The way ahead: Getting IT sustainability initiatives back on track to net zero | Computer Weekly

The United Nations-backed Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) launched a campaign with 1,045 companies participating in June 2019 to help limit the long-term, global average increase in the Earth’s surface temperature to 1.5°C.

According to a report published by the SBTi last year, charting the progress made towards achieving the 1.5°C goal, 239 of the original participants were removed on 7 March 2024 for failing to meet deadlines conducive to hitting their net-zero goals.

Accenture’s Destination net zero report, published in November 2024, says companies across all industries are making “meaningful progress” towards their net-zero goals, but progress is not fast enough.

“As once distant climate targets become near-term business priorities, only a small percentage of the world’s largest companies are on track to realise net zero by [the] mid-century,” the report states.

And there are several reasons why companies are finding it difficult to hit their net-zero goals, it seems.

Economic pressure is a major one, with green IT initiatives and sustainability strategies often falling victim to cuts when times get tough within companies, says Shane Herath, chair of the Eco-Friendly Web Alliance.

“Economic uncertainty in 2024 posed a serious challenge for sustainability efforts across industries,” he says. “Initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact were sometimes postponed or scaled back, viewed as cost centres rather than investments.”

And, when times are tough, company stakeholders and shareholders will be looking to prioritise spend that delivers short-term financial gains and tangible benefits, which is not always true of sustainability-focused investments.

Carmen Ene, CEO of sustainable technology lifecycle management service provider BNP Paribas 3 Step IT, says companies across the world also deprioritised working towards their net-zero goals in 2024 because of political pressure.

Sustainability and profitability aren’t at odds – they are powerful partners

“In some parts of the world, politicians have weaponised action on the environment, pedalling the misconception that sustainability is expensive, burdensome, and a threat to affordability and prosperity,” she says.

“Amidst a cost-of-living crisis and rising global energy prices, this has resonated, weakening support for a swift end to fossil fuels.”

As a result, she says it is not surprising that some businesses have become more hesitant to embrace IT sustainability and have even rowed back on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets.

“[They are] wary of the complexities of sustainability reporting, the perceived cost of implementing green solutions, and the impact on competitiveness,” she says.

However, research shows that companies that embrace sustainability significantly outperform their less environmentally friendly competitors, and are more efficient too, says Ene.

“It’s time to shift the focus from the perceived costs and complexities of sustainability to the immense opportunities and tangible advantages it presents, not just for the planet but also for businesses and the economy,” she says.

“Let’s reframe the climate discussion and tell a more persuasive story about the measurable wins we can achieve, like jobs, new partnerships, business growth, resilience and innovation.”

She adds: “Sustainability and profitability aren’t at odds – they are powerful partners.”

On this point, Herath agrees, and says senior leaders need to realise that investing in IT sustainability initiatives has long-term benefits for companies, particularly when it comes to creating efficiencies, cultivating a favourable reputation, and generating more business later on.

“Companies that integrated sustainability into their business models demonstrated the financial and operational benefits of going green,” he says.

And there are myriad ways that companies can achieve this from a technology perspective, he adds.

“Investing in energy-efficient hardware, cloud services powered by renewables and smarter data management systems are actionable steps that can deliver measurable results,” suggests Herath.

“Collaborating across departments to align sustainability goals will also be critical, especially in areas like procurement and product lifecycle management.”

Investing in energy-efficient hardware, cloud services powered by renewables and smarter data management systems are actionable steps that can deliver measurable results

Rich Gibbons, head of IT asset management, and Stephen Old, head of FinOps, at consultancy Synyega, suggest some tech-focused steps enterprises can take to reduce their environmental footprint.

For instance, they recommend that enterprises regularly do a stock-take of the technology providers that make up their supply chains, to ensure they are only working with suppliers that prioritise sustainability.

In a similar vein, the pair also advise enterprises to carry out regular assessments of the software and hardware assets that make up their IT estate to ensure none are using up unnecessary amounts of compute resources, in the form of unused cloud instances, for example.

“The way organisations acquire, use and dispose of all technologies – including software and hardware – contributes to good sustainability practices,” say Gibbons and Old.

“On-premise datacentres are full of servers, storage and networking equipment, while users across an organisation account for hundreds and thousands of laptops, desktops, mobile phones, tablets and more. All of these have a carbon footprint throughout the lifecycle of creation, use and disposal.

“With this in mind, companies should also look to implement a circular economy model in IT operations by focusing on reusing, refurbishing, remanufacturing and recycling IT assets to extend their lifecycle and reduce waste,” the pair add.