, for 
example,  the  reuse  and  remanufacture  of  discarded  items,  recycled  materials,  supply  chain 
traceability and waste management practices that can reduce vulnerabilities and help increase 
resilience will be high on the agenda of many board meetings in months to come. Technologies 
like IoT, blockchain and others can help enable the digitisation of the supply chain to provide 
traceability and transparency that society will increasingly demand, particularly after a crisis like 
this.  

•  Partnerships for the goals (SDG #17). During the early months of the pandemic, the number 
of private-public partnerships  grew  exponentially as a result of  a clear need to identify rapid 
solutions  and  provide  resources.  We  have  seen  private  organisations  partnering  with  public 
agencies to create70, for example, remote monitoring apps, people movements tracing solutions 
or  neighbouring  support  platforms.  They  even  promote  hackathons  to  encourage  the  use  of 
technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and others to speed up vaccine tests, drone 
delivery or 3D printing of respirators.  

2.3.3  The Circular Economy 

Calls for incorporating Circular Economy models that decouple economic growth from resource 
consumption  are  mounting,  as  stated  recently  by  Janez  Potocnik,  Co-Chair  of  UN  International 
Resource  Panel,  Former  European  Commissioner  for  Environment.  According  to  the  Ellen  MacArthur 
Foundation, the Circular Economy "aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. 
It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources and designing 
waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model 
builds economic, natural and social capital". With this in mind, the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan71 
is  a  series  of  initiatives  along  the  entire  life  cycle  of  products,  covering  design,  processes  and 
consumption and resources aimed at keeping resources within the EU for as long as possible. 

Core  to  the  idea  of  the  circular  economy  are  the  concepts  of  repair,  reuse,  remanufacture  and 
recycle. These four stages aim at prolonging the life of existing goods in order to minimise the need 
for  raw  materials  when  producing  new  goods.  And  the  IoT,  together  with  other  digital  technologies, 
becomes a fundamental tool to enable those four pillars: 

•  Repairing goods that come to the end of their first life or are no longer needed, damaged or 
broken relies partly on the ability to trace and monitor the product lifecycle and its  condition 
overall. Remote and predictive maintenance and repair IoT-enabled applications can help 
prolong the useful life of products and goods. Siemens' Ecoline portfolio provides high quality 
refurbished  medical  imaging  equipment,  for  example.  The  re-use  of  medical  scanning 
machinery,  for  example,  can  be  due  to  the  machines  breaking,  reaching  their  end  of  life  or 
simply getting to the end of the contract value.  

•  Waste Management applications that enable waste traceability, transparency and alerts from 
the  moment  of  disposal  throughout  disassembly,  remanufacture  or  recycling  are  becoming 
increasingly important.  

67 https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=EUR146237720&pageType=PRINTFRIENDLY 

68 Robots and drones used to fight COVID19 
69 Supply Chain Recovery in coronavirus times 
70 Public-private alliances for the pandemic 
71 EU Circular Economy Action Plan 

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•  Water Management systems that enable municipalities to prevent disaster and control water 
levels  and  flows  can  help  prevent  floods,  as  well  as  control  water  quality.  IoT  sensors 
strategically placed alongside the water systems can derive information from the data collected, 
for the local authorities and water management agencies to take action when required.  

•  Retrofitting buildings and assets to monitor energy efficiency and performance thanks to IoT 

sensors, for example, is one of the key factors to enable a Net Zero future. 

•  Food Traceability Solutions throughout the entire supply and logistics chain can enable Source 
to  Table  72  use  cases  to  incentivise  local  consumption  and  production  (a  key  concept  of  the 
Circular Economy), as well as monitoring quality assurance for the precedence of the different 
foods,  transport  conditions  and  appropriate  environments  when  manipulating  ingredients 
throughout the chain. 

•  Digital Marketplaces that put in touch different agents in that value chain (those looking to 
dispose their assets and those looking to re-use  or remanufacture)  such as  Globechain73  will 
become fundamental to create a fabric of intermediaries to accelerate circular economy adoption 
throughout  the  region.  Waste  management  agencies,  recycling  organisations  and  local 
authorities become fundamental agents to enable a circular economy, yet they do not always 
have  the  necessary  mechanisms  and  environments  to  reach  out  to  each  other  in  an  agile, 
transparent way. The creation of marketplaces that bring together all those agents can facilitate 
adoption amongst not only those agents, but also the citizens who often lack visibility into local 
initiatives and opportunities. 

• 

• 

The  concept  of  Smart  Cities  and  all  their  associated  benefits  (i.e.  smart  assets  –  lighting, 
parking,  water,  buildings  and  so  on;  digital  twins  to  facilitate  city  management,  etc.)  relies 
heavily on technologies like IoT to trace and monitor its different use cases and applications, 
enabling authorities to make more informed decisions that respond to the needs of their citizens. 
Examples such as the City of Tartu, in Estonia 74 are already part of a network of European cities 
demonstrating the benefits of using IoT sensors and other digital technologies to achieve societal 
and environmental benefits.  

Finally,  the  Circular  Economy  requires  an  entire  ecosystem  of  agents,  infrastructure  and 
facilities  that  can  empower  the  collection,  delivery,  repair,  remanufacture  and  recycling 
processes. This requires the creation of new jobs and skills in these key areas, as well as other 
such  as  design  for  reuse  and  environmental  engineering.  These  can  mitigate  the  impact  of 
potential  job losses  derived  from  actions  such  as  the  decarbonisation of  the  economy or  the 
reduction of newly created products and goods.  

On  the  opposite  hand,  the  IoT  with  its  multiple  sensors,  gateways  and  devices  becomes  a  potential 
generator for increasing amounts of electronic waste (eWaste), especially if we consider the millions of 
potential devices that will be deployed across the multiple IoT usecases globally. The ICT industry needs 
to  put  in  place  an  industry  wide  strategy  that  enables  reclaiming,  reuse  and  recyle  of  the  different 
components  and  materials  used  across  those  IoT  devices.  IoT  devices  are  part  of  the  overall  ICT 
infrastructure and as such need to fall under the same green procurement rules and definitions, in order 
to ensure minimisation of eWaste as a result of IoT applications.  

2.3.4  IoT for Social Good 

IoT  Technology  can  also  enable  a  number  of  altruistic,  non-for-profit  activities  for  social  and 
environmental purposes.  

•  Helping protect Life on Land: Connected Conservation75 originated as a partnership between 
Cisco and NTT (through its original South African Dimension Data acquisition), the aim of this 
project  is  to  reduce  poaching  for  endangered  species.  It  started  by  using  IoT  sensors  and 
cameras to monitor movement, temperature and heat indicators within a South African game 
reserve to track illegal human movement to reduce rhino poaching. The solution has recently 
expanded to include other endangered species such as pangolins and countries. 

•  Clean water and sanitation: Helping rural communities in Africa maintain water pumps. By 
using IoT technology,  it  is possible  to monitor the  condition of these  water wells  and enable 

72 EU Farm to Fork Strategy 
73 Globechain: the reuse marketplace 
74 City of Tartu, Estonia 
75 Connected Conservation 

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early repair, without the need to build new infrastructure. Community wells are often the focal 
point to enable healthier communities, women's ability to join the work force  – since they do 
not need to walk to remote wells to collect water for their households or crops – and facilitating 
children' access to attend school lessons – by not having to help their families collect water from 
remote  wells  if  the  local  one  is  not  functioning.  Similarly,  Telenor  Connexion,  powered  by 
Ericsson's IoT Accelerator76, provides connectivity to local water treatment micro-facilities, for 
the production of clean, filtered water with a minimal eco-footprint.  

•  Cleaner air: dirty air and water led to a staggering 9 million77 deaths in 2015 alone, according 
to the World Economic Forum78. In the European Union79 alone, bad air quality is the number 
one environmental cause of premature death in the EU, with over 390 000 premature deaths 
every year.  By deploying a network of  street  sensors,  cities can  alert citizens when pollution 
levels  increase,  helping  prevent  a  number  of  illnesses  and  health  complications  related  to 
diseases such as asthma, pneumonia and other respiratory infections. 

•  Food fortification: through its Project Healthy Children80, NGO Sanku makes use of dosifiers 
installed into small African mills to calculate the precise amount of critical nutrients that need 
to be added to products like flour. By remotely monitoring the dosifier, human visits to ensure 
they are working correctly are reduced, hence keeping the costs of the operation to a minimum. 

•  Social Justice: Scotland Police81 use AI and IoT enabled digital CCTV cameras and drones to 
help find missing people or provide help to those in need. These cameras need to be maintained 
remotely to ensure they function correctly. By using these cameras, Scotland Police achieved 
higher ratios on early resolution for open cases.  

•  Healthcare: sensors are being used in hospitals in order to monitor healthcare personnel’s use 
of the hydroalcoholic gel, the frequency of use and weather they are being used according to 
COVID-19 practices and guidelines. In addition, drones – which are often considered as a subset 
of Internet of Things applications82 - are being used all over the world to deliver medicines to 
those in remote or isolated areas. Their use during the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly 
key to provide further assistance such as  disinfecting streets in highly infected areas,  deliver 
personal protective equipment (PPE) or medical equipment to hospitals during lockdown periods. 

•  Agriculture:  ZLTO83  is  the  Southern  Agriculture  and  Horticulture  Organisation  in  the 
Netherlands, supporting young farmers in their daily operational business, by connecting them 
to other sectors and organisations in order to create new opportunities for sustainable economic 
growth and social welfare. Part of their objective is to train farmers with a package of education 
and tools that they can use to attract customers for their products and establish good relations 
with citizens, such as the use of social media and digital platforms and technological tools such 
as the use of drones, sensors and IoT platforms to enhance their crops.  

The  use  cases  for  IoT  enabled  applications  that  derive  value  for  communities  in  need  is  rapidly 
increasing, as governments, NGOs and private organisations realise the value this technology brings in 
order to achieve their needs.   

76 Telenor Connexion 
77 https://www.popsci.com/nine-million-people-killed-pollution/ 
78 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/6-ways-the-internet-of-things-is-improving-our-lives/ 
79 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/index_en.htm 
80 Food fortification 
81 Scotland Police  
82 https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/research/flying-iot-toward-low-power-vision-sky 

83 ZLTO 

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2.4  Policy Implications  

As the sections above have indicated, IoT is being embraced across the economy and the public sector 
and it brings a variety of benefits that include greater efficiency, improved safety, improved healthare 
results and more sustainable development. However, it remains a complex space, with a fragmented 
ecosystem, emerging and incomplete standards and significant risk factors. In order for Europe to enjoy 
the benefits of IoT, there are many ways in which policy makers and other stakeholders can influence 
and facilitate IoT’s development. This section highlights several areas in which policy makers are making 
an impact and can aid development in the coming years, particularly in the fields of telecommunications, 
privacy, security, industry support and sustainability.  

Telecommunications for IoT Connectivity 

Telecommunications is one of the most critical policy areas in which continued work is needed. Many 
IoT  use  cases  depend on public  mobile  communications  networks  for  connectivity.  Examples  include 
connected cars, fleet management, insurance telematics, remote healthcare monitoring and most smart 
meters. In order to make these and future use cases possible, there remains significant work ahead in 
several areas.  

The EU’s Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is active in coordinating 
regulation and policies in this space and identified some key policy areas to address in order to enable 
IoT,  including  policies  around  international  roaming  and  switching  service  providers.84  Similarly,  the 
GSM  Association,  which  is  the  main  industry  trade  association  for  the  mobile  industry,  is  a  key 
participant coordinating industry involvement in key policy discussions.85 From these and other industry 
players and stakeholders, several key policy areas relating to telecoms and IoT become evident: 

•  Standards development: Though initial 5G mobile networks have now been standardised and 
deployed, these standards will continue to evolve and add capabilities. Additionally, standards 
work  must  proceed  in  many  other  technology  fields  across  the  IoT  ecosystem.  Technology 
vendors,  network  operators,  policy-makers  and  customer  groups  coordinate  these  processes 
through industry associations, regulators and international organisations. 

•  Spectrum planning: There are multiple concerns with radio spectrum.  

o  Harmonisation:  IoT  devices  are  often  manufactured  to  supply  multiple  countries  or 
are expected to travel across countries and regions. Devices must connect consistently 
to  different  networks  in  different  regulatory  regimes.  Radio  spectrum  should  be 
harmonised across Europe and globally as much as possible to reduce complexity and 
cost of connecting IoT devices globally.  

o  Support  for  new  use  cases  and  spectrum  requirements:  Additionally,  device 
connectivity requirements differ from those of personal devices. Some of them require 
low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) so that they can operate over long distances, 
often  inside  buildings  and  underground,  on  batteries  that  last  several  years.  As  such 
they  require  low  radio  frequencies.  Other  use  cases  may  emerge  with  still  different 
requirements.  Spectrum  planning  should  support  development  of  new  use  cases  by 
provisioning the appropriate spectrum.  

o  Support  for  private  mobile  networks:  Finally,  some  industries  intend  to  deploy 
advanced  IoT  and  computing  use  cases,  such  as  robotics,  industrial  automation  and 
autonomous mobile machinery, such as forklifts. These use cases require intensive use 
of mobile network connectivity on premises, such as in ports, airports, industrial zones, 
manufacturing facilities and hospitals. Spectrum policy may need to accommodate these 
use cases by allowing organisations to access or license spectrum for such purposes. 

•  Roaming  and  transfer  of  network  profiles:  Due  to  the  international  nature  of  many  IoT 
devices, continued international  coordination  is needed  in the  area  of roaming. Vendors who 
ship devices globally need to be able to activate those devices on local networks upon arrival, 
while  organisations  that  operate  mobile  devices  need  those  devices  to  travel  and  switch 
networks  as  needed.  There  are  a  few  ways  of  doing  that,  such  as  allowing  devices  to 
permanently  roam  on  networks  in  a  new  home  country  or  enabling  the  transfer  of  network 
profiles on subscriber identity modules (SIMs). Industry players, associations, standards bodies 

84https://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/reports/5755-berec-report-on-enabling-the-
internet-of-things 
85 https://www.gsma.com/iot/iot-policy-and-regulation-overview/ 

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and  regulatory  authorities  are  coordinating  solutions,  but  there  is  still  a  need  for  further 
development and establishing global consensus. 

•  Site acquisition for 5G deployments: As mobile network operators deploy 5G networks to 
support  high-bandwidth  use  cases,  such  as  surveillance  cameras  and  low-latency  use  cases, 
such as drones and emergency services, they are deploying far more radio base stations and 
antennas than were needed for previous generations of mobile networks. Often these locations 
can utilise very small equipment, but there are far more of them. Policy makers have a role to 
play in deciding where this equipment should be allowed, including on public infrastructure, such 
as streetlights. 

Privacy and Security 

Privacy is a concern in the IoT field, because IoT devices collect an enormous amount of data and that 
data can include private information, either as part of its core purposes, or incidentally. It is important 
for  the  IoT  industry  and  for  organisations  utilising  IoT  to  take  privacy  into  account  from  the  very 
beginning of their IoT planning, to avoid collecting unnecessary data, collecting personal data without 
consent, or violating privacy in other ways.  

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)86 includes useful guidance that applies 
to privacy in IoT. For example, it stipulates data protection by design, the requirement to obtain consent 
and the right to be forgotten. However, privacy policy will likely require further clarification of guidance 
as new technologies and use cases emerge. 

Security is a closely related issue. Security vulnerabilities are a common way in which personal privacy 
is  violated,  which  is  a  key  reason  GDPR  requires  data  protection  by  design.  However,  IoT  security 
vulnerabilities  also  pose  other  risks.  Lives  can  be  endangered  by  security  flaws  in  motor  vehicles  or 
industrial machinery and large-scale devastation could occur through attacks on critical infrastructure, 
such as energy grids, power plants, pipelines, chemical factories, highway tunnels, hospitals and many 
others. IoT security policy will need continuous attention in several areas, including establishing security 
guidelines; defining liability; mandating a minimum period of support for IoT devices and software.   

Encourage Private Sector Innovation 

Another key area for public policy involvement is in supporting private sector innovation to drive IoT 
forward.  One  way  to  do  so  is  to  provide  funding  for  research  and  development.  One important  past 
example  was  the  funding for  IoT  development  provided  through  the  Horizon 2020  plan  discussed  in 
section 2.1 above. Additional funding from the EU and from national and local governments will be key 
enablers of IoT development. 

In  addition  to  funding,  there  are  direct  roles  for  policy  experts  in  supporting  private  innovation.  For 
example, regulators can aid development by clearing regulatory hurdles to allow research projects to 
proceed. One example is the testing of autonomous buses in Copenhagen. In addition to utilising funding 
from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund, the project also required active involvement from 
an array of regulators and government authorities. Among them were the Danish Road Traffic Authority 
to approve the autonomous shuttles for use in the project, the Danish Road Directorate to review risk 
assessments and safety assessments, the Minister of Transport and the Danish Parliament’s transport 
committee  to  approve  the  whole  project  and  even  Parliament’s  approval  of  new  legislation.87  This 
example  highlights  the  importance  of  public  policy  working  with  private  sector  players  to  drive 
innovation.  

Other ways that the public sector can encourage private sector innovation include:  

•  Contracting  for  the  development  and  deployment  of  projects  that  drive  IoT  development 
forward. For example, smart city initiatives are giving opportunities for both large corporations 
and start-ups to develop technology and solutions. 

• 

• 

Participating in standards-setting, where relevant. 

Facilitating the development of technology  innovation through funding and active support for 
research  labs,  industry  conferences,  university  projects  and  other  activities.  One  prominent 
example  of  this  activity  is  the  Alliance  for  Internet  of  Things  Innovation  (AIOTI),  which  was 
initiated by the European Commission in 2015. The organisation includes large and small private 
sector  players,  start-ups,  research  centres,  universities,  associations  and  public  bodies, 

86 Regulation (EU) 679/2016, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj 
87https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/Denmark/linc-denmark-to-test-driverless-electric-buses-for-greener-
urban-mobility 

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establishing working groups to participate in developing research, innovation, policy, standards 
and ecosystems around key IoT issues.88  

•  Mandating  the  deployment  of  specific  IoT  solutions.  For  example,  EU  policies  requiring 
deployment of emergency call devices in automobiles helped to drive development of connected 
cars  and  EU  policies  pushing  toward  the  use  of  smart  meters  in  utilities  helped  accelerate 
technology  development  and  adoption  in  that  sector.  Outside  of  Europe,  the  Chinese 
government has been very active in supporting deployment of IoT use cases on the Narrowband 
Internet  of  Things  (NB-IoT)  network  standard,  including  projects  in  which  millions  of  smoke 
detectors were deployed in a new connected fire alarm system.89 Policy makers will have many 
such opportunities to participate in and support private-sector innovation. 

Support the Use of IoT to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals 

There are several ways in which policy can assist in the development of sustainable IoT, as well as the 
use of IoT to achieve sustainability objectives. Some of the most prominent examples of past and current 
policies in this space include the following: 

•  The 2030 Climate Target Plan90: This plan raises the EU's ambition on reducing greenhouse 
gas emissions to at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030 from what was previously these 40%. 
The Plan is currently preparing a series of detailed legislative proposals on how this target can 
be achieved. These measures will be announced by June 2021. IoT enables sensors capable of 
monitoring air quality and can thus become a key application to accrue much needed data. 

• 

• 

The  EU  Renovation  Wave91  is  a  non-legislative  initiative  aimed  at  accelerating  the 
renovation   of  all  types  of  buildings  to  make  them  more  energy  efficient,  enabling  smart 
buildings.  This  has  serious  implications  for  the  deployment  of IoT  and  AI  initiatives,  for  the 
deployment of applications such as smart meters, buildings, elevators, etc.  

The New Circular Economy Action Plan92 focuses on the design and production for a circular 
economy, with the aim to ensure that the resources used are kept in the EU economy for as 
long as possible. Currently it is estimated that less than 40% of electronic waste is recycled in 
the  EU93.  The  Key  Sectors  identified  by  the  Commission  so  far  are:  electronics  and  ICT 
(where eWaste related  issues  are  particularly  important),  batteries  and  vehicles,  packaging, 
plastics, textiles, construction and buildings and food – many of these are already addressed as 
part of the Ecodesign Directive. The Commission is aiming to adopt new regulatory measures 
for mobile phones, tablets and laptops under the Ecodesign Directive, as well as new regulatory 
measures on chargers for mobile phones and similar devices. The intention is to develop an EU-
wide  take  back  scheme  to  return  or  sell  back  old  mobile  phones,  tablets  and  chargers   and 
create  a harmonised model  for  waste  collection,  labelling,  etc .  IoT  sensors,  gateways  and 
devices have the potential to enter the Circular Economy cycle if they can be repaired, reused, 
remanufactured and recycled.  

•  EU  Strategy  on  Sustainable  and  Smart  Mobility94  aims  at  enabling  a  path  for  the 
transportation  sector  contribution  to  climate  neutrality  by  2050,  through  the  use  of  digital 
technologies such as IoT and AI.  

•  National Carbon Taxation approaches95: Carbon Taxes already exist across many European 
countries. However, there is a lack of homogenous standards across Member States. Individual 
countries are looking at introducing further taxes or their own Emissions Trade System, such as 
Germany's  ETS  by  January  2021  for  heat  and  road  transports;  Luxembourg  is  intending  to 
implement a €20 tax per ton of CO2 in 96 2021 and Austria has announced similar intentions. In 
order  to  be  able  to  adhere  and  comply  with  existing  and  future  legislation  on  carbon  taxes, 
organisations  in  the  region  will  need  to  be  able  to  report  and  track  their  carbon  emissions 
consistently,  in  a  reliable and  transparent  way.  IoT  technologies  can  enable  organisations  to 

88https://www.buildup.eu/en/explore/links/alliance-internet-things-
innovation#:~:text=The%20Alliance%20for%20Internet%20of,the%20take%20up%20of%20IoT. 
89 https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2020/2/best-mobile-innovation-for-smart-cities-award 
90 2030 Climate Target Plan  
91 Renovation Wave 
92 New Circular Economy Action Plan 
93 COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC 
AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and 
more competitive Europe 
COM/2020/98 final 
94 Strategy on Sustainable and Smart Mobility 
95 National Carbon Taxes 
96 https://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/luxembourg-to-deploy-carbon-tax-from-2021/ 

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monitor  emissions  across  parts  of  their  operations  and  supply  chains.  Furthermore,  the 
implementation  of  digital  twins,  for  example  –  an  application  of  IoT  97  -  can  help  reduce 
emissions and waste for resource intensive industries such as manufacturing, construction and 
retail.  

• 

Increasing focus on Social and Environmental Implications from Public Procurement: 
countries like Denmark, Spain98 and others are currently making progress in modifying, adapting 
or creating their own national legislation for achieving carbon reductions and energy efficiency 
in  the  coming  years.  The  ability  to  monitor  those  emmissions  and  usage,  as  well  as  aspects 
related to air quality will be key applications for IoT enables solutions. Examples outside the EU 
include: 

•  UK Social Contract for Public Procurement99 aims to incorporate a series of environmental 
and  social  parameters  in  public  contracts,  for  the  selection  of  providers.  The  measure  is 
expected to be implemented from January 2021 and it is likely to affect IT providers as well 
as many others. As a recipient of large public contracts, ICT providers enabling IoT and AI 
solutions will need to be able to prove their sustainability credentials in order to be able to 
fit these requirements. 

• 

Finally, the new Biden administration in the United States has already signaled its intention 
to re-enter the Paris Agreement and to make Climate Change a key pillar of its policy in the 
coming four years. Technology in general and IoT solutions in particular, are a great tool to 
help organisations enable their sustainability goals and claims. 

97 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_twin 
98 Spain Bill on Climate Change and Energy Transition 
99 UK Social Contract for Public Procurement 

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3  Conclusions 

Advanced  Technologies  lie  at  the  very  heart  of  Europe’s  ongoing  process  of  digital  transformation. 
Indeed,  these technologies  enable  process,  product  and  service  innovation throughout the  economy, 
thus  fostering and  supporting industrial  modernisation across  a  wide  range  of  organisations  and 
industry sectors.    

While  some  of  these  technologies  are  clearly  horizontal  in  nature,  our  analysis  has  emphasised  how 
other advanced technologies tend to play a more niche and industry-specific role. In this respect the 
whole spectrum of the European industry appears to be positively affected by the digitisation brought 
about  by advanced technologies.  Nevertheless,  some  sectors  are  taking  the  lead  in  the  process. 
Industries like Manufacturing, Telecommunications & Media and Finance are clearly benefiting from the 
uptake of technologies such as Robotics, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), 3D printing and 
Advanced Materials (especially in manufacturing), or from AI, Big Data & Analytics and Blockchain (in 
the finance sector) or again from Cloud computing, Security. 5G and Photonics (as in the Telco & Media 
space). Other industries, as in the case of  Transport & Logistics or Agriculture, are showing a slower 
pace  of  advanced  technologies’  uptake  with  technologies  such  as  IoT,  AI  and  Big  Data  &  Analytics 
making their way into industry-specific applications in these fields but at a reduced speed.   

Taking  the  Internet  of  Things  as  one  the  backbones  of  digital  transformation  and  industrial 
modernisation,  we  observed  that  the  current  availability  of  huge  datasets,  coupled  with  recent 
technology advances in Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and fast connectivity capabilities, are all paving 
the way to new and more disruptive applications of IoT systems and services. There is now widespread 
recognition  among  consumers  and  organisations  that  IoT  can  help  them  to  operate  more  efficiently, 
improve quality of service and customer experience, introduce new services and improve many other 
aspects  of  their  businesses.  Likewise,  the  European  Commission  and  other  governmental  and 
international bodies have thrown their weight into supporting and stimulating IoT development as a key 
economic opportunity and driver of future innovation. 

Though the benefits are more evident than ever, most IoT deployments remain challenging. Few use 
cases  are  fully  standardised  and  packaged.  Most  require  substantial  customisation,  which  creates 
complexity, costs and security concerns. What is more, some use cases, to be implemented, also require 
specific skills that are not always available, thus adding to the complexity. 
, These challenges must be carefully considered and addressed to fully achieve the gains promised by 
IoT. 

Balancing the tremendous benefits against the costs and challenges, organisations are steadily adopting 
and  expanding  their  IoT  initiatives.  The  speed  of  deployment  of  IoT  applications  has  been  growing 
strongly over the past years and the current pandemic has created tremendous demand for use cases 
that help organisations cope with the effects of the pandemic. For example, many organisations have 
looked for use cases that address employee safety, such as body temperature monitoring, securing safe 
distances in the workplace or adding intelligence to already sensorised medical equipment such as hand 
sanitiser gel dispensers. More broadly, European organisations also report using IoT to reduce costs and 
increase automation to cope with the economic pressures and reduced staffing  during the pandemic. 
Even  more  importantly  for  the  long  term,  organisations  have  prioritised  IoT  as  a  key  part  of  their 
digitalisation strategies for positioning themselves in the post-COVID era. 

With  the  current  focus  across  the  European  Union  on  the  need  to  enable  and  operate  sustainable 
organisations  and  socially  minded  corporations,  technologies  like  IoT  become  an  essential  tool  for 
enabling  sustainable  practices  such  as  supply  chain  transparency,  for  example,  or  energy  efficient 
equipment and premises that can help reduce CO2 emissions. The number of IoT use cases with business 
or  societal  objectives  in  common,  even  if  applied  in  substantially  different  sectors  and  situations,  is 
considerable  and  currently  being  applied  across  both  private  and  public  sector  organisations.  IoT 
applications can certainly exert positive impacts on social welfare and actively contribute to social good, 
especially when in combination with other technologies such as Cloud, AI and blockchain.  

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OECD, The Internet Of Things: Seizing The Benefits And Addressing The Challenges, 24 May 2016, p16 

IDC's 2019 IT Services Survey, https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=EUR246144520  

Demand for organic food in UK supermarkets https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/03/uk-organic-

food-and-drink-sales-boom-during-lockdown  

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/business/dealbook/larry-fink-blackrock-climate-change.html 

https://www.ft.com/content/7a893f6d-08c9-426c-8f19-aa19d434b018 

https://blog.google/alphabet/alphabet-issues-sustainability-bonds-support-environmental-and-social-initiatives/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jun/13/ethical-investments-are-outperforming-traditional-funds 

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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/11/rio-tinto-ceo-senior-executives-resign-juukan-gorge-debacle-

caves 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/13/boohoo-shares-drop-18-as-new-leicester-factory-reports-

threaten-sales 

https://www.se.com/ww/en/work/campaign/life-is-on/case-study/ecodatacenter.jsp 

https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/inside-google-cloud/announcing-round-the-clock-clean-energy-for-cloud 

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/fs_20_437 

https://topolytics.com/ 

https://www.idccustomerinsights.com/technology/WW_IoT_SG/info/taxonomy 

Towards Circular Economy in the Household Appliance industry: An Overview of Cases 

Circular Economy Business Models with a Focus on Servitization  

Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Report, 2020 

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=EUR146237720&pageType=PRINTFRIENDLY 

Robots and drones used to fight COVID19 

Supply Chain Recovery in coronavirus times 

Public-private alliances for the pandemic 

EU Circular Economy Action Plan 

EU Farm to Fork Strategy 

Globechain: the reuse marketplace 

City of Tartu, Estonia 

Connected Conservation 

Telenor Connexion 

https://www.popsci.com/nine-million-people-killed-pollution/ 

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/6-ways-the-internet-of-things-is-improving-our-lives/ 

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https://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/index_en.htm 

Food fortification 

Scotland Police  

Gapminder 

Kiron 

Cibervoluntarios 

ZLTO 

2030 Climate Target Plan  

Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy 

Renovation Wave 

New Circular Economy Action Plan 

COMMUNICATION  FROM  THE  COMMISSION  TO  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT,  THE  COUNCIL,  THE  EUROPEAN 

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A new Circular Economy Action Plan 

For a cleaner and more competitive Europe 

COM/2020/98 final 

Strategy on Sustainable and Smart Mobility 

EU Data Spaces 

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Appendix A: Advanced Technology Uptake 

Figure 14: The Uptake of Advanced Technologies in European Industries – Question: Which of the following technologies is your organisation using or planning to use? 

Source: Advanced Technologies for Industry Survey, November 2020 
Legend: Sum of the percentages of respondents already using and planning to use each technology 

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About the ‘Advanced Technologies for Industry’ Project  

The EU’s industrial policy strategy promotes the creation of a competitive European industry. In order 
to  properly  support  the  implementation  of  policies  and  initiatives,  a  systematic  monitoring  of 
technological trends and reliable, up-to-date data on advanced technologies are needed. To this end, 
the  Advanced  Technologies  for  Industry  (ATI)  project  has  been  set  up.  The  project  provides 
policymakers, industry representatives and academia with: 

•  Statistical  data  on  the  production  and  use  of  advanced  technologies,  including  enabling 

conditions such as skills, investment and entrepreneurship 

•  Analytical reports, such as on technology trends, sector-based insights and products 

•  Analyses of policy measures and policy tools related to the uptake of advanced technologies 

•  Analysis of technology trends in competing economies, such as in the US, China and Japan 

•  Access to technology centres and innovation hubs across EU countries 

You may find more information about the 16 technologies here: https://ati.ec.europa.eu. 

The project has been undertaken on behalf of the European Commission – the Directorate General for 
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-
Sized  Enterprises  (EASME)  –  by  IDC,  Technopolis  Group,  Capgemini,  Fraunhofer,  IDEA  Consult  and 
NESTA. 

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