How to achieve sustainability in IT 

IT Sustainability has gained significant traction lately due not only to environmental concerns, but also as a way to boost operational resilience and financial performance. This has also been driven by The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) which came into effect on January 5th, 2023.  The directive will require almost 50,000 EU companies to report their environmental impact starting in the 2024 financial year.  They must also ensure all their suppliers comply within certain parameters of real data, reporting and due diligence to develop a sustainable supply chain.    

It is imperative for companies to invest in sustainable IT to comply with regulations, cut costs and reduce environmental damage. And according to a recent study where 78% of customers say environmental practices influence their decision to buy from a company, investing in sustainability also makes excellent business sense. That’s why sustainability has been identified as a top-three driver of innovation and a primary consideration in IT procurement. In fact, a recent study of 3,250 IT decision-makers showed that 79% indicated at least half of future IT investments would be directed towards achieving their sustainability initiatives.   

There are four key areas that enterprises can invest in to reach their sustainable IT goals; artificial intelligence, green computing, automation, and supply chain. This blog will detail how your business can also benefit from adapting more sustainable technologies. 

Artificial Intelligence   

AI, in particular Generative AI, is already being used by companies to optimize a wealth of business activities. However, its role is also about to dominate the sustainability agenda.   

Due to AI’s capacity to analyse vast quantities of data, it can be used to make informed decisions on energy use and efficiency, as well as measure and predict a number of other sustainable business needs.   

AI is currently being used to deliver sustainability by:  

• Identifying patterns that help in predicting the demand for products, which helps avoid excess production and reduce waste.  
• Helping deliver best delivery routes that save time, reduce fuel costs and decrease emissions.  
• Running diagnostics and determining what areas of a business produce the most waste.  
• Aiding in the research of new, more sustainable materials and chemicals across various sectors, including eco-friendly packaging.   
• Predicting peak energy load times and adjusting energy consumption to reduce overall energy usage and carbon footprint.   
• Enhance the integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid by supply and demand fluctuations, thus making energy sources more reliable and efficient.   

And this is just a small sample of AI technology’s capacity in delivering sustainability solutions. To find out how each organization can benefit from AI in reaching sustainability goals, there are now a number of AI-powered sustainability platforms, such as IBM Garage, Microsoft Sustainability Manager, and Nasdaq Sustainable Lens, as well as AI reporting and decision support systems to help guide organisations in planning and achieving their IT sustainability transformation. -  

Green Computing  

IT operations currently contribute  5 - 9% of global electricity consumption, with this projected to increase to 20% by 2030. The cost of this is extensive greenhouse gas emissions that have a significantly negative environmental impact. To counteract the negative impact of IT operations on the environment, “green computing” will be fundamental.  

Green computing is the adoption of IT practices, systems and applications that lower energy usage and reduce the carbon footprint of technology.   

Taking a life-cycle approach that considers from procurement and design to operations and end-of-life disposal, here are three practices that incorporate the “Green Computing” trend.   

• Building Green Data Centres – Data centres are the IT foundation of companies and can be one of the most expensive operating costs.  Further, the world’s data centres currently consume nearly 3% of the world’s total electricity, and this will grow exponentially with greater use of Generative AI, which requires powerful computers.  
   
  That’s why redesigning data centres to consume less energy and leave a smaller carbon footprint is paramount. These new green data centres can incorporate extensive innovations to maximise energy efficiency including server virtualization, AI-based energy monitoring and management, edge computing and IoT, hybrid deployments, renewable energy integration and liquid cooling systems.   
   
• More Cloud Migration - Instead of building on-premise green data centres, many companies are migrating to cloud service providers (CSP) to reduce the environmental impact and save energy, while being more cost effective. With this cloud adoption, the external data centres usually run on low-carbon energy and offer high-density cloud computing (Platform-as-a-Service).  
   
  There are three major cloud providers: Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Google Cloud is 1.5x more efficient than a typical data centre and runs on 100% renewable energy, while the others are committed to be running on 100% renewable by 2025.   
   
• Creating Sustainable Software and Hardware – Increasingly, hardware and software design is focused on delivering greater environmental sustainability. From software developers optimizing code for energy efficiency, to hardware upgrades that use energy-efficient processors and low-power-consuming devices; designing greener IT options are central to consuming less electricity and reducing the IT carbon footprint.   
   
  In addition, integrating a circular economy model in technology is increasingly important to decreasing IT emissions and reaching environmental sustainability goals. Therefore, software and hardware manufacturers are evermore focused on creating products with longevity in mind, emphasising repairability, upgradability, and recycling. The result is an extended lifespan in IT products, a reduction of electronic waste and fostering a more sustainable approach to technology consumption. 
    

Automation  

Streamlining tasks with minimal human intervention, automation has seamlessly become part of all aspects of society, delivering efficiency and convenience. And in the business world, companies have incorporated automated systems to expedite processes, boost productivity and enhance efficiency in their operations; and this has also allowed sustainability benefits at scale.   

In 2024, automation will continue to be leveraged in product design and manufacturing processes to improve accuracy, reduce waste and minimize the carbon footprint of companies. And specifically related to sustainability initiatives, automation will also make measuring, reporting and verifying emissions reductions more efficient and accurate through, for example, real-time monitoring of any environmental impact.  

Seeking a Greener IT Supply Chain  

With supply chains accounting for 90% of the organisation's greenhouse gas emissions, supply chain management at companies will reach a new level of importance in light of the new EU sustainability reporting requirements mentioned earlier, and in effect from the beginning of 2024.   

Not only will large EU companies and non-EU entities with substantial activity in the EU need to comply with established ESG reporting specifications, but these companies will be required to ensure all suppliers comply with certain parameters in order to develop a sustainable supply chain.  

Therefore, companies will need to know how suppliers work environmentally in greater detail or be held accountable. Supply chain management, across all areas of a business including IT operations, will become more extensive as monitoring the sustainability of current suppliers and channel partners increases, and incorporating environmentally green criteria in new vendor selection and bidding is established. Actively seeking green IT partners and suppliers that comply with required EU sustainability goals will be the norm as procurement is optimized to consider the carbon footprint of all purchased materials and investments.   

Final Thoughts 

Whether in fulfilling the new CSDR requirements, searching for long-term operational efficiencies, or wanting to keep and attract customers that are choosing businesses based on their environmental practices, IT Sustainability must be a crucial part of your company’s framework. 2024’s Sustainable IT trends include investing in AI, green computing, automation, and a greener supply chain to reach your sustainability goals but are just the beginning in our journey to a greener business world.   

Do you need guidance in getting started on IT sustainability? A Knowledge Exchange Key Account Manager can help you map your sustainability technology initiatives. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help.