Energy, Sustainability and Innovation Manager – Torus Group

Overview Persistently high levels of hunger and malnutrition – 793 million (2015) chronically hungry people in the world in 2014–2016 – and unsustainable human activity on the earth’s carrying capacity present a major challenge for agriculture. To meet the growing food demand of the over nine billion people who will exist by 2050 and the expected dietary changes, agriculture will need to produce 60 percent more food globally in the same period.

As we embark on a new year (a new decade, in fact!) and look ahead to next week and another National Retail Federation conference and expo, I am inspired to pause and reflect for a bit on the successes of the past year. And the highlights that first come to mind are not from Microsoft but rather from our customers and partners – those retailers and companies supporting the retail industry with technology that have truly embraced our industry’s new normal – constant disruption – with fresh thinking and innovation. We often hear that every company is becoming a software company, and this feels especially true for the retail industry right now, as many across fashion, fast-moving-consumer goods, food service and more are building their own net new digital capabilities. We refer to this concept as tech intensity – not only using technology for technology’s sake, but also using it to build net-new capabilities to propel your business forward.