What the air quality index will be today? How is the continuous haze weather formed? What measures can be taken to control water pollution?... All these questions indicate that environmental data and ambient intelligence have been integrated into every single aspect of daily life. As the modern society soars today, the environmental protection sector has embarked on a new journey of information technology (IT) adoption inspired by the state strategy of “promoting the development and application of big data in a well-rounded way and gathering pace in building a data power”. Using modern IT to carry out environmental governance and marching into new markets by ambient intelligence-enabled services have become an inevitable trend. 

On October 14, the Innovative Forum on Environmental Data Services and Ambient Intelligence Technologies kicked off in Beijing. The meeting was co-hosted by Poten Environment Group Co., Ltd. (603603.SH) (hereinafter referred to as “Poten Enviro”) and the Environmental Information Technology Adoption Branch of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences in cooperation of Poway Technology Co., Ltd. Expert and representatives from government authorities, industry associations, universities/colleges and research institutes attended the event, to make an in-depth interpretation into the latest environmental policies, discuss how to manage environment with artificial intelligence and how to create/use ambient intelligence platforms, and analyze how to dig environmental data and employ them for creating new social value. 

Chairman of Environmental Information Technology Adoption Branch of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences Cheng Chunming delivered a keynote speech at the forum. As he noted in his address, under the guidance of the state strategies, the fast-growing new-generation information technologies breathe a new lease of life into environmental protection. At the same time, the Internet plus government affairs have become a new normal in the environmental protection work. Big data gathering and development, disclosure of government data, integration of multiple models and algorithms, and other measures are taken to develop big data on ecology, introduce a complete set of united environmental IT adoption standards, and realize the vision of coordinating all businesses for joint, integrated operation and maintenance. 

“We are now in a phase of transition from industrialization to digitalization. Back in 2014, Poten Enviro made deployments in developing environment-related big data. Since then, we have always been developing and promoting the ambient intelligence system based on environmental data,” said Poten Enviro President Wu Jian at the forum. “But to serve government organs, companies and even the entire society, we need to find out a better business model. Against the environment progresses with the support of such new technologies as cloud computing, big data and intelligent operation, the environmental governance and management will become more sophisticated and be able to create more value in the future.”

Wu Jian is making a speech. 

As introduced by Miao Dongyuan, Senior Vice President of Poten Enviro and Chairman of Poway Technology at the event, identifying and solving environmental problems requires more accurate data. By virtue of years’ experience in rendering comprehensive environmental services, Poten Enviro has collected a large amount of environmental data from its testing labs, online monitoring and many other sources. “Easy access to environmental data” lays a foundation while “intelligent operation” turns out to be a target. Poten Enviro expects to communicate and cooperate with more peer companies, so that they could transform their environmental protection efforts from being data-based to intelligence-based, spread more clear-cut, up-to-standard data, introduce rules and action plans concerning the future ambient intelligence, and encourage the technical innovation and development in environmental data and ambient intelligence. 

Set sail against the wind of favorable policy

“Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Recently, “Sewage Discharge Permit”, power centralization and other environmental policies came out successively, bringing out profound changes in the environmental service sector and market demand. PhD Huang Mingxiang from the Information Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection introduced to other attendees at the forum the compilation principle, major framework and primary tasks with respect to the Environmental Information Technology Adoption Program during the 13th Five-year Plan period. 

As noted by Xie Xin, Chief Engineer of China National Environmental Monitoring Center, the centralization of the power to monitor surface water environment quality nationwide is an essential requirement to straighten out the powers and spending obligations of the central and local governments. To do so, a mode to gather and test water samples separately will be adopted across the country. It involves 1,854 monitored sections. The percentages of up-to-standard sections will directly affect the local governments’ performance evaluation results. The adoption of such a mode requires strict control internally and stringent screening externally, as well as a more well-rounded maintenance management and quality control. By virtue of its rich experience and solid foundation, Poway Technology, affiliated with Poten Enviro, has assumed some tasks concerning separation of water sample gathering and testing. 

As Zhang Penghao, General Manager of www.tianji.com, introduced, Tianji.com is dedicated to setting up the interactive platforms where energized environmental services are available. Using “environmental data” as the principal production materials and “cloud computing and AI” as the advanced productive forces, it tries to energize the new productive relations in environmental protection sector. To utilize the favorable state policy, a new product—discharge-permit.com was rolled out under its banner, with a view to helping pollution-discharging firms to upgrade themselves, and enable eco-friendly companies to create more values through their services. As a result of all these efforts, the entire sector may improve its capacity in environmental management and governance though public participation. 

Let data speak loud for themselves and drive management innovation

Environment-related big data can be used to more precisely monitor, analyze and predict environmental quality. Therefore, they provide a new approach to better environment monitoring, pollution control/prevention and environmental management. Professor Chang Miao from the School of Environment, Tsinghua University pointed out at the forum that “it is pressing for environmental big data to undergo top-level design. At the same time, they need to be planned under the guidance of such design. To this end, we should keep up with where environmental management will go and what structure it takes, screen sensing technologies suitable for local conditions, put in place unified data standards, and make application-related decisions with data.”

Yin Wenjun, Solutions Director of IBM Research-China, showcased how the state-of-the-art technologies like environmental big data can be used for environmental management with actual cases. As IBM had proposed, it would employ its advanced technologies and research resources in cognitive computing, big data, cloud computing and other fields to help China transform its energy structure and address air pollution and other environment issues, and give it decision-making support in terms of air pollution prevention and control, efficient utilization of renewable energy, energy conservation and emission reduction, and other aspects. 

Promote environmental management with the might of intelligence

Ambient intelligence is intended to construct a highly-sensitive underlying environment with such information technologies as the Internet of Things and cloud computing so that sources of pollution, water environment, air environment, acoustic environment and other monitored factors can be sensed in a well-rounded manner with relevant data gathered on a real-time basis and transmitted automatically. At the same time, environmental information will be restored in a single place, integrated for efficient use, and dug thoroughly and analyzed intelligently. At last, automatic monitoring, meticulous management and intelligent decision-making will be realized in a bid to propel the environmental protection field towards sound, healthy development.

Established in this June, Tianji Network Co., Ltd. introduced a new mode of “S2b2B” to the environmental protection sector and is dedicated to constructing a new ecology where different industries can be connected and share with each other, empowering individuals to start up their own business, middle or small, and making innovations and interactions with environmental services and resources worldwide. “Hui Test is an O2O platform Tianji has rolled out to provide environmental testing services online. Thanks to the one-stop online ordering and other services, the platform is able to provide government organs at all levels, companies and the public with rapid, convenient environment-related housekeeping services. Combined with “Home Quick Test” and other businesses, it is expected to fully unlock the value of data in the provision of environmental services,” General Manager Zhang Penghao added. 

The advent of information era poses both opportunities and challenges to environmental firms. Poten Enviro calls for all peer companies to build up trust with each other. With technical progress and model innovation, we are in a good position to march into a much broader market, develop ambient intelligence, cast a better future and create more value for the society.