Charissa Jaganath from Logicalis explains how innovative technology can drive sustainability success for businesses.
Sustainability has become a critical issue for businesses across the globe, with organisations having to be increasingly more aware of their environmental impact – and the IT industry is no different.
While IT might not spring to mind when thinking of the sectors which contribute to pollution, computing requires energy just like everything else.
“Thoroughly understanding the organisation – including the needs of all stakeholders, from suppliers to customers – is an essential first step in being more sustainable”
More importantly, IT can play a critical role in driving successful sustainability programmes and innovations.
Operating sustainably is steadily rising up the ranks in terms of importance for all stakeholders, and companies are now looking to adopt sustainable IT practices and leverage technologies to become greener, whether that be IT disposal or energy analytics.
However, some barriers remain. Logicalis’ 2023 Global CIO survey revealed that 48% of CIOs say their organisation’s progress in sustainability is hindered by a lack of in-house skills. Other leading barriers to sustainability progress were a lack of appropriate data collection, a need for greater support and buy-in from senior leadership.
Going green is a journey
Operating sustainably is not a switch that can simply be flipped. It requires actions across multiple areas to get to where you want to go. In the IT space, organisations need to implement proper asset management and practices to ensure that IT assets are maintained and used efficiently throughout their lifetime, and then disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. Another vitally important concept is the sustainable IT supply chain and circular economy.
By utilising a circular economy model and finding new homes or uses for hardware, businesses can reduce the amount of waste and minimise the environmental impact of their IT operations.
As well as maintaining tech assets and maximising energy efficiency, companies need to assess their power-efficiency and optimise energy usage through smart technologies, smart buildings, and cloud-based services. By using IT to drive down greenhouse gas emissions, organisations can make their operations more sustainable and, as new environmental legislation continues to be introduced, flexible. Appropriate data collection is crucial here as businesses look to measure impacts, set targets, show reductions, and ensure compliance with requirements.
Being sustainable is better for business
Logicalis’ CIO Report found that sustainability is a key focus for businesses when choosing suppliers. When it comes to making these selections, nearly half (49%) of CIOs are looking at carbon output, sustainability, and energy efficiency as a determining factor.
This shows that environmental sustainability has become a key purchase criterion and it can impact an organisation’s bottom line. with greener technologies allowing companies to both save money and generate business.
An overwhelming majority (92%) of CIOs also agreed that there is now a clear link between ESG, sustainability and enterprise value – businesses that are operating sustainably are inherently more futureproofed.
By making a concerted effort to recover, reuse, recycle and report, businesses will see an improvement in their green standing and their business prospects as companies want to work with sustainability leaders. For the same reasons, having a green reputation could have an impact in terms of recruitment and retention, as talent will increasingly be drawn to companies with strong eco-credentials.
So what’s next?
When looking to implement green change, it is important to keep in mind that every business and sector will be different. Thoroughly understanding the organisation – including the needs of all stakeholders, from suppliers to customers – is an essential first step in being more sustainable.
This means that assessments, stakeholder mapping, and other preparatory work should be undertaken to make sure your company’s green journey is smooth and effective from the beginning. If all these steps are taken, it is much easier to secure buy-in from senior management and drive real impact.
Another way of ensuring that green efforts align with business objectives is working with experienced IT partners who have expertise in this area. Not only can they Identify technologies that support sustainability, they can help to bridge the skills gap to ensure these efforts are successful.
Ultimately, the sooner businesses implement these solutions, the more they will benefit. Being sustainable is not a trend; it is becoming a business driver for companies and its prioritisation will only increase over time.
In other worlds, positioning your organisation as a leader in the sustainability space now will reap significant rewards down the road and is an investment worth making sooner rather than later.
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