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Sustainability Services
Ecosystem-led Approach to Power Your Sustainability Strategy
Highlights
- COP 30 marks a turning point for cities to accelerate climate action by showcasing real achievements and focusing on urgent, technology-driven sustainability solutions.
- TCS is enabling smart, sustainable cities by integrating digital twins, IoT, AI, and Green IT for real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and citizen engagement.
- There is a need for coordinated action across sectors, emphasizing resilience, inclusivity, innovative financing, and the need to move from compliance to regeneration in urban environments.
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Turning vision into action at COP 30
Across the world, progress has burdened cities with population growth and concentration, resulting in substantial increases in pollution and other issues. For decades, experts have envisioned cities that integrate technology, ecological stewardship, and human-centric design to create urban environments where quality of life, economic opportunity, and environmental responsibility work together. It is becoming more and more urgent to implement this vision of smart and sustainable cities. Fortunately, that vision is now within reach with advancement in technology and the positive impact it can have on this urban ecosystem. The need for actionable solutions is clear. Cities cannot wait for incremental progress. They require technology-driven sustainability solutions that deliver measurable impact today. This week, COP 30 brought together global leaders in Brazil with a renewed focus on cities as engines of climate action and resilience. Its emphasis on the Yearly Offer of Action signals a shift from negotiating possibilities to showcasing achievements and identifying what remains to be done.
Embedding sustainability with digital twins, IoT, and AI
TCS believes this transformation can be accelerated by embedding sustainability into urban operating models through digital twins, IoT, AI, Green IT, and other approaches. These capabilities provide real-time visibility into energy, water, and mobility systems; predictive maintenance to prevent disruptions; and citizen engagement platforms that enhance transparency and trust.
Our collaboration with IIT Kanpur’s AIRAWAT Research Foundation to advance AI-powered urban planning demonstrates how AI, remote sensing, and digital twins power scenario modeling to address challenges such as mobility, energy use, pollution, and governance. By integrating satellite and sensor data, the project aims to improve air quality, predict floods, optimize green spaces, and strengthen resilience.
TCS Smart City Services provide IoT-driven solutions for transportation, parking, waste management, water distribution, and energy optimization. These services are managed through centralized command centers and supported by real-time analytics, automation, and machine learning. They reduce costs, improve safety, and support sustainability goals through efficient resource management and citizen-focused design.
Prioritizing green infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and regenerative practices
COP 30 will also highlight resilience and adaptation, with attention to biodiversity and nature-based solutions. Climate change has increased the vulnerability of cities to extreme weather, heatwaves, and flooding. Smart cities must prioritize green infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and regenerative practices.
Agriculture is part of this equation. TCS promotes regenerative farming as a foundation for sustainable food systems. Technologies such as IoT, AI, remote sensing, and blockchain enable precision agriculture and transparent supply chains. These tools restore ecosystems, improve productivity, and build resilience, linking rural and urban sustainability in a shared climate agenda.
Funding smart, sustainable cities
The transition to smart, sustainable cities requires significant investment. Governments, multilateral banks, and private investors are mobilizing billions through programs such as the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EU Green Deal, India’s Smart Cities Mission, and the Gulf’s Vision 2030.
However, barriers remain, including fragmented governance, legacy infrastructure, and unclear ROI models. Financing mechanisms such as public-private partnerships, green bonds, and performance-based contracts are essential to overcome these challenges. Transparent data, standardized KPIs, and digital monitoring will make projects more bankable and scalable, as highlighted in TCS’ Digital Twindex report
Accelerating regeneration and equity beyond COP 30
A smart city must combine technology with inclusivity and equity. COP 30’s Sustainable Cities working group is accelerating efforts to expand public transit, reduce housing deficits, and ensure citizen engagement. The blueprint is clear: technology is available, investment is flowing, and policy frameworks are in place. What is needed now is coordinated action across sectors and geographies.
Together with all the stakeholders and by accelerating digital technologies like AI, cloud, IoT, and digital twins, TCS can help cities move from compliance to regeneration, creating systems that are sustainable and adaptive.
We are closer than ever to building the cities of tomorrow. Let us bridge the final gap together.