Earth is getting warmer, rising seas, and the weather is becoming more extreme. The recent IPCC report states that we must drastically reduce our global warming emissions. If this does not happen, temperatures will reach 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, which could have irreversible consequences for Earth’s life systems and humanity as we know it today!
It is no secret that technology is constantly transforming our world. Technologies like Quantum computing, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence are changing how we live, communicate, work, and play in ways few could have imagined just decades ago. The current workforce needs to upskill and reskill to evolve with these changes or risk becoming obsolete. According to one report from The World Economic Forum, 65% of children entering primary school today will end up working at jobs that do not yet exist!
Prosperity is more than just a monetary term. It is about having a decent quality of life – a roof over your head, food on the table, and being able to afford the things you need. But prosperity is not evenly distributed. The top 1% of the world’s population now owns more than half of the world’s wealth, and the global middle-class population is expected to reach 5.4 billion by 2030. As this gap widens, it becomes increasingly vital to change how we think about prosperity and work towards a more equitable distribution of wealth. We must find ways to close this gap and ensure everyone has a chance to prosper.
Our younger and future generations will be the ones to feel the impacts of these challenges. But they also have the power to make the necessary changes to mitigate these impacts. Change can be scary, but it is also essential for growth. Empowering people to embrace change will help them grow as individuals and make our world a better place.
Uniquely Positioned Built Environment
So, what does all this mean for the Built Environment Stakeholders?
With global populations set to rise from 7.8 billion people in 2020 to 8.5 billion people by 2030 and an expected 2.5 billion additional urban dwellers by 2050, the need for infrastructure and construction is set to rise. As the world’s population continues to grow, there will be an increased need for infrastructure and construction. Developed countries consume approximately 330 tons of construction materials per capita. In developing countries, consumption is around 60 tons per capita.
The Built Environment contributes 40% of global carbon emissions and consumes the same amount of global energy. Oxford Economics estimates the global construction market valued at US$10.7 trillion in 2020 and is expected to grow by US$4.5 trillion between 2020 and 2030 to reach US$15.2 trillion.
To meet the needs of a changing world, we need to transform how we design, build, finance, operate, maintain, and use our built environment. We need a built environment that is resilient to the effects of climate change, uses resources more efficiently, and provide people with the quality of life they expect. So, we need to start thinking about the built environment as a whole system that is connected and interacting with the natural environment. And we need to do it now.
By its very nature of dealing with change daily, the built environment is uniquely placed to lead the way, but the change required is significant and will not happen overnight. Therefore, the built environment stakeholders must empower themselves and their teams with the people-centric digital-first framework that incorporates the four (4) key areas of digital transformation success: Mindset, Skillset, Toolset, and Dataset.
"Empowering built environment people to embrace change will require a fundamental shift in the mindset, skillset, toolset, and dataset. But it is a shift we must make if we are to meet the needs of a changing world and achieve the ambitious targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
– Suhail Arfath, CEO Hloov
Mindset: The way we think about the built environment needs to change. We need to move away from thinking about buildings and infrastructure as isolated objects and start thinking about them as part of a system that can be part of the solution to climate change instead of being part of the problem.
Skillset: With the advent of modern technologies, we need to upskill and reskill our existing workforce so that they can use these new tools effectively and prepare our incoming digital native workforce for future jobs. This need will require a shift in how we think about education and training.
Toolset: We cannot address the new and complex challenges of our changing world with the ancient approach tools. We need to invest and adopt new digital technologies to help us design, build, finance, operate, and maintain our built environment more sustainably. New Toolset needs to be human-centric, AI-driven with open data workflows and a platform approach.
Dataset: We need to understand better how the built environment interacts with the natural environment and how it affects the people living and working in it. Democratized and open data will play a vital role in leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to help us make better decisions embracing people, the planet, and prosperity for all.
Hloov – Empowering Built Environment People
In a world where ‘change is the only constant, Hloov is all about evolution through revolution. Word Hloov originates from the ancient Asian language – Hmong, which translates to “Change” and embodies our philosophy of making evolutionary changes in the built environment through revolutionary concepts and data science with people at its center.
Hloov is a pioneer in human–centric artificial intelligence for the built environment that empowers people with data science to achieve people, planet, and prosperity goals by minimizing waste. Hloov aims to accomplish its mission through its three (3) platforms Tagwaye, Tenet, and Hluas.
People: The “People” pillar represents our commitment to people empowerment by making data science accessible to everyone for informed decision-making.
Planet: The “Planet” pillar symbolizes our commitment to preserving natural resources and protecting natural habitats for future generations.
Prosperity: The “Prosperity” pillar is about minimizing waste, which means we want every dollar spent to create the most value for everyone.
Hloov Tagwaye is a human-centric AI-driven living digital twins platform that empowers the Built Environment people with decision intelligence to make complex and critical decisions confidently. It is an AI-driven living digital twins platform to define, dissect, decide – confidently!
Learn more: www.hloov.com/tagwaye
Hloov Tenet is a collaboration and engagement platform that drives awareness about the vast implications of the built environment on the climate crisis and its need to change. It is a collaboration and engagement platform to engage, educate, encourage – everyone!
Learn more: www.hloov.com/tenet
Hloov Hluas is a research and innovation platform that empowers the next generation of problem solvers to develop creative solutions for a sustainable future. It is a research and innovation platform to incubate, innovate, impact – together!
Learn more: www.hloov.com/hluas
In conclusion, we all must work together to create a built environment that is sustainable and resilient. We need to embrace change, leverage latest technologies, and empower people. Hloov is leading the way change, and we invite you to join us to reimagine a built environment that embraces People, Planet, and Prosperity for everyone!
Learn more: www.hloov.com
