Making an IT and Digital Sustainability Business Case

How competent are businesses to begin their IT and digital sustainability journey?

The beginning can be challenging due to a lack of knowledge of the issue or talking too much without doing enough.

We now realize that it’s a problem to fix today, not in the future, as we gain a deeper understanding of how sustainability will improve organizations’ and other people’s lives while supporting their commercial goals.

Additionally, a lot of businesses believe that sustainability simply refers to cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Social, environmental, and economic sustainability are the three pillars of sustainability. E-waste, responsible sourcing, digital poverty, fair salaries, and digital carbon footprint are just a few of the many topics related to each pillar that still surprise many company leaders.

A professional guide called ITIL® 4: Sustainability in Digital and IT was created to assist digital organizations in starting with sustainability.

The steps of the ITIL constant improvement methodology are followed in the book. This is due to the fact that sustainability initiatives should not be one-off projects but instead a journey. The steps of the model are:

• What is the vision?
• Where we are now?
• Where do we want to be?
• How do we get there?
• Take action
• Did we get there?
• How do we keep the momentum going?

Let’s look at the first phase, which is, “What is the vision?

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IT and Digital technologies and sustainability

The first step is to define the organization’s sustainability vision, making sure it supports the generally known concepts of sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations while also being in line with the broader company goal.

You should be familiar with the main sustainability concerns, particularly those that are closely related to digital technologies, to create the sustainability vision:

Digital carbon footprint

Although the carbon footprint of digital businesses is difficult to measure, it is clear that it is substantial. Digital technology accounts for 3.6% of total electricity consumption and 1.4% of world greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the number of consumer electronics increases daily, and cloud storage of data results in pollution online with traveling.

Digital Poverty

Because of age, lack of access to IT resources and networks (like when families shared devices during COVID-19), knowledge, and financial constraints, digital inequality and exclusion appear to be increasing as digital becomes more pervasive in our lives. When designing digital products and offering services, we must take these factors into account.

A UNICEF and ITU analysis estimates that 1.3 billion children between the ages of three and 17 do not have access to the internet at home. Digital businesses could make this problem worse or contribute to its solution.

E-waste

Through the use of laptops, office supplies, phones, and televisions, we produce around 44.7 million tonnes of electronic waste annually. However, there are other issues at hand as well, such as how to prevent mining the Earth for the precious metals required for the manufacture of gadgets.

Other issues and ideas include general greenhouse gas emissions, responsible sourcing, and sustainable consumption and manufacturing.

Conducting a materiality assessment

Organizations are unable to address all aspects of digital sustainability at once. Instead, they need to order their tasks following their strengths and corporate strategy. And to do this, a materiality analysis can be helpful.

One of the key tools in the ITIL 4: Sustainability in Digital and IT module, the materiality assessment, helps the organization in “defining, agreeing, and executing a sustainability plan based on the organization’s sustainability vision and values.”

The process of detecting and evaluating possible ESG (environmental, social, and governance) problems that could have an impact on the organization and stakeholders is included. Defining the sustainability vision and creating the sustainability plan, it’s an important stages.

A materiality evaluation will enable your organization to identify opportunities, reduce business risks, increase stakeholder participation, and make sure sustainability is incorporated into your business strategy. The organization’s position and sway within the organizational ecosystem should also be taken into account.

A quantification assessment report may include significant issues and risks found throughout the organization’s supply chain, as well as identified and adopted KPIs, in addition to the output of a matrix summarizing the most important topics.

IT and digital sustainability: What’s the return?

It is simple for many organizations mired in daily operations to put off implementing long-term measures, especially when it comes to issues as important as rescuing the planet and civilization.

When governments and financial institutions force companies to act, which has increased, it becomes less avoidable.

What is the incentive for organizations to respond, though, when the drive to be more sustainable is founded on recommendations?

Today, investing in sustainability makes good business sense for a variety of reasons, including improved brand reputation, cost optimization, innovative solutions that might open up new markets, and other advantages. This is in addition to considering the type of Earth we want our children to inherit.

Being a sustainable business today increases your chances of attracting and keeping top talent, as well as customers who prefer to spend their money with suppliers who care about sustainable products and services. This is in addition to minimizing an organization’s exposure to unsustainable practices and supply chains.

Here at CourseMonster, we know how hard it may be to find the right time and funds for training. We provide effective training programs that enable you to select the training option that best meets the demands of your company.

For more information, please get in touch with one of our course advisers today or contact us at training@coursemonster.com