Metaverse and sustainability

The Metaverse, a new paradigm in Social and Professional Relationships that will have a great impact on the Sustainable Development of our planet. The Metaverse is no longer focused solely on data and algorithms such as the Data Revolution or Artificial Intelligence, but on experiments and experiences that will provide very valuable information.

The amount of information and knowledge that the Metaverse will provide us with to be able to apply to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will undoubtedly be a big step towards achieving the goals.

As we see in the past, and it has been proven. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals we need catalysts that provide as much information as possible on the different relationships and synergies between goals. At present, as the UN infographics show, we do not manage to generate sufficiently accurate information through analytical reports and studies. This is why we can affirm that the Metaverse will play a very important role as a generator of applicable information.

The Metaverse is a disruptive technology, which will be digital and will have different “meta-layers” about reality, our stories, information and human experiences. This is a new paradigm in data collection anywhere in the world. We can speak of the Metaverse as the second Reality Data Revolution to implement all the indicators and targets of the Development Goals. This big step will allow us to measure the SDGs.

We can also highlight other functionalities of the Metaverse that will be of direct application in the achievement of the SDGs.

The Metaverse is a new digital ecosystem that will enable the exchange of knowledge between all parts of the world through immersive, digital experiences. This will drastically reduce differences in poverty and inequality by bridging the so-called digital divide.

Continuing with the importance of the Metaverse in achieving the SDGs. We can think that it will be the right environment for a new digital revolution that will help us to understand the difficulty of the SDGs individually and collectively to design appropriate policies that are fed by the data obtained.

At RUBÉN MUEDRA ESTUDIO DE ARQUITECTURA we have always been committed to innovation accompanied by sustainability. We believe that “Sustainability is the first intelligent step towards progress”. That is why we believe in the Metaverse and Virtual Architecture as the next intelligent step towards Sustainable Architecture.

In the words of our director Rubén Muedra, in his last public participation in the JORNADAS SOSTENIBLES of the Gibeller Group:

“We believe in the new positioning of Virtual Architecture or Metaverse. What more sustainable way of building could be the one where we can generate a digital twin, have tried and tested a building and why not, work or use that building to meet without the need for that building to be built. We will probably pollute less, we can have bigger offices, we can reduce a lot of travel and why not, between all of us, make the world a little better”.

Along the same lines, Carlos Ledó, CEO of IDAI Nature, an international company specialising in natural solutions for agricultural biocontrol suitable for organic farming. To whom we developed the Metaverse Project IDAI says:

“It’s going to save us a lot of travel, because it will allow you to send your avatar and interact with avatars of other people who are in other parts of the world in the same space and at the same time. So we are going to save a lot of travel, we are going to continue to reduce our carbon footprint, we are going to make a lot of time more efficient, we are going to be able to better reconcile our professional and personal lives. So we think that in the future, having this virtual space that allows you, without having to leave your home, to interact, to have relationships with avatars of other people, will allow us to have a happier life, to save time and, above all, not to lose contact, even if it is in this virtual way. We think it’s the future”.

We can also read in the words of Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia:

“Thanks to the Metaverse they can simulate how to make air conditioning distribution more energy efficient in smart buildings. Or where to place solar panels to maximise light exposure. Or how to redesign the building to cool better in summer to save the need for air conditioning.

They will also be able to build realistic virtual counterparts of buildings and simulated environmental conditions that could benefit scientific research and innovation. Even the 2°C temperature rise scenario can be taken from paper to simulation, and scientists can, in turn,better analyse the climate consequences. There is great potential for this to be used to drive research and development to find solutions to the sustainability crisis.

Scientists are using technology to improve climate awareness and scale up prevention projects. They can use AR and VR (augmented reality and virtual reality, respectively) in the education, entertainment and construction sectors, promoting conservation and reducing ecological degradation.”

Raja Koduri, senior vice president and head of Intel’s Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group says:

“A building without concrete, cement, but with lots of pixels and energy. “The metaverse can become the next big digital platform after the World Wide Web and mobile”. Sustainability is the first intelligent step towards progress. That’s why we believe in the Metaverse and Virtual Architecture as the next smart step towards a sustainable future that leaves a better world for our children.