Connecting communities to a more sustainable future

4-minute read

Smart technology, connected by high-speed fibre, is key to making communities more sustainable today and better prepared for the future.

As society accelerates action to meet the challenges of climate change, there’s a growing body of evidence that smart digital technologies can support and enable the transition to net zero emissions.

And a fast and reliable network, like nbn’s full-fibre technology, has an important role to play.

From planning and building communities, improving efficiency and liveability, through to supporting renewable energy uptake, networks like ours can help make homes and communities more sustainable.

Planning and building better communities

One of the most significant ways we can make our communities more sustainable is to start before they even exist and plan, develop and build them better.

Doing this helps make them better places to live today and readies them to adapt to future demands.

For example, ‘digital twin’ technology lets planners create accurate virtual replicas of developments and communities, as well as the factors that can affect them.

This may include transport, energy and communications networks, infrastructure, and the natural environment.

Planners can try out ideas and designs before construction begins, modelling and testing them to predict how they’ll work in the real world.

A recent example was when authorities in Brisbane created Australia’s largest digital twin model, covering 300-square kilometres of the city, to support planning for the huge Cross River Rail project.

As well as helping with infrastructure planning, using technology in this way can help drive improvements in areas including land use and energy demands, plus test other innovative ways to become more sustainable.

nbn is a key connectivity option to support ecosystems like digital twin technology, making it possible for more organisations to access this sort of modelling, as well as by connecting more sensors, cameras and other sources to data to improve the accuracy of their forecasts.

Using tech for more efficient communities

Technology can also play a key role in making communities more sustainable once they’re established.

Arguably, one of the most powerful ways is to use the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor, manage and automate systems without the need for human oversight.

It’s technology we can use to make our homes and public spaces more sustainable, helping save energy and reduce water use.

For example, smart IoT systems can help keep your home or office cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Using internet-connected sensors and weather data, they can coordinate blinds and air-conditioning, while smart thermostats use energy only when it's needed rather than relying on simple timers or manual operation.

In another example, smart internet-connected systems are improving water and energy management in apartment buildings by accurately monitoring usage in real-time, using advanced technology and analytics so proactive management can help prevent waste.

Smart lighting that turns on only when it's required can also significantly reduce energy consumption and emissions, both in homes and public spaces, like parks and street lighting.

Beyond energy use, IoT systems can also help cut emissions by doing things like smoothing out traffic flow with better monitoring and management, and helping public transport run more efficiently.

To help support IoT use in communities, nbn^® Smart Places delivers reliable, high-speed internet access using full-fibre connections to places that don’t have a specific address.

Ranging from providing public Wi-Fi hotspots and supporting CCTV public safety systems, to enabling smart bins that send out notifications when they need emptying, Smart Places can help make communities better places to live.

By using fibre connections, they can link systems with the high-speed data that makes real-time monitoring and management possible, as well as the reliability to support important systems that are always-on.

Transforming our energy supplies

Smart, connected technology can also be central to changing the way we provide and manage the energy that runs our communities.

It can be key to integrating new clean energy supplies into the grid, such as household solar, and allowing automated remote control of energy equipment and infrastructure.

Internet-connected smart metering and control systems, for example, can coordinate when the energy being generated by household solar should be used for high-demand home applications, like hot water systems, dishwashers and pool pumps, and when it’s better off being sold back into the grid.

However, as critical systems like our energy grid become increasingly linked to the internet, it's crucial we support them with connections that allow them to keep working securely and reliably, enabling electricity supply and demand from communities to be better integrated, increasing the uptake of renewables, minimising the impact of outages and glitches, and providing capacity for growth in the future.

Committing to a more sustainable future

At nbn, we’re committed to operating more sustainably – and backing that commitment with action.

For example, we’ve committed to purchasing 100 per cent renewable electricity from December 2025, underpinned by three power purchase agreements signed with solar and wind farms, and have put in place targets to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

nbn is also currently the largest Australian corporate issuer in green bond format, with approximately $5.9 billion of green bonds outstanding in domestic and global debt capital markets. The proceeds from these transactions will be used to fund energy efficiency projects, including expanding fibre, which is more energy-efficient than copper wire, to more homes and businesses.

By using fewer ‘active’ elements that require power compared to copper wire, the design of our Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology reduces network energy demand and makes our network more resilient in the face of climate-related events, such as flooding.

Beyond our own operations, as nbn’s environmental policy states, we’re also committed to helping customers meet their environmental challenges by leveraging our network’s digital connectivity.

It’s one of the reasons we work closely with builders and developers to support creating sustainable communities powered by cutting-edge technology, like the IoT systems that our Smart Places product is designed to support.

By leveraging nbn's robust full-fibre and connectivity infrastructure, we’re proud to be helping empower the development of connected, smart communities that may allow us to all to live more sustainably in the future.