There is no question that the benefits of a permanent, robust trading partnership between the U.S. and the E.U. are a rare example of a win-win for both parties.
— Joe Kaeser
It used to be that American and European companies built their products in low-wage countries, separated by great distances from the innovators who developed the products and the markets where they were sold. But companies increasingly find that is an outmoded way of doing business.
Often, sustainability is discussed only in the context of energy. Energy sustainability is essential - but the word has a much broader meaning. It means long-term thinking about how we manage our businesses, invest in social spending, and plan for the future. This requires vision and leadership, and it requires citizen engagement.
First and foremost, energy efficiency is a major lever for reducing CO2 emissions along all parts of the energy chain - from the production of resources all the way to final consumption.
Machines have the ability to assemble things faster than any human ever could, but humans possess the analytics, domain expertise, and valuable knowledge required to solve problems and optimize factory floor production.
Sustainability is not just about adopting the latest energy-efficient technologies or turning to renewable sources of power. Sustainability is the responsibility of every individual every day. It is about changing our behaviour and mindset to reduce power and water consumption, thereby helping to control emissions and pollution levels.
By reducing trade barriers, improving intellectual-property protections, and setting international rules of the road, TTIP has the potential to improve America and Europe's global competitiveness and strengthen their comparative advantages.
Energy consumption has to be managed by an intelligent grid when it comes to highly populated areas. Smart-grid technologies allow for the integration of renewable energy into the grid as well as energy from distributed sources.
An increased push for energy efficiency, renewable energy technology, electric mobility - along with the growing digitalization movement and a universal carbon pricing structure - would speed up the carbon-free future and the rise of a global middle class we desperately need. We can and must all do our part.
In the developed world, we are surrounded by electronics - from the computers on our desks to the smart phones in our pockets to the thermostats in our homes to our data in the virtual cloud.
Artificial intelligence is here and being rapidly commercialized, with new applications being created not just for manufacturing but also for energy, healthcare, and oil and gas. This will change how we all do business.
From Siemens's perspective, a trade agreement like TTIP makes the U.S. and E.U. members more attractive.
People need to realise that their governments are sitting on finite resources that will run out one day. Subsidising power and water is not an ideal solution and does not help reduce consumption. We need to educate people, from a young age, about the importance of conserving energy in their daily lives.
While the transition from a combustion-powered society to electrification is already underway due to market forces alone, this transition will take generations without support. But we have every incentive - environmental, economic, and yes, moral - to speed the evolution.
Ultimately, it is the convergence of artificial and human intelligence that will enable manufacturers to achieve a new era of speed, flexibility, efficiency, and connectivity in the 21st century.
We have to prove that digital manufacturing is inclusive. Then, the true narrative will emerge: Welcome, robots. You'll help us. But humans are still our future.
