Day 2 of Planet Explore Showcases Customers and Big Ideas

The excitement continued throughout the second day of our annual user conference, Planet Explore 2020. There was no shortage of great content from Planet and our community of users, partners, and influencers. Here are a few highlights. 

Planet co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Robbie Schingler, took the stage to discuss three major trends impacting the remote sensing and geospatial industries: the digital transformation, the business of the environment and sustainability, and truth and transparency. He closed his presentation out the way a satellite company co-founder should: with some insights about the space sector!

We heard about Humboldt County, who uses Planet data to proactively identify and monitor permitted and unpermitted cannabis cultivation throughout their region, resulting in $1 million in revenue for the county. Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) detailed a data-driven solution for pasture management practices that contributed to higher yields, more sustainable land use, reduced labor costs and increased revenue. And both Planet co-founders couldn’t help but share their excitement for our agreement with Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment (NICFI), a partnership where countries from around the world are coming together for the first time to protect the world’s tropical forests and provide sustainable pathways to economic development. It’s inspiring to see the work of our customers and partners as they leverage Planet’s solutions to deliver value for their users. 

Planet, KSAT And Airbus Awarded First-Ever Global Contract To Combat Deforestation

We also heard from inspiring keynote guests. Michael Bloomberg shared Bloomberg Philanthropies’ extensive efforts to fight climate change around the world – including a partnership with Planet to develop low-cost sensors for a future generation of satellites. Dr. Stacey Dixon, Deputy Director of NGA, joined Robbie Schingler in a fireside chat to explore the meaningful partnership between the commercial and government sectors. Former Vice President Al Gore spoke about the climate crisis we’re facing and how satellites can provide “a unique and important perspective about our planet, our relationship to it and it’s fragility.” Jack Dangermond, President of Esri, joined Planet’s Will Marshall to discuss our Esri integration that gives the GIS community a one-stop-shop for state-of-the-art analysis tools and high cadence datasets. Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, closed Day 1 of our conference by discussing his important work of exposing human rights abuses around the globe. And Dr. Jane Goodall shared what gives her hope, “Collaborating with people like you, people like Planet … collaborating with people around the globe,” said Jane. “Bringing the intellects together and trying to move towards cooperation and away from competition … That is hope.” And, we excitedly announced a new partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to apply Earth observation data to understand disease trends at a community and ecosystem level. 

Customers, partners and other industry experts shared the ways in which they leverage imagery and insights to make an impact. We took an inside look at a breaking news story with CNN national security reporter, Zachary Cohen, and MIIS professor, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, to learn how satellite data gives journalists a new view of North Korea. Researchers at NASA Harvest shared how they are working to advance the use of earth observation data to benefit food security, agriculture, and human and environmental resilience worldwide. And we learned how firefighters are preparing for the ‘new normal’ of wildfires across California, and developing technologies to aid in every stage of the fight. 

A lot of great content has been shared, and we still have one more day! Join us tomorrow for two exciting tracks: the Sustainability Summit, which will bring together a group of experts to explore creating a sustainable future, and the Partner Summit, where you can learn more about our ecosystem partners and how we work together to serve the unique needs of key vertical markets. 

To participate in Explore 2020 and get access to all the keynotes and session content, please register at planetexplore2020.com. To learn more about how Planet can help you transform your business, please contact us.