Did you know that more than 60% of businesses are now considering how technology can help the environment?
At Digital Space, we recently carried out industry research into how the valuable role IT has in reducing corporate environmental impact. We surveyed over 1,000 representatives across 10 different industries and our findings were very interesting indeed!
So, can technology help the environment?
In our report, it was clear that many organisations had recognised the impact of technology on reducing carbon emissions. 57% revealed they had already considered the correlation between sustainable IT and scalable business growth, while 64% considered how IT providers can help their organisation become more sustainable.
These findings are understandable. Public cloud, for instance, is 80% more carbon and energy efficient than running infrastructure in a data centre, SD-WAN promotes re-use, and remanufactured laptops can provide cheaper and greener options for users.
So, are we seeing now a move towards sustainable IT?
Well, not just yet it seems but it is on the cards!
Respite the recognised benefits of sustainable IT including competitive advantage, greater efficiency and future cost savings, our report revealed there is still a small reluctance to take swift action. 59% of respondents stated that sustainable changes around their IT infrastructure would not be enacted for at least another year while 36% stated that a 5% increase in cost would be enough to deter them.
Our Managing Director of Cloud, Tim Lancaster, commented: “While our sustainability report has shown that IT professionals want to be more sustainable and believe that IT can reduce carbon emissions, it has also demonstrated some reluctance to take sustainable action.
“Despite recognising the importance of technology in achieving company-wide sustainable targets, IT professionals have been deterred by associated costs with only 7% revealing that cost was not an important factor. Our advice here would be to look at the long-term savings and goals. When considering pay-as-you go tariffs, re-use and employee productivity, especially from cloud technologies, organisations will benefit from cost savings as well as increased sustainability.”
Other key takeaways from the report included:
- 8 out of 10 organisations have either reduced their carbon footprint already or have defined plans to do so. Th ese organisations expect that IT will be part of this.
- 51.5% of organisations believe regulation or an industry code of conduct is pushing them to become more sustainable, with 53.6% revealing Board/Employee support of sustainability as the driving force, 45.4% customer expectations and 19.7% marketing/branding.
- 2/3 of respondents see sustainability increasing business growth and profit.
- 60% of respondents report a lack of immediacy regarding impact to their IT usage, given that over 80% reported either full remote working or a hybrid working arrangement.
To read our full insights report, click here.
