Introduction:Sustainability Becomes a Business Priority
Momentum had already been building around environmental issues and corporate sustainability efforts over the past few years, fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, global conflict, and a greater understanding of the impact of climate change. While once considered nice-to-have, 90% of companies are now adopting ESG solutions1, marking a significant increase in corporate interest in environmental, social, and governance concerns.
This desire to act is also driven by changing attitudes outside the boardroom. Investors and consumers alike want businesses to do more on ESG, and suppliers and distributors are deciding which organisations to do business with based on ESG factors. Further, office workers are not only more likely to leave companies that don’t implement sustainable business practices, they will also speak out on public forums—turning internal issues into external reputational damage, according to a recent HP Workplace survey2.
While organisations are taking heed and making it a priority to reduce their carbon footprint, achieving net-zero targets is no easy task.
Much like digital transformation, driving sustainability requires organisations to transform every division of their business. This means technology will play a large role in corporate sustainability practices, and that most CIOs will soon — if they don’t already — play a central role in shaping their organisation’s sustainability strategies, particularly when it comes to helping the business to achieve net zero or carbon negative climate sustainability objectives.
CIOs will be increasingly called upon to ensure technology related to environmental sustainability is deployed aggressively, while playing an active role in minimising the environmental impact of their infrastructure and technology. For example, building a circular economy model, whereby materials aren’t discarded but rather pulled back into the business and reused, will be key in many organisations’ strategies as will using new technologies in supply chain management to help more proactively meet sustainability goals.
“When you look at today’s linear economy model, it’s to make, use and dispose. This model relies on resource depletion and rare materials, which all has huge consequences on the environment. We want to reduce this impact by moving to a circular economy,” said Cécile Mesmain, sustainability services programme manager at HP.
However, when it comes to addressing environmental concerns, technology can be a double-edged sword. While digital capabilities such as connected sensors and artificial intelligence can be used to help organisations aggregate real-time data and optimise processes, digitisation is also a driver of resource extraction and contributes to the rapidly growing issue of toxic and electronic waste.
Adding to the complexity of navigating this enormous task, is the fact that different industries face different challenges. Some businesses will need to consider whether there are industry-specific compliance or audit requirements they need to adhere to before bringing new technologies into the business. While others in print-intensive industries will need to weigh up the pros and cons of shifting to sustainable alternatives and the impact it could have on the wider business.
This eBook is a reference guide for CIOs in six sectors: healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, transport, and business services. Each
chapter includes an overview of the key sustainability challenges facing businesses in these sectors, along with actionable guidance from HP about how your organisation can move closer towards its net-zero goals.
While becoming more sustainable can be a daunting and complex task, CIOs can play an important role in helping their organisation to navigate these challenges and achieve its ESG goals.
1 https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/does-esg-really-matter-and-why2 https://press.hp.com/content/dam/hpi/press/press-kits/2019/earth-day-2019/HP%20Workforce%20Sustainability%20Survey.pdf
