Accelerated digitalization speeds towards sustainability published : 10 Feb 2021 at 17:38 By Ron Beck, Marketing Strategy Director and Dr. Paige Morse, Industry Marketing Director, Aspen Technology The 2020 pandemic slowed industrial activity, reduced urban traffic, and halted most non-essential air travel. Economic and social turbulence impacted operations and markets for energy and chemical companies. This accelerated digital transformation and reinforced emphasis on sustainability. Globally intertwined dependencies across economies, supply chains, company value chains, climate, biodiversity, and health, became clearer, making digital technology a key enabler. As 2021 kicked in, industry leaders focused on strengthening agility and resilience in their businesses. This includes further accelerating digitalization for most energy and chemical companies. As a strategic weapon, digitalization enables agile supply chains to pivot their businesses, as energy transition picks up steam and reacts to turbulent economics, and this is forecasted to persist through most of 2021. Companies grapple with an increasing need to provide asset integrity and safety via remote approaches.